ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith has a message for Trump administration officials: Stop groveling.
Smith torched Donald Trump’s inner circle, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and Vice President JD Vance. On Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, Smith said he “threw up about three times” over their constant brown-nosing.
“If I see another one of these administration officials fawning over Donald Trump, I’m going to lose my damn mind,” Smith said. “What happened to just doing your job?”
The sports analyst said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was an exception, calling him the “only adult in the room.” People may disagree with this assessment after Rubio was caught wearing ill-fitting shoes to appease the president.
“The kissing of his a-- is so nauseating,” Smith said.
Smith, 58, said he’s fine with Trump officials expressing their loyalty to the president, but noted that the “fawning” creates distrust among the American people.
“If you fawn over him so much, you’re shoving or throwing objectivity right out the window,” he continued. “And then the chances of us believing that you would ever disagree with him or you would ever speak against him in any way on behalf of the American people is not something we can trust.”
Trump’s top cabinet members have developed a reputation for being sycophantic. The president, 79, even seemed a little bored with it, as he appeared to be dozing off while Hegseth and FBI director Kash Patel praised him at a public safety roundtable last week.
Smith, who is known for his boisterous hot takes on the latest sports news, has become quite the outspoken politico in the past months. He even teased a 2028 Democratic presidential bid. He told CBS Sunday Morning in February that he was “giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027.”
However, it looks like he has put his presidential aspirations on pause. In early March, he told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he didn’t want to become president because of the pay cut. Smith makes about $40 million annually, according to The Athletic.
“Let me put the presidential aspirations to bed,” he said on the podcast Hang Out with Sean Hannity. “If I have to give up my money, it’s not happening.”
Still, Smith continues to build his political cachet. He frequently discusses politics with lawmakers, mayors, and commentators on his podcast Straight Shooter.
