If Stephen A Smith knows one thing, it’s people.
The ESPN commentator has been around long enough to see inside the elite media class, but he also has made a career of knowing what people want to listen to. And when Smith listened to the celebrity endorsements throughout the Kamala Harris campaign, he called BS.
In a Wednesday episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, reacting to Donald Trump winning the presidency, Smith called out celebrity figures like Oprah Winfrey and former First Lady Michelle Obama for “alienating” everyday people by trying to “guilt” them into voting for Harris.
“In the end, celebrities, who are worth hundreds of millions if not billions, who most American citizens feel are incredibly detached from their way of life and their quality of life, were not going to get away and guilt them into doing something different than what their experience says is going on and what they should do about it,” Smith said.
After playing a clip of Winfrey imploring an audience to vote while warning them it could be their last chance should Trump win, Smith ripped the daytime talk legend for trying to scold or scare Americans into political action.
“This is the kind of stuff that alienates an electorate, alienates a voter,” Smith said. “Because the freedom that you tell them you have, you try to confiscate morally by letting them know, you ain’t worth a damn unless you vote the way we say you should vote. Who’s going to go for that in a general election? With an economy rife with inflation, with over 12 million people crossing the border … the value of their dollars dissipating before our very eyes.”
Smith also criticized the way in which the Democratic Party campaigned toward men in this election.
The First Take host played a clip from the former First Lady in which she told men of color that voting for Trump was voting against “us.” To Smith, the message struck a similar tone as Winfrey’s.
“If we don’t agree with you, we’re against you?” Smith questioned. “How do you think the men felt about that? So we have to do what you tell us to do; otherwise, we’re anti-you? You thought that worked? Do y’all know anything about most men? You think that’s going to work?”
Everyone has their own opinion about why Trump won, but perhaps more people should listen to Stephen A Smith when it comes to what gets the attention of the average American. Smith leans left and picked Harris to win, but her campaign surrogates left Smith feeling cold.
And Smith was consistent throughout the campaign that celebrity endorsements are useless on both sides. Previously, he laughed off former NFL quarterback Brett Favre for coming out in favor of Trump.
[The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.