Stephen A. Smith says 'we are sick' of 'transgender issues and culture wars' after teasing presidential bid
ESPN sports debate host Stephen A. Smith has thrown himself so deep into the political arena he claimed he would consider running for president during an interview on "The View" Thursday. And he's already analyzing the failed strategy of the Democrats in this year's election.
During an interview on "The Will Cain Show" later Thursday, Smith delivered a scathing critique of the Democratic National Committee and its message ahead of Election Day and pointed to transgender issues as one of its weak points.
"It’s such a strong tilt to the progressive left where we are talking about transgender issues and culture wars and identity politics and all of this stuff. We are sick of all of that. That makes total, total sense to me, and I’m good with it, even though I didn’t vote for [Trump]. I’m not as taken aback and feeling like nothing but gloom and doom and the world is coming to an end because the person I voted for didn’t win," Smith said.
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Smith previously spoke about the topic of transgender athletes in women's sports during an interview with Bill O'Reilly June 16, 2023.
"In my opinion, no," Smith said when asked if he believed transgender athletes should be permitted to compete against women. "I'm very supportive of the homosexual community, the transgender community in that regard. But when you talk about people who are born men, competing in a women's sport because they've transitioned to women, that is definitely a discussion that we should all have, because, on its face, I don't see how it's possible nor do I see how it's right. … There's a fairness issue there."
In 2016, Smith questioned the validity of a lawsuit filed by an LGBT rights group in North Carolina over a state law that aimed to restrict transgender people from using the bathrooms of their preferred gender during an episode on his ESPN Radio show. North Carolina passed House Bill 2, which required people to use the bathroom that corresponded to the sex on their birth certificate in public buildings and government agencies. The bill was the first of its kind in the United States.
However, Smith still mocked women who claimed to have felt "unsafe" sharing a bathroom with biological men during that same monologue.
"They get too hyperbolic, they engage in too much hyperbole, because that's not what the issue is. You don't have to be scared and feel unsafe to not want a man in a bathroom with you if you're a woman. You just don't want to be in there with them because you're of a different gender because there's a male bathroom and there's a female bathroom and that's that," Smith said.
"Don't give me the unsafe part! Like ‘Oh my god, I’m scared for my life.' … Stop! That's not the issue!"
The topic of transgender rights, specifically transgender inclusion in women's sports, became a hot button issue in the 2024 election cycle. It became such a weak point for the Democrats that many of the party's candidates backed away from supporting transgender people.
Those Democrats included Texas Rep. Collin Allred, Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola. Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown recently defended himself when being linked to the issue by claiming he was never in favor of allowing biological males in women's sports. Allred, Peltola and Brown all lost their election races.
Vice President Kamala Harris did not speak extensively about her stance on the issue of transgender athletes in sports after becoming the Democratic nominee in July, sidestepping questions in interviews with Fox News and NBC News on her past support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care for prisoners and illegal immigrants.
However, other key figures in the Democratic Party have doubled down on their support for transgender rights and inclusion in women's sports throughout the election cycle.
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked the Green Party presidential ticket after the party's vice presidential nominee, Butch Ware, spoke out against transgender athletes in women's sports.
"Like I said. This ticket is predatory and people deserve better," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X in response to a video of Ware stating his beliefs on transgender athletes.
In April, the Biden-Harris administration issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions."
And while the administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports.
Democrats have tried to push forward the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has had revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls sports teams." In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights."
Multiple U.S. states have their own laws to restrict or prevent transgender inclusion in women's sports. However, even some of the states with those laws have had incidents where transgender inclusion in girls sports was enabled via the ruling of a federal judge.
Judges Landya McCafferty in New Hampshire and M. Hannah Lauck of Virginia, both of whom were appointed during the Obama administration, each issued rulings this year that enabled biological males to play on high school girls soccer and tennis teams. McCafferty issued an order that allowed two transgender athletes to compete on girls high school soccer teams in New Hampshire, while Lauck ruled that an 11-year-old transgender tennis player was allowed to compete against girls the same age in Virginia.
Smith has said multiple times he would consider running for public office. Since the results of the election, he has been one of the few figures in the liberal media to embrace the outcome of Trump's victory and has been heavily critical of left-wing figures like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Jimmy Kimmel in their portrayal of Trump.
Smith has not ruled out a possible presidential run.
"I have no desire to be a congressional figure or a senator. But if you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it," he said on "The View" Thursday.
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