Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith blasted President Donald J. Trump over recent remarks that NBA superstar LeBron James might be a racist.
The ESPN motormouth took great exception with the president’s “really disgusting” take, which he shared with reporters last week when asked about who he believed was the greatest player of all time, James or the legendary Michael Jordan.
Smith slam dunked Trump over the comment on Monday’s edition of his YouTube show, assailing him for being “trifling” and divisive in the latest skirmish in the long-running feud between the sports fan-in-chief and the surly James, who just inked a deal to play with the Philadelphia 76ers.
(Video: YouTube/Stephen A. Smith)
“Our president is trifling,” Smith declared, adding, “When you’re calling LeBron James a racist, you know what? You know, it’s really getting ridiculous.
“The divisiveness, the way that this man acts, the things that he says, it’s really, really disgusting. And it needs to be said,” the host continued. “I held it in long enough. I was waiting a few days, but then obviously being back to work today, and listening to this nonsense, it’s just really, really disgusting.”
“Michael Jordan is a guy that’s a friend of mine, play golf with him. He’s a really good guy,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday. “And I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump, I don’t know. But I only like people that like me, so, I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”
Asked by @pdoocy if he thinks LeBron or Jordan is the GOAT, Trump says Jordan is the GOAT and is a good guy, says LeBron doesn’t like him and maybe that’s because LeBron is a racist. pic.twitter.com/mGxw4KCb8t
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 24, 2026
“We gotta call stuff out,” Smith said of Trump’s remarks. “We gotta call it out for what we see. We gotta call it out for what it is because the only way that the world is going to become a better place is when we call out trifling tendencies.”
“Even if it’s from our president, even if it’s from our commander-in-chief,” he fumed. “And this is the latest salvo that he’s thrown in somebody’s direction ultimately to distract from the job that he’s doing, and we got to call him out on it. We just have to.”
The debate about whether “King James” or “Air Jordan” is the G.O.A.T. is ongoing with LeBron still trailing Jordan in terms of NBA titles by two, and in the waning years of his career is unlikely to close the gap on the man who defined dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, powering his Chicago Bulls teams to two threepeats while James has only managed four championships during his 24 year career, nine more than Jordan and counting.
Smith has been mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic candidate in some circles, but Trump doesn’t see him as presidential material.
“I think he’s a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump said last month. “You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that. I don’t think he does actually.”
