Jon Stewart on the LA ICE Protests and Trump's Escalating Response | Stephen A. Smith
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From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show with your host, Jon Stewart. Welcome to The Daily Show. My name's Jon Stewart. We got, I'm going to tell you something. Their enthusiasm is not for naught. We have a great show for you tonight. Stephen A. Smith is going to be joining me later.

But first, I want to talk about this very briefly. I was in Los Angeles over the weekend getting a BBL from a celebrity doctor. And quick question, for those of you who live in that area, is your city ever not on fire? Whether you win a basketball championship, a World Series championship, whether you have an exploding pinata gender reveal gone wrong, congratulations, it's a boy out.

evacuation, or you're just protesting the Trump administration's expanded deportation raids, L.A. continues to be our most flammable city. This weekend's combustion was the very predictable result of a liberal city reliant on an immigrant population colliding with a heavy-handed MAGA migrant trawling operation looking to hit its quota of brown pokey men.

Gotta catch them all. Yes, America, this is where we started. We gotta get the criminals out first. We gotta get the criminals, the murderers, the drug dealers. And this is where we are now. Protest started following ICE raids at a Home Depot parking lot in Paramount, south of the city. From the worst of the worst to a f***ing Home Depot? Jeez, ICE, if you need assistance in arresting people, you know, those guys are looking for work, so...

It's an explosive situation on the cusp of federalism versus states' rights, border control versus due process, terrifyingly militarized sweeps versus hardworking people in local communities, the United States Marines versus the Postmates guy who brought you an egg sandwich. It's going to require a deft and firm, experienced and wise... I think you know where I'm going with this. ...a deft touch from leadership...

in Washington. Well, we're going to have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country. They spit. That's their new thing. And when that happens, I have a little statement. They say, they spit, we hit. Well, well done, Mr. Churchill. When they spit, we hit. For the love of God, someone protect Hawk to a girl. Now, obviously, this is a bit of a change in attitude from Trump towards Trump.

protecting law enforcement from his previous January 6th attitude of they hit. We don't give a shit. So why this escalation? Top Trump aide Stephen Miller. What is it young Lord Vader wanted? Stephen Miller held a meeting screaming at ICE officials to arrest more undocumented immigrants. Yeah, that sounds like him. Although I'm pretty sure Stephen Miller wasn't screaming. I think it's just his default tone is banshee.

It's what happens when oxygen molecules are desperate to exit his unholy lungs. So it just comes out like, get them! Miller setting a new quota of 3,000 arrests per day to include more than just migrants with criminal records. Miller reportedly asked ICE officials, hey, why aren't you at Home Depot? And don't say because they're not bothering anybody down there because they're bothering me. Lest you say at home, I'm sure that's an exaggeration.

I'm sure Stephen Miller understands overwhelmingly that these are people and not monsters. -They released people into this nation, not people, monsters. Deport, deport, deport. -Deport, deport, deport. I'm gonna guess that's what Stephen Miller shouts when he comes. -Deport! -And then, obviously, to be sensitive to his partner, he has to be like, "You deported two, right?"

And then she probably goes, you know, yeah, and then goes into the shower and self-deports. So now, predictably, these non-targeted, much broader deportation efforts in cities that feel very connected to the immigrant population is a tinderbox. And Trump happily lights the fuse.

Peaceful protesters mixed with anarchists and vandals pushed back by horseback and tear gas. Nothing could survive the onslaught except the attitude of teenagers. F*** you, Dad! Luckily, in the midst of all this chaos, there have been no fatalities. Well, human fatalities. Self-driving car company Waymo said it was suspending service after at least five of its cars were vandalized and set on fire. Took five of them before you were like...

Should we stop sending the Waymos? You think they're just sitting around? You know, four could be a coincidence. But it was no coincidence. It is believed that those Waymos were summoned or booked by the protesters with the intention of then getting them to the location and torching them. My God. How dare you? How could you use Waymo's innocence and helpful spirit against the Waymo? Imagine for a moment...

Waymo's disappointment upon realizing it was, as Admiral Akbar might say, a trap. You got Waymo going, hello, it is my honor to take you to Hollywood and what are you doing? No! I'm giving you only one star! No! For more on the immigration raids, we go out live to Los Angeles and our very own Jordan Klepper. Jordan! Thank you for joining us. Jordan, where do we stand right now?

Where do we stand right now with the immigration raids? Well, the Trump administration does not see these raids as an overreach. They see this as a necessary to confront one of the world's most notorious gangs. Gangs? Would they believe these people are, what, trend de Aragua? Even worse. Casa del Depot. That's just Home Depot in Spanish.

Si, senor, these are bad hombres. Jordan, they're just day laborers. Oh, well, to the uninformed, perhaps, but I've seen some of the pictures of what these folks are capable of. Gruesome depravity. You know what? If anyone at home is watching and there are children in the room, you might want to ask them to leave, but take a look at this. Disgusting. Disgusting.

What am I... I mean, what am I looking at? It's like a stone wall? You're looking at what was supposed to be a Tuscan-inspired retaining wall. Does that look Tuscan-inspired to you, John? I mean, it looks fine, I guess. John, I didn't pay these guys $40 each for fine. Look at my side patio. I mean...

Okay. They're f***ing impatient, John. I mean, are you kidding me? They can't handle full sun. Look. Look at these stairs. Does this buff sandstone look plum to you? Jordan, I don't know what any of those words mean. Okay. Tell me these guys aren't the worst of the worst. Jordan...

See, isn't this what the Trump administration wants? For people to conflate violent gang members with innocent day laborers who are already being exploited? I don't think anyone would be complaining about a rational system of due process getting rid of criminals. But this right now is needlessly provocative in Los Angeles. You're right. You're right. I'm sorry. I lost my head. You know, the American guys quoted me a patio figure that just was... I mean, I'm on basic cable, John. Uh...

But you're right, I can't get behind indiscriminately kicking out blameless workers, especially since I still want to put in a koi pond. But you know what? You can't expect a compassionate approach to deportation when you got a psycho like Stephen Miller in charge. I mean, that guy just gives me the willies. Jordan, don't look. But Stephen Miller is behind. Is he clicking? Is Stephen Miller clicking? Yeah, John, he's clicking now, right?

He uses echolocation to hunt his prey. He found me, okay? I shouldn't have said his name. I just can't say it again or another Stephen Miller will appear. It's too late for me! All right? Just... John, John, tell my wife I love her idea to build a gazebo next to the koi pond. I'm gonna stay away from her! I'm gonna stay away from her face! Join in clever, everybody! Join in clever! I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm sure he'll be fine. That was eerie.

Very eerie. Moving back to the tension, turmoil, and violence coming out of Los Angeles, it's hard to watch an American city torn apart like this. And quite honestly, I was a bit surprised, but even the magosphere is somber and reflective at what they're seeing in Los Angeles. It's deeply, deeply unfortunate. Look,

I'll be honest, this like really hurts my soul. I think it's a sad thing to see. No one wants to see this. I hate to see it. I think America hates to see it. Most importantly, it's going to be bad for the country. I think it is important for us to pray, you know, for peace. Sorry, I'm being told that wasn't about Los Angeles. That was them heartbroken that Trump and Elon have gone no contact. That's a slightly different thing. That's true. That's true.

See, for the right right now, I guess that's the real national tragedy. Elon Musk has unfollowed cat turd. We must pray for peace. See, the upset in L.A. is in a blue state, in a blue city, with people that they don't give a f***.

I'm incredibly happy with President Trump's decision. Trump is right on target with this. This just screams common sense. An enormous positive for our country. It's certainly well-deserved. There was never any consequences, and now the hammer is being dropped. Do you want to live in Los Angeles, which is mini Mexico? To be fair, they also have a fantastic Koreatown. But you know, why escalate this shit now? The unrest in L.A.'s predictable outcome of these aggressive tactics

I believe the right refers to federal overreaches. Don't tread on me, we the people, cold dead hands, something along those lines. So why is this happening now? What's it meant to distract from? I mean, I can't even remember, what were we even talking about right before the first Waymo went up in flames? Elon Musk is now accusing Trump of being in the Epstein files. Oh, right. That's what we were talking about. Which, now, to be fair to Trump...

It is ridiculous. I mean, you can't just make wild accusations like that just because Trump and Epstein hung out once or twice or Trump was in the flight logs or Epstein called Trump his closest friend or they went to parties and whispered, you know, I can only assume biblical passages in each other's ears. I'm telling you. I'm telling you, Epstein. Two Corinthians. You got to check it out. It's f***ing awesome. It's not a crime to be in each other's hearts.

And what indication has Trump ever given that there may be things within those Epstein files that may be concerning to him? Would you declassify the 9-11 files? Yeah. Would you declassify JFK files? Yeah. I did. I did a lot of it. Would you declassify the Epstein files? Yeah. Yeah, I would. All right. I guess I would. I think that less so because, you know, you don't know. You don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there. A lot of phony stuff in there.

You know, you can put anything in a file, say anything about anybody. By the way, just for the record, asking a 17-year-old masseuse if she's planning on staying in the United States, that's a legitimate question. And the rest of the video is AI. If there's a video. My favorite moment was when the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, found out Elon accused Trump of being on the Epstein list live while podcasting.

Does he know that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files? Does he have access to the Epstein files? I don't know how he would, but I'm just staying out of the Trump-Elon thing. That's way outside my lane. What the f*** are they doing? I know my lane and that ain't it. Not your lane? Aren't you literally in charge of the Epstein files? I know my lane. I'm just a guy in charge of law enforcement domestically. Conspiracy crimes cover-ups, Home Depot parking overcrowded, you know. But now, because of their personal issues, Musk has threatened to expose Trump.

And Trump has threatened to cancel Musk's government contracts. And he's threatened serious consequences to Musk if Musk funds Democratic candidates. It must be hard for the right to see how petty and petulant these two man babies are and how they wield their power in vindictive and capricious manners when they don't get exactly their way and the damage that that behavior causes.

And I guess what I would say to the right is, welcome to our f***ing world. Every day. Now you know. Now you know. Harvard won't bend the knee? Attack. A law firm represented a Democrat? Attack. A long-term ally that prefers to retain its sovereignty? Attack. A small mom-and-pop business just trying to complete an $8 billion merger? Attack.

Attacked. You on the right didn't give a shit when Godzilla and Mothra teamed up to destroy the city. You're only mad that now they're fighting each other. Because you just got a taste of their paper-thin, oversensitive, fragile, ego-driven nihilism. Or, as you call it...

It's like watching two giants fight. These are two titans. Two very strong-willed heavyweights. Two big dogs living in close quarters. Two grown men that are fighting. Two alpha males duking it out. Alpha males? I don't think we're watching the same fight. You're seeing this. It's actually this. It's just a couple f***ing pussies.

If these were two alphas fighting, Ted Cruz's description of their fight wouldn't be this funny. These are two alpha males who are pissed off. And unfortunately, they're unloading on each other. Oh, shit! I'm a citizen! I'm going to be me! When we come, I'll be swapping hot takes with Stephen A. Smith! No! No!

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Upgrade now at washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change, and certain restrictions may apply. The NBC Nightly News. Legacy isn't handed down. We're NBC News. I'm Tom Brokaw. We hope to see you back here. I'm Lester Holt. It's carried forward. Tom Yamits is there for us. Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with breaking news right now. We look for a constant. And from one era to the next, trust is the key.

is the anchor for NBC Nightly News I'm Tom Yamas a new chapter begins NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas evenings on NBC there's only one place where go-go beats post through the streets where you can visit the only national museum dedicated exclusively to African American life history and culture there's only one DC visit Washington.org to plan your trip

Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight, he is the host of ESPN's First Take and the Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube, where he discusses politics, culture, sports, whatever comes to his mind. Please welcome to the program, Stephen A. Smith, sir! ♪♪

How are you? I'm doing great. That's a great crowd. How you doing, man? Lovely. It's so nice to see you. Elephant in the room. NBA basketball final. You and I are ride or die New York Knickerbocker fans. Yes. It's been a disappointing. And to have them just end the playoffs there and not continue, I thought was the right move. Oh, yes. Yes.

You think after you blow a 17-point lead with over six minutes left, 14 with 251 left, nine with 52 seconds left, and you end up losing game one. I didn't want to admit it to the world at that time, but I knew they were done. You did know they were done. I kind of knew. My son was there in the rafters. When Jalen Brunson hit, there was a point, there was probably like a minute and some left. They had a nine-point lead. Right. They hit it, and he made the fatal mistake that a Knicks fan, and now he knows. I had to school him on it. He did the bye-bye.

He did the bye-bye on a selfie. Here's the crime. The crime. Can he be arrested for that? The crime. He should. He should. And I'm going to tell you why. All right, sir. Because who does the bye-bye? That's Steph Curry. The greatest shooter God has ever created. Yes. That guy in the 2009 draft was drafted seventh overall. Yes, I know. Who had the eighth pick?

It was the Knicks. Who did we take? Hill? Who did we take? Somebody's not even in the league. Yeah, Jordan. Jordan Hill. Yes. So my point to you is that if you were that close, yet you're so far.

Because you missed out on him. You would think you would know better than doing that. That doesn't belong to you. You're a Nick. You're not a warrior. He's just a boy. He's just a boy. He's doing his best. Children learn at a very young age. You've got to know better. You've got to know better. We cannot. We cannot have raised him poorly. I made him a Mets fan. He's got to have some fun. You did it. You did a good job. It's just that when it comes to sports.

None of us are perfect. No, well, I appreciate that. Now, you, though, are into everything now. You've been doing political commentary. You were on a show where you did a roundtable with the president.

Donald Trump. Chris Cuomo, News Nation, Chris Cuomo, Bill O'Reilly. President Trump came on because of Bill O'Reilly. It was an interesting evening to say the least. He called them for a half hour. He was rambling. I still don't know what he said. He was rambling. I mean, he said a lot. He said a lot. And I brought up HBCUs, historically black colleges and universities, asking him about his contribution or the contribution he was intending to make to them. And he says, I love the black people. The black.

I love them, Stephen. He became a Rastafarian? Something like that. Something like that. Without the dreads. Can I tell you the crazy part? Stephen brought up Harvard and what was happening at Harvard. And he brought up Harlem. And the president goes, you know, Stephen, Harlem is coming. And I thought, does he think Harvard is in Harlem or does he just hear Hall?

and just goes, when? I guess so. I guess so. I don't have the answer to that question, but it was an interesting experience, to say the least. Sitting there talking to him about it, and you know what? And then they asked him. They asked him, they said, you know, if there's anything that you think you did wrong, anything that you think you would correct, whatever. He said, honestly, I can't think of anything. I think I've been pretty close to perfect.

And I said, that's him. That's the Donald Trump I've always known. Did you know him prior to this? I knew him prior to him running for the presidency. I've often told this story. In 2014, he wanted to purchase the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Right. The price tag was $1.4 billion. That's it? He had one at the time. At the time, yes, because it's over $6 billion now with the commanders and all that stuff. But at the time, it was $1.4 billion. My sources tell me he had $1.1 billion.

And he said to me, and he said to me, he literally called me in 2014, and he says, Stephen, I'm going to tell you this right now, and this is a quote. If them motherfuckers get in my way, I'm going to get them all back. I'm going to run for president. Those are his exact words. And so the NFL often jokes with me, so it's our fault when I tell them that story. And I said, yeah. May I please have a close-up, please? Yes.

People of Buffalo. Give him the f***. How is that possible? Now, why did he call you for the purpose of putting together a group? Essentially, he was just putting the word out. He was putting the word out that if this doesn't happen, he wanted to do it, and this should happen. I'm Donald Trump. I'm very popular. I'm well-known. I'm worth over a billion dollars. I should be able to purchase an NFL team if I want it. And if I can't get it, it's because they're getting in my way. That was his position. Their position was...

You didn't have enough money. You didn't have enough money. That was their position. He was already in what, the USFL? That's right. That was years ago. That was in the 80s. But he was looking. This was 2014. Right. And that was the last time that I had spoken to him until that town hall meeting on News Nation. And as you watch...

All these things unfold. Do you think yourself? Yep. He got us all back. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How could you not? I mean, because listen, listen, there are things I don't think anybody I'm a centrist at heart. I always vote. I usually vote Democrat. The only Republican I've ever voted for was Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey. Outside of that, I've always voted Democrat. But there's a lot of things that I think can be done differently. I thought the left blew this election more so than him winning it.

Really? Oh, yeah. The left definitely blew it. I thought that the progressive left, the extreme left, really, really ruined the election for the Democrats. What? That's how I view it. It's the truth. And I think that because that happened, it positioned him to get away with a lot of things. His position on immigration has been well known. He let you know what he was going to do. A lot of times... Sure. He did it on an escalator. Yeah, yeah. How about that? The most powerful mode of transportation there is. He doesn't care. And here's the thing about it is, listen...

Don't be surprised when you see him and you're thinking about pettiness or you're thinking about vengeance or whatever. Right. He's viewing it as they try to put me in prison. They try to put me behind bars for the rest of my life. Right. I'm going to get them all. And he won't just openly admit it. He'll say stuff like, I wouldn't do that, but I'd have the right to if I wanted to. He's letting you know. And the people that he's also doing it.

Oh, yeah. To a degree, yes, he is. No question about it. But don't you think, you know, it would be reasonable to say that January 6th was a moment that

have maybe gotten him some legal, you know, that wasn't a happenstance. I am one of those people who firmly believes it was an insurrection. There's no question about it. I'm not backing up from that. But the reality is that I pay attention to 70 plus million people who felt otherwise or did not give a damn because what they did, what they said was we're looking at this country, the state of affairs that exists within this nation and we're concerned about

ourselves. We ain't got time for that. We don't care whether he's in jail or not. We might care if he's in a White House or not, but we don't care whether he's in jail or not. And if you're the left and you engaged in what the right would say is lawfare, trying to use the courts to keep from having to compete with him, and then you're putting forth some of these policies, whether it's transgender issues or other stuff that they would bring up, you had a lot of people to say, that's not where our focus should lie. But don't you think that's their focus? Whose focus?

The right. I feel like the right is far more focused on where you go to the bathroom than the left. I feel like the left is a more laissez-faire. Like, you know, look, I think the left is easy. It's easy to paint the extreme and to create a hyperbolic vision of the left as this woke army. I think it's exaggerated. Yes. But here's the problem, John. Yeah.

You can be on national TV every single week doing a phenomenal job that you do. One day a week. I know that. I said every week. I just say one. I know this. Once this. I said every week. One day. I said every week. I didn't say every day. The point is, the point is, is that even though you're pointing that out,

When you're running for an election, it's about what's going to win. And they knew that that was a strategy that was going to be a winning strategy for them. But then how is it the left's fault if it's not real? Because you got to know what works and what doesn't and fight fire with fire. You got to know how to win it, how to win. They called him Hitler. Did that work? No. Did that work? Exactly. A matter of fact, a lot of people dismissed that argument because they accused the left of engaging in the extreme because you didn't want to compete against them.

Think about this. The mayor rolled down the escalators in 2015, okay? He's dominated the GOP and the Republican Party since that moment in time. Who the hell has done that for the left? It was Hillary's turn in 2016, even though Bernie was gaining traction. In 2020, Representative Clyburn had to come to the rescue of South Carolina in order for Joe Biden to even be relevant. And then, obviously, with COVID and everything that transpired and how Trump handled that particular situation, it escalated.

it favored the Democrats. Then you get into office,

Biden promised to be a transitional president, a one-term president. I'm just here to be as a stopgap to make sure that we can return to normalcy. And then the second he got in and there was no red wave in 2022, he said, hell with that. I ain't leaving. I ain't leaving. And then what happened? Once you touch the ring, though. Once you touch the ring. There you go. It's an addiction. It's an addiction, right? And then sure enough, when the red wave didn't happen and the Democrats won more than anybody expected them to in 2022, they let him get away with it. And think about

You call yourself the left. You call yourself a progressive party. And you are standing up at the State of the Union, clapping and chanting four more years for a man that was going to be 82 once the election, once the inauguration day took place with four more years. And America looked at you and said, have you lost your ever-loving mind? That's what the hell happened. It's very simple. It ain't that damn complicated.

It really isn't. But that seems to be a cross-purposes, Stephen A. Smith. And let me, let's first take this. Okay, please. Let me take a different position. You're doing a very good job. Because you are saying, you're going to have me on that show. You're welcome. You're welcome. Come on. What time does it take? Is it only once a week? 10 a.m. 5 days a week. 10 a.m. to noon. You come one day. Don't grind me down to it. You come one day. Yeah.

When you talk about, so that's two separate things. One is they allowed a, what people would consider to be a centrist old guard Democrat to run again for president. And then you say the progressive left wing is the one that didn't, they didn't choose Joe Biden. They don't have the power in that party. Chuck Schumer is out there, you know, writing eight strongly worded questions to Donald Trump about getting the progressives are the one going,

People in this country want Medicare for all. Do something. They're the ones that have a principled agenda that they are going to put forth that all the Democrats have run from under the guise of we have to be moderate and we have to be centrist. But that doesn't appeal to us.

changing the culture and dynamic of how this government should work by the people, for the people, of the people. That's a great argument, and I don't disagree. What I'm saying to you is that... We're done here. What I am saying to you... What I am saying to you, however, is that the messenger matters.

And when you have somebody in their 70s like Bernie at the time, when you have somebody in their late 70s approaching their 80s like Joe Biden. He could barely get up the stairs of the airport. But the GOP is the one that lives on their tradition, old school ways, not necessarily want things to change. We want free market cap.

We want closed borders. We want strong national security. This is what they say. And their message is resolute and the same and the same and the same, even though their tactics obviously vary. When you look at the left, there always seems to be something new, at least in the eyes.

the eyes of a lot of people. The Democratic Party looks very, very fragmented. You look at them and you're saying, OK, is it the progressive left? Is this centrist? Who are we vibing with? Who are we flowing with? Who's going to get it done? Who can beat Trump? Because you've got to think about the competition. If Trump, and I've often said this too, they said, why is Trump so popular? Somebody asked me this a few months ago. And I said, let me tell y'all something.

You have certain voters out there, and they're looking at you, and they say, okay, you know, Jon Stewart's a voter. Well, Jon Stewart's looking at you, and he hears you say, look, we've got to fix our economy. We've got to, you know, patrol our borders. We've got to do a better job of making sure we take care of the desolate and the disenfranchised. Think about them. Think about small businesses throughout this country, et cetera, et cetera. And then you have another candidate that comes along, and they say...

The hell with them. They ain't worth a damn. They're crooks. They're no good bastards. I can't stand them, and you shouldn't either. The American people who voted for Trump are like, yeah, that's what we're talking about, because that's how they feel about our elected officials. So they think they have somebody speaking their language that has enough venom, enough hostility, enough disgust with the nation's capital, and they're saying he's not one of them. He's one of us. That's why he's popular, but J.D. Vance might not be.

That's why he's popular, but Marco Rubio wasn't. That's why he's popular, but Ted Cruz wasn't. He's got the touch. He's the charismatic demagogue that can do that. So in your mind, you're suggesting this may be a one-off. So who inherits? Because he can't constitutionally run again. Or do you think, in the same way that he went, and by the way, I don't know if this happens to people when they're talking to you, but all of a sudden, I'm talking much faster than I've ever talked before in my entire life. And I'm flicking things around, and I'm...

And I'm moving my hands and I'm doing this. And I've never spoken like this in my entire life. And I am scared because I don't know how I'm going to stop. And I keep wanting to say Stephen A. Smith. I want to see your whole name. That's right. Well, Stephen. What's happening to me, Stephen? Stephen A. works. You haven't spoken to me enough because if you spoke to me enough, it'd be Stephen A., not just Stephen A. Smith. Really? Really.

That's right. Do you think I could ever get to the point where it's just Stephen A.? Yeah, I do. I think after today, you will get there. I'd like that very much. I think after today, you will get there. I'd like that. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm your brother. You know what I'm saying? So you'll do that. Listen to this stuff. I do want to ask you this. Yeah. Because as you, so your name now, because as you're observing this, you're pushing those buttons.

You're the one saying, as Trump had said, yes, it is corrupt. It is... These people are bums. They don't have your best. And now that has thrust you into that conversation. Yes. And the question is, is that something that appeals to the vanity? Is it something that appeals to your principle, to your morality? Where do you take that interest, and how do you...

People think I'm interested in being an elected official. I have no desire to be that. I'd have to give up a lot of money to do that, first of all. I don't want to do that. I don't know if you know that, but the rules have changed. You don't. I like that.

A lot of my money. Not only that. A lot of my money. Say, say, I earned my money. A Stephen A. meme coin would be rolling billions of dollars. But check this out. If you were the president of the United States. I feel you on that. But the way I look at it is that the money that I have earned working my ass off all of these years, now I would have to curry favor, which means I would be owned and I ain't having that. So I'm not interested in that at all. But having said that...

Like I consider you to be and various others, I want to be a major player in terms of a voice and a conduit for change. I want to make sure that people know that the BS has got to stop. A facilitator. Oh, yeah, I don't mind doing that. I don't mind doing that at all. You want to be a hell raiser. You want to make sure you make people uncomfortable and that they're not going to get away with the BS that they've been getting.

Because I believe white, black, and everything in between, society as a whole, by and large, are a lot of great, God-fearing individuals that can get along just fine. I think the politicians in this country have served to divide us and paint us against one another for their own selfish deeds. And I think that they have contributed to the demise of this country. So I don't mind calling them out at all.

I don't give a damn who it is. It could be a councilman. It could be a mayor. It could be a governor. It could be a senator or a representative, the president himself. I could care less. Whoever needs to go needs to go. And I'm about it. It's been a pleasure. I do have to say, if you had run for president three years ago when the New York Knickerbockers signed a young point guard named Jalen Brunson,

Stephen A. Smith went on television. Might have been ESPN. Sat there and he looked dead in the camera. Right in the eyes. And he said to the people of America, white, black, and everything in between, Jalen Brunson ain't the guy. To me, that's an impeachable offense. And I would not have... Can I respond? You may.

First of all, let me say something. Let me say something the president would never say. I may never stop talking like this. I was wrong. I was wrong. Which Jalen Brunson reminds me of, and he reminded me of that night, game six, when they beat Boston. He always reminds me of it every time he says it. But here's the thing. At that time, Kevin Durant with Kyrie Irving was supposed to be arriving in New York. They had missed out on getting those guys, and they gave us Jalen Brunson. Now I ask you respectfully...

Especially at that particular moment in time. KD, as in Kevin Durant, with Kyrie Irving, and we are all anticipating them coming to the Garden, okay?

And then we find out they go into Brooklyn. They change their mind at the 11th hour. Kyrie got Katie to change it. Do not change the subject, sir. And we got Jalen Brunson. I'm sorry. What a crime that I felt that way. I don't feel that way now. But at the time, I'm sorry I felt that way. I stand by my position. Important context. And I just want to say to the people, when you turned and you said, and I will tell you, I saw the soul of Stephen A. Smith after dark. And I liked what I saw.

Before we go, we're going to check in with your host for the rest of the week, Desi Lydon. Desi!

Desi, what are we going to be looking at this week? Oh, huge week coming up, John. I'll be covering all the preparations for this Saturday's Ed Parade down in D.C. Trump cannot stop talking about it. Who knew he was such an ally? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the...

Military parade, Donald Trump. So that's not that's not pride related. That's a military. No, I don't think so, John. It's the middle of June. The flags, the flare, the jacked men in uniform who are serving. Mark my words, those streets will be flooded with semen. You're talking about men who serve in the Navy. No, I'm not.

Desi Lydic all this week, ladies and gentlemen. Here it is, your moment of death. Now the threat of active military raises a certain question about whether the White House is in the job of de-escalation or escalation. And I think that's a fair question to ask, given what we've seen over the last 24 hours. And we are now seeing on our screen right now what appears to be a dumpster fire. Yes, yes, yeah.

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