Donald Trump calls Stephen A. Smith 'dumb as a rock' in scathing post
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The feud between United States President Donald Trump and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith continued Wednesday, June 10, as the two trade barbs about one another in public forums since Trump's NBA Finals appearances.

Trump escalated his criticism of Smith's rumored political aspirations in an early morning post on his Truth Social site. The President declared Smith an "arrogant fool" and "dumb as a rock, and totally unqualified to ever think of running for high political office, or low political office for that matter!"

Trump and Smith have been going back-and-forth, initially regarding Trump's appearance at Madison Square Garden for NBA Finals Game 3 on Monday. Smith first criticized Trump ahead of Game 3, noting he would blame Trump for a Knicks loss because of how the president's decision to attend the game would disrupt the environment.

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"This is about an individual engaging in a level of narcissism that really rakes my freakin' nerves," Smith said. "He's got no business here tonight. It has nothing to do with politics. It was everything to do with the fervor that exists around the New York Knicks and he is disrupting everything the Knicks have been vibing with."

Trump first addressed Smith's comments when asked about them by reporters after Game 3, which the Knicks lost to the Spurs.

"I think he's a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president," Trump said. "You need a high IQ. I'm not sure that Stephen has that. I don't think he does actually."

Smith fired back on Tuesday during ESPN's "First Take" and his podcast, and challenged Trump to a one-on-one debate regarding the president's "IQ" remark. Using patriotic music as a backdrop, Smith told viewers that, "obviously, I'm blaming him" for the Knicks Game 3 loss.

He then criticized Trump for the traffic around Madison Square Garden, the cancellation of the Knicks watch party outside the arena for fans that couldn't afford Finals tickets, and the loss of business in the surrounding area because of the security protocols in place for the presidential visit. Smith also attacked Trump for appearing to fall asleep in some photos taken of him at the game.

"If it was that important for you to be there, why did you look like you were asleep?" Smith said. "Didn’t you call out former President Joe Biden, 'Sleepy Joe'? Well, what should we call you? Cause you weren’t awake."

"To see them in this position and to disrupt the momentum they've built, I called narcissistic and selfish," Smith added later on his podcast. "Why would I do such a thing? Because it's Donald Trump, that's why. Because it's factually correct, that's why. Because he had no business at the game."

Smith's podcast has served as a platform for his political commentary separate from ESPN in recent years. He has been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, though Smith has thus far not run for any political office. It's a possibility that Trump seemed to take aim at in his latest response on Wednesday morning.

"He'd get annihilated in a debate by the most incompetent of politicians," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Joe Biden's now 'fabled' performance would look great by comparison to anything that this loudmouth huckster has to offer, which isn't much! Within a few weeks, they'd laugh him out of politics!!!"

ESPN's "First Take" was scheduled to begin only a few hours later. Surely, Smith has something to say back.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump fires back at Stephen A. Smith: 'Arrogant fool'



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