Stephen A. Smith argued that President Donald Trump is an “upgrade” from former President Joe Biden in regards to their alertness, just days after the president was caught on camera appearing to doze off during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Appearing Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Kasie Hunt questioned Smith over whether he believes Trump is still “sharp” enough to be commander-in-chief amid rising concerns about his fitness for office.
“Well, I don’t know anybody that would associate the word ‘sharp’ with him, because he doesn’t seem that sharp with some of the decisions that he makes sometimes, to be quite honest with you,” he began. “But I’m not here to denigrate or insult the president of the United States in that regard.”
Smith, a political commentator and sports analyst, then dragged former President Joe Biden into the conversation, comparing the two presidents’ levels of efficiency. “He is certainly an upgrade from what we were seeing from Joe Biden in terms of his alertness and what have you. I certainly would say that. I would not accuse him of that.”
The ESPN host then switched gears to call out Trump for falling asleep at the NBA finals last week.
“What I would say, however, is that he showed up to a Knicks game, and he was caught on camera [sleeping]. It ain’t me saying it. You saw it on camera. He was caught napping, OK? And the owner of the New York Knicks, James Dolan, was sitting right next to him, and he didn’t look awake either. And so that’s it. Just pointing it out. It is what it is.”
Easing back on his criticism, Smith added, “But he is the president. He’s got a lot on his plate. He certainly gets up early enough in the morning, and he certainly has time to post tweets on his Truth Social platform. He’s always in front of the camera.”
Smith’s remarks came after he and Trump publicly traded jabs last week in a fiery feud after Smith blamed him for the New York Knicks’ loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, where the Knicks were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs 115-111. Trump attacked Smith’s intelligence in response.
Smith wasn’t the only person who criticized Trump’s unprecedented attendance at the game as a sitting president. Slews of Knicks’ fans and critics also attributed the president’s turnout at the game as the reason for the Knicks’ loss.
The Knicks went on to win their first NBA championship in 53 years Saturday night.
