Stephen A. Smith answered Donald Trump’s low IQ insult with an annoyed First Take clapback that quickly moved from the New York Knicks loss to a direct debate challenge.
The exchange started with basketball, but it did not stay there for long. Smith had warned before Game 3 that he would blame Trump if the Knicks lost at Madison Square Garden, and the San Antonio Spurs then walked out with a 115-111 win.
Trump responded by questioning whether Smith had the aptitude and IQ needed to run for president. Smith did not let that sit unanswered.
Stephen A. Smith fires back at Donald Trump low IQ insult after New York Knicks loss
Stephen A. Smith’s response to Donald Trump came after the president questioned his intelligence following Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
“You want to talk about IQ, I could say I’d put my IQ against yours any day of the week. I could go one better,” Smith said.
He added, “I could ask you why you been running from me for the last year, since I wanted to talk to you.”
Smith sounded more irritated than amused. Trump had called him a nice guy, but then used Smith’s past presidential talk to suggest he did not have the intelligence required for the job.
For Smith, that opened the door to a much bigger response than simply defending his Knicks fandom.
Stephen A. Smith challenges Donald Trump after NBA Finals Game 3 feud
The fight began when Smith said he would blame Trump if the Knicks lost Game 3, arguing that the president’s visit could disrupt the night at Madison Square Garden.
“I could ask you to debate me, since you think you’re that dude. We could go a myriad of ways with all of this. But I’m not going to let you off the hook, because none of that is important,” Smith stated.
The Knicks did lose, which gave Trump the perfect opening to respond. But his IQ jab pushed the story away from the scoreboard and into Smith’s broader political profile.
Smith has floated the idea of influencing politics and, at times, discussed a possible future presidential run.
Trump used that history as the setup for the insult, while Smith turned it into a challenge to talk face-to-face instead of trading shots through reporters and television cameras.
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