The public back-and-forth between ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith and President Donald Trump intensified this week following the New York Knicks’ Game 3 loss in the NBA Finals.
The exchange began after Smith suggested he would blame Trump for the Knicks’ defeat after the president attended the game at Madison Square Garden. Trump later responded by calling Smith an “arrogant fool” and a “low IQ individual,” adding that the sports commentator would be “annihilated” in a political debate.
Reporter: Stephen A. Smith said he would blame you if the Knicks lost tonight how do you respond
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 9, 2026
Donald Trump: I think he's a nice guy but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ, I don't really think Stephen A Smith has that
LLLMMFFAAOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/8nodMdflUh
Smith addressed the remarks during a recent appearance, challenging Trump’s criticism and questioning why the president has not agreed to a conversation with him.
“You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours,” Smith said. “I got something even better. I could ask you why you’ve been running from me for the past year since I asked you to talk to me. I could ask you to debate me since you think you’re that dude.”
Stephen A Smith responds to Donald Trump calling him a low IQ individual on First Take:
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 9, 2026
“You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours, I got something even better I could ask you why you been running from me for the past year since I asked you to talk to… https://t.co/iI1DpLjkRb pic.twitter.com/Edon6R1fzF
The comments mark the latest chapter in an increasingly public feud between the two media personalities, blending sports, politics, and entertainment during the NBA Finals.