{"id":1596,"date":"2026-06-09T07:36:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2026-06-09T07:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:36:53","slug":"trump-hits-back-at-stephen-a-smith-after-espn-analyst-ranted-he-would-blame-president-for-knicks-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1596","title":{"rendered":"Trump hits back at Stephen A. Smith after ESPN analyst ranted he would blame president for Knicks defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Trump hit back at Stephen A. Smith before leaving New York just after midnight Tuesday after the ESPN analyst wildly ranted he would blame the president if the Knicks lost Game 3 in the NBA finals.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Law & Order: SVU\u2019 star Mariska Hargitay\u2019s expensive Knicks celebrity row seat blocked by ref<\/a><\/p>\n

Smith, who has been touted as a Democratic candidate for the 2028 election cycle, claimed Trump had \u201cno business\u201d attending Monday night\u2019s game at The World\u2019s Most Famous Arena, and said, \u201cIf it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I\u2019m blaming him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump was asked about Smith\u2019s \u201cFirst Take\u201d tirade on the ground at JFK Airport ahead of his return to Washington \u2013 and the commander-in-chief described the pundit as a \u201cnice guy\u201d before shredding his intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a certain aptitude to run for president,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a high IQ. I\u2019m not sure Stephen has that. I don\u2019t think he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump watched the Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs with his granddaughter Kai \u2013 and he became the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He saluted the NYPD officers carrying the American flag during the National Anthem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Smith made his opposition about Trump\u2019s attendance clear in an unhinged on-air rant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I\u2019m blaming him,\u201d he raged, which sparked laughter in the studio.<\/p>\n

Read more Knicks guard Jose Alvarado plows into former NYC Mayor Bloomberg during Game 3 of Finals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m blaming the president of the United States! I\u2019m gonna stay on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been fair-minded, down the middle as an Independent for a long time. Hell hath no fury like Stephen A. scorned if the New York Knicks lose tonight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna be in their a\u2013 like back pockets, like white on rice. I\u2019m telling you that right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe better not lose tonight\u2019s game! We were riding, we were flowing, and this man gonna show up to the Garden tonight. You gotta be kidding me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Smith branded Trump\u2019s decision to attend the game as \u201cselfish and narcissistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis president has no business showing up in New York City,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n

Smith then tried to clarify he would\u2019ve been equally opposed to a sitting Democratic president attending the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say the same thing about Obama, George W., Clinton, I don\u2019t give a damn if we went back to Reagan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis is not a football stadium in some space of Texas where you got a whole bunch of outlays. This is the Garden. This is midtown Manhattan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Knicks fans clash with cops in chaotic scene outside Bryant Park Game 3 watch party<\/a><\/p>\n

The Knicks lost 115-111, which means the team leads the series 2-1.<\/p>\n

Game 4 of the series takes place at the Garden Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Trump hit back at Stephen A. Smith before leaving New York just after midnight Tuesday after the ESPN analyst wildly ranted he would blame the president if the Knicks lost Game 3 in the NBA finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump hits back at Stephen A. 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