Top Democrat Stephen A. Smith praised former First Lady Michelle Obama just one hour before he slammed her on Fox News.
The ESPN celebrity joined NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Monday evening where he responded to the former first lady’s recent remarks likening the sports network to reality TV.
Smith insisted there is ‘no kerfuffle’ between him and Obama, as he begun singing her praises.
‘She’ll always be my first lady. As far as I’m concerned, she’s the greatest first lady in American history. I deeply admire her,’ the 57-year-old First Take personality stated.
He then questioned how much of a true sports fan her husband, former President Barack Obama, is, joking that perhaps it was ‘all Barack Obama’s fault because he’s just too smooth.’
‘…This guy is so smooth, just sitting back while his Chicago Bulls won championships with [Michael] Jordan, and losing every other time,’ Smith continued.
However, he noted feeling ‘offended as a black man when [Michelle Obama] was campaigning for Kamala Harris’ and remarked that ‘a vote for … Trump would be a vote against us as women.’
‘I get where she was coming from and, of course, I voted for Kamala Harris. But my point is… each person has their one major issue they focus on when voting.’
Stephen A Smith sat down with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Monday night when he addressed Michelle Obama’s recent comments comparing ESPN to reality television
The former first lady compared his show to the Real Housewives of Atlanta on her podcast
‘I never forgot that she said that, nor did I forget, nor appreciated how Obama was talking to black individuals in Pittsburgh when he said that to the young black men there,’ Smith noted.
He argued that black men ‘believe that women are highly, highly capable, better than us, smarter than us, you know, more composed than us in a lot of different situations.
‘So I’m like, “Where are you getting that from?”‘
Smith then concluded his remarks by saying he thought it was ‘important to bring that up’ because even though he ‘didn’t like that coming out of their mouths,’ it was ‘the only thing that I have ever disliked about Michelle Obama, because I think she’s wonderful.’
But just one hour later, in an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity on Monday night, Smith suggested that the former First Lady’s comments comparing ESPN to the Real Housewives of Atlanta proves she leaves sports ‘to her husband.’
He then said: ‘You can say Stephen A. Smith is lot of things and will be a lot of things. The one thing you can never say about me is that I’m going to be a housewife.’
‘She was comparing reality TV to sports TV from the standpoint of watching us go at one another,’ Smith began.
‘Well first of all, there’s no relationship because these are some of the greatest athletes on the planet earth that play professional sports – that’s who we’re talking about as opposed to reality TV stars that can barely act.
Smith blasted Obama in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity an hour later
In his remarks, Smith suggested the former first lady leaves sports ‘to her husband’
‘Number two, when you look at what she’s talking about, you also have to take into consideration that she doesn’t really pay much attention to sports – evidently she leaves that to her husband.
‘And when she talked about First Take, she talked us arguing with one another, hating on one another. We have a lot of love for one another on “First Take”.
‘We get along just fine, we have a blast – laughing, joking, having a ball, yelling at each other about sports sometimes. We’re monotone in our delivery but we have a lot of fun on First Take. That’s why we’ve been number one for 13 consecutive years – and counting.
‘Number three, let me say this to the other people that were on the table with her. You can say Stephen A. Smith is lot of things and will be a lot of things. The one thing you can never say about me is that I’m going to be a housewife. There’s no confusion there. Zero.’
The former first lady had sparked the war of words in a recent episode of her IMO podcast.
‘If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it’s like watching the “Real Housewives of Atlanta,”‘ the former First Lady said. ‘It’s the same drama, and they’re yelling at each other, and they don’t get along, you know? I mean, Stephen A. Smith, he’s just like every other talk show host.’
It was then jokingly put to Obama that Smith would be a ‘great Real Housewife’. The popular reality franchise details the lives of well-off women from different regions.
After her comments went viral, Obama was taken to task by Smith on his YouTube show. The ESPN star urged her to invite more ‘dissenting opinions’ on IMO and said he was still ‘salty’ over Obama’s comments on Trump.
