A television host who spends his working life arguing about sports and culture found himself across a White House table from a president he has long criticized, and on a morning talk show he was asked to account for the choice. He defended it as a matter of duty and persistence: a president serves until 2028, and a citizen who wants results for his community has to keep trying the door even when others have stopped knocking. Whether the conversation will bear fruit is something he admits no one can yet know, and the larger question it raises, whether speaking with power is compromise or respon
Stephen A. Smith Defends White House Dinner With Trump, Says He Won't Apologize
"He's not going away until 2028. At least."
Mark
Why did this appearance draw so much attention?
Mimi
Because Smith went on a show whose hosts had just said they'd never meet Trump, and he defended doing it. He wouldn't apologize, and he framed it as trying everything for his community.
Mark
What was he actually trying to get from Trump?
Mimi
The HBCU issue is the concrete one. A critic from NewsBusters says Trump called Smith a few days later to hear the argument again before meeting with others about it.
Luke
That detail comes from Fondacaro, a media critic, not from Smith or the White House. It's attributed, not confirmed here.
Mark
Smith also said he pushed back on Trump. Is that verifiable?
Luke
Not from this reporting. It's Smith's account, that he pressed Trump several times on the war in Iran, and that Maher grilled him too. No one else in the room is quoted on it.
Mimi
Kid Rock did describe tough conversations, though he called the evening epic and focused on agreement about socialism and communism.
Mark
And the impeachment prediction?
Luke
That's a forecast, not a fact. Smith expects Republicans to keep the Senate and lose the House. Nothing in the piece backs that with polling.
Mimi
What it shows is his reasoning: Trump stays until 2028, so you deal with him.
Luke
And whether the meeting got anywhere is still unknown. Smith said as much himself: we'll find out.
The Pulse
- A dinner at the White House on Oct. 15 has become a flashpoint, with Stephen A. Smith facing sharp questions from co-hosts on The View.
- Smith refuses to apologize, insisting he pressed the president repeatedly on the war in Iran while Bill Maher also challenged him in the room.
- Talk of impeachment after the midterms is brushed aside as a cycle Smith sees as theater, with a Republican Senate expected to block removal.
- Trump reportedly called Smith days later to hear his case again, and the HBCU issue now sits as the test of whether the meeting produced anything concrete.
- The debate over media figures engaging the president heads into the midterms, and the outcome of that HBCU follow-through remains open.
A television host who spends his working life arguing about sports and culture found himself across a White House table from a president he has long criticized, and on a morning talk show he was asked to account for the choice. He defended it as a matter of duty and persistence: a president serves until 2028, and a citizen who wants results for his community has to keep trying the door even when others have stopped knocking. Whether the conversation will bear fruit is something he admits no one can yet know, and the larger question it raises, whether speaking with power is compromise or responsibility, is one that political life has asked in many forms before.
On Wednesday, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith sat across from the co-hosts of "The View" and refused to apologize for his dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House on Oct. 15. Comedian Bill Maher and musician Kid Rock were at the table too. When co-host Sunny Hostin pressed him on whether the meeting had accomplished anything, given Trump's record on race, Smith admitted he did not yet know. He said that as long as the man holds the office, he would rather try than stay silent, and that his goal was to exhaust every means to help his community.
Smith also brushed aside talk of impeachment after the midterms. He expected Republicans to keep the Senate, which would block any removal, and he said he was tired of the ceremony around such efforts. Co-host Ana Navarro asked whether he had pushed back on Trump in the room. Smith said he had challenged the president several times over the war in Iran, and he was disappointed that anyone would think otherwise.
Nicholas Fondacaro of NewsBusters said the hosts seemed startled that Trump had listened, and that Trump called Smith days later to hear the argument again, before meeting others about historically Black colleges and universities. Kid Rock, speaking on "Fox & Friends," called the evening "epic" and said two Democrats and two Republicans had shared a meal and spoken frankly. What comes next is whether the HBCU discussion yields action and how the episode shapes the media debate ahead of the midterms.
On Wednesday, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith sat at the table of "The View" and told its co-hosts he would not apologize for having dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House. The dinner took place on Oct. 15. Smith was joined by comedian Bill Maher and the musician Kid Rock.
Co-host Sunny Hostin put the question to him directly. Pointing to what she called Trump's clear history of racial bias, she asked whether Smith thought the meeting got him anywhere. Smith said he did not know yet and that the answer would come in time. But he was the president of the United States, he said, and he would be damned if he didn't try. He described his reasoning as constitutional in nature.
Smith said the criticism pointed to a larger problem: many people ask why anyone should bother talking to Trump at all. Whether or not you like him, Smith argued, he is president and is not leaving until 2028 at the earliest. He said that when it comes to getting things done for his community, he is for exhausting every means and measure, and that he would not apologize for it to anyone.
Hostin also raised the possibility that Trump could be impeached after the midterm elections. Smith dismissed it. He predicted Republicans would hold the Senate and probably lose the House, which could produce an impeachment, but he said the Senate would then step in and save the president, leaving an ongoing cycle. He said he is sick of the pomp and circumstance around such efforts and tired of people acting as if they will accomplish something.
Co-host Ana Navarro pressed him on whether he pushed back on Trump in the room. Smith said he pressed the president several times on the war in Iran, and that Maher also grilled Trump during the meeting. He added that he was disappointed by the question, since it suggested she wasn't watching his SiriusXM show enough. He pushes back on Trump all the time, he said.
The hosts told Smith they had invited Trump onto their show. The day before, Navarro had said there was "no way in hell" she would meet with the president.
Nicholas Fondacaro, associate editor at the Media Research Center's NewsBusters, gave Fox News Digital a statement on the exchange. He said it is easy for the cast to attack people for meeting with Trump when they will never be asked and no one counts on them to champion a cause. He said the hosts appeared shocked to learn that Trump seemed to hear Smith out. By his account, Trump called Smith a few days later to hear his argument again, before meeting with others about the issue of historically Black colleges and universities.
Kid Rock gave his own account on "Fox & Friends" on Friday. He said the group agreed that socialism and communism have no place gaining a foothold in government, then referred to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Asked how the dinner went, he called it "epic," saying two Democrats and two Republicans broke bread, laughed, and had tough conversations on many issues.
What to watch: whether the meeting shapes the media debate heading into the midterms, and whether Trump follows through on the HBCU issue raised at the dinner.
Notable Quotes
He's the president of the United States, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to try.— Stephen A. Smith, on The View
Two Democrats, two Republicans sit down, break bread, have laughs, have tough conversations.— Kid Rock, on Fox & Friends (paraphrased)
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Politics & Governance