Stephen A. Smith: Donald Trump is threatening Washington Commanders to distract from Epstein files

As Donald Trump threatens the Washington Commanders and urges them to revert to their old moniker, Stephen A. Smith isn’t buying it.

Smith made a rare summer appearance on First Take Monday morning. And in the wake of Trump threatening to stand in the way of the Commanders building a new stadium if they don’t return to their previous name, Smith called out the president’s attempt at creating a smoke screen.

“I think it’s the president being petty,” Smith said Monday morning on First Take. “I think it’s him being evasive. Because the reality is that no matter how good he wants people to believe things are with the ‘big beautiful bill’ and other things that have been transpiring, tariff wars, the border issues…there are millions upon millions of people in the United States of America that are not necessarily happy with some of the things that he is doing, so what does he do? He caters to his base.”

“By him bringing that issue up, we all know from a political standpoint, it’s much ado about nothing,” Smith continued of Trump attempting to force Washington’s NFL team to change their name. “It’s just him catering to his base to make sure that he serves to appease them in some way to distract from other issues, including the Epstein files, by the way. Because a lot of people associated with the MAGA right want those files released and you even have Republican representatives on the Hill wanting those files released, wanting to see for themselves because they’re not buying what the administration is saying when they say there is absolutely nothing there.”

Just last week, Smith went on Chris Cuomo’s NewsNation show and boldly claimed he “could give a damn about the Epstein client list,” while defending Trump for questioning America’s interest in the files. One week later, Smith believes the interest level in the Epstein files is big enough to warrant Trump attempting to create a smoke screen by feuding with an NFL team.

Trump issued two statements Sunday on Truth Social, imploring the Commanders to change their name back to a Native American slur.

“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this,” Trump wrote. “Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!”

Later in the day, the president returned to his social media platform to claim, “I won’t make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be exciting for everyone,” unless they change their name back.

Despite attempts of downplaying the meaning of the Commanders previous name, the origins of the term “redskin” were undoubtedly intended to disparage Native Americans. And new Commanders owner Josh Harris has said multiple times that he has no plans of returning the franchise to its old name.

Smith might not think Trump’s outrage is real, but Harris is working to get a new stadium built for the Commanders in Washington. And if Trump really wants to lean into this issue, it’s fair to wonder whether money from Washington to build a new stadium could change Harris’ opinion of their old moniker. But even in an era where sports media is shifting right, it’s hard to imagine a prominent NFL franchise opting to use and promote a Native American slur as its team name.