President Trump hit back at Stephen A. Smith before leaving New York just after midnight Tuesday after the ESPN analyst wildly ranted he would blame the president if the Knicks lost Game 3 in the NBA finals.
Smith, who has been touted as a Democratic candidate for the 2028 election cycle, claimed Trump had “no business” attending Monday night’s game at The World’s Most Famous Arena, and said, “If it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him.”
Trump was asked about Smith’s “First Take” tirade on the ground at JFK Airport ahead of his return to Washington – and the commander-in-chief described the pundit as a “nice guy” before shredding his intelligence.
“You need a certain aptitude to run for president,” he said.
“You need a high IQ. I’m not sure Stephen has that. I don’t think he does.”
Trump watched the Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs with his granddaughter Kai – and he became the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game.
He saluted the NYPD officers carrying the American flag during the National Anthem.
But Smith made his opposition about Trump’s attendance clear in an unhinged on-air rant.
“If it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him,” he raged, which sparked laughter in the studio.
“I’m blaming the president of the United States! I’m gonna stay on that.
“I’ve been fair-minded, down the middle as an Independent for a long time. Hell hath no fury like Stephen A. scorned if the New York Knicks lose tonight.
“I’m gonna be in their a– like back pockets, like white on rice. I’m telling you that right now.
“We better not lose tonight’s game! We were riding, we were flowing, and this man gonna show up to the Garden tonight. You gotta be kidding me!”
Smith branded Trump’s decision to attend the game as “selfish and narcissistic.”
“This president has no business showing up in New York City,” he claimed. Smith then tried to clarify he would’ve been equally opposed to a sitting Democratic president attending the game.
“I would say the same thing about Obama, George W., Clinton, I don’t give a damn if we went back to Reagan,” he said.
Reporter: Stephen A. Smith said he would blame you if the Knicks lost tonight how do you respond 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
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod
(@big_business_) June 9, 2026
“This is not a football stadium in some space of Texas where you got a whole bunch of outlays. This is the Garden. This is midtown Manhattan.”
The Knicks lost 115-111, which means the team leads the series 2-1.
Game 4 of the series takes place at the Garden Wednesday night.
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