Stephen A. Smith escalated his feud with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, challenging the president to a face-to-face debate after Smith blamed Trump’s Madison Square Garden appearance for the New York Knicks’ Game 3 loss in the NBA Finals. Trump had dismiss
For the Knicks, Game 3 didn’t just end in a loss—it ended with Stephen A. Smith pointing straight at the man now in the White House.
On Tuesday. Smith used his appearance on Laura Coates’ CNN show to widen his feud with President Donald Trump into a challenge that went beyond sports. The chain started after Smith blamed the New York Knicks’ Game 3 defeat in the NBA Finals on what he called the “circus” around Trump’s visit to Madison Square Garden. Trump answered by dismissing the sports commentator as “low IQ.”.
Smith returned fire immediately, saying he’d gladly settle the dispute face-to-face. “If Trump really, really wants to get down to the nitty-gritty and really wants to challenge me about my IQ, I welcome a sit-down with him,” he told Coates.
He didn’t stop there. “I welcome him on the debate stage. ” Smith continued—adding that Trump has “joked around about circumventing the 22nd Amendment and running for a third term.” Then he delivered the blunt invitation that turned a sports argument into a personal one. “I will be happy to show up against President Trump,” Smith said. “Since you think that my IQ is questionable, you want to find out, want some?. Come get some. I’ll show up.”.
The debate dare arrived alongside Smith’s repeated insistence that Trump’s presence disrupted the Knicks’ momentum. Smith doubled down on his claim that the Knicks’ momentum was derailed the moment Trump showed up at Madison Square Garden. and he also welcomed what he said was Trump’s reported decision not to attend Game 4.
“If he’s not going to show up to Game 4, thank you very much for not being hard-headed this time and listening, because you disrupted the mojo that the New York Knicks fan base was building for this team to come home to,” Smith said.
Smith framed the issue as more than timing. He said Trump. whom he described as a “lifelong New York Knicks fan. ” should have been sensitive to the disruptions created by the security and logistics around the visit. “He should have been highly sensitive to that 6 to 7. 000 people having to be removed or displaced. not allowed to have the watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden with that fervor. that momentum. that vibe that has been unseen by a New York Knicks fan base in decades. ” Smith said.
In his telling, the Knicks had earned their rhythm long before the Garden visit. “The Knicks had won 13 straight playoff games and it got ruined the moment Donald Trump showed up,” Smith added.
Stephen A. Smith Donald Trump Knicks Madison Square Garden NBA Finals Game 3 Game 4 debate challenge 22nd Amendment
This is all just politics wearing a jersey lol
Wait so Trump went to the Garden and they lost?? I mean sports are weird but security displacing people… seems like a stretch. Also “come get some” is wild for a debate like calm down Stephen
Stephen said Trump joked about circumventing the 22nd Amendment?? I didn’t even know that was a thing, thought it was just like people repeating random Twitter stuff. Also debating IQ like that is just gonna make both of them look dumb
Knicks momentum got “disrupted” by Trump and like 6 to 7 thousand people being removed? That sounds made up to me. If they can’t handle crowds and security then they weren’t gonna win anyway. And Stephen A always acts like he’s the smartest guy in the room, then he dares Trump to debate… idk man this whole thing is a circus like he said