Stephen A Smith has lifted the lid on his four-hour dinner with Donald Trump, revealing he used the occasion as an opportunity to raise a number of issues.
ESPN host Smith faced backlash from fans after it emerged that he sat down with the commander-in-chief – via an invitation from Bill Maher – on October 15.
However, the 59-year-old has now defended his decision while insisting that he used the time to list some ‘agendas’ he felt Trump could help resolve.
Speaking on The View, Smith said: ‘I came there with three agendas. Number one, to address unemployment with Black women in this country.
‘I came to address the ‘Protect College Sports Act’ that obviously was passed through the Senate and now has to go through the House, which I’m not a supporter of because I don’t think it has representation for the student-athlete.
‘And of course, number one on my list was HBCUs.’
Stephen A. Smith has lifted the lid on his four-hour dinner with Donald Trump
Smith revealed he used the occasion as an opportunity to raise a number of issues
The ‘First Take’ host added that Trump was unexpectedly receptive to Smith’s frustrations and later phoned up the 59-year-old to further understand the matters.
Smith added: ‘To his credit, he said, ‘I actually didn’t think about that. I’m going to think about that a lot more and I’ll be talking to you about it.’
‘To his credit, thereafter, he called me after the meeting a couple of days later to ask me to reiterate what my points were about the HBCUs, because he plans on talking to people about that in the next few days.’
Smith then turned his attention to The View co-host Ana Navarro, who had taken aim at the ESPN star over his controversial dinner with Trump just one day prior.
He continued: ‘It points to a bigger issue. There are so many people that have this mentality [of] why even waste time talking to him? Whether you like it or not, he’s the president of the United States of America. He’s not going away until 2028.
‘Until 2028, he has the power of the pen of the executive office of the commander-in-chief of the United States of America.
‘You’re going to have to deal with him, and when it comes to getting things done, I’m all about exhausting every means and every measure to try to do what’s in the best interests of our community. I’m not apologizing for that to anybody.’
Smith revealed the three agendas he brought to the table at his dinner with the President
However, moderator Whoopi Goldberg pushed back on Smith’s remarks, stating: ‘I am tired of having to go back time and time again and explain why this man is not understanding.
‘But I have watched them do things to people, not just to Black people but to Latinos, to women, that are just inexplicable to me.’
Meanwhile, after a commercial break, Navarro then asked Smith whether he pushed back on any problematic issues that Americans have with Trump.
Smith explained: ‘I pushed back when he brought up Venezuela.
‘I’m kind of disappointed that you’re asking whether or not I pushed back, because that shows me you’re not watching my SiriusXM show enough, because I push back on Trump all the time.’
