ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says Trump isn’t racist but won’t get his vote

ESPN personality and host Stephen A. Smith said in an interview he believes former President Trump isn’t a racist, but added that he wouldn’t vote for him. 

While speaking at the Semafor Media Summit, Smith, the star of ESPN’s sports debate show “First Take,” shared that he used to have a good relationship with Trump, noting that both enjoyed talking about sports when Smith attended Trump’s events. 

“I knew Trump before he ran for the presidency. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him. He was a huge sports fan. He used to throw a lot of events at … you know, at his casinos and stuff like that, and I genuinely liked them,” Smith said at the Summit on Monday. 

“I didn’t know who this guy was running for president. I think he’s changed, but I will tell you this: I think when people call him racist and stuff like that, I’ve never thought of Trump that way. It’s not, he’s not against Black people,” Smith added. He’s against old things not named Trump.” 

Smith, who noted that he has conservative views and is not beyond voting for Republicans, said he’s “beyond voting for Trump.” He said his stance is not based on Trump’s politics but on his “statesmanship,” saying the president has to be some who wants to bring the country together, not divide it.

Smith, who occasionally offers his opinions on political and world affairs issues, recently called out Fox News host Tucker Carlson for downplaying the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol. 

Trump, who announced his third presidential campaign at his Mar-a-Lago estate last November, last week became the first former U.S. president criminally charged after being arraigned in New York City. He faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan and has pleaded not guilty to all counts against him.