Stephen A. Smith Fires Back at Trump Over Apparent Nap During Knicks Finals Game

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith has escalated his on-air criticism of Donald Trump following the president's attendance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks faced off against the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.

Smith had previously stated he would hold Trump responsible if the Knicks lost the matchup. When the team fell short, observers noted the president appeared to be sleeping through portions of the game. Trump subsequently responded to Smith's commentary by questioning the analyst's intelligence, saying, "I think he's a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ. I'm not sure that Stephen has that."

On Tuesday's episode of First Take, Smith doubled down on his criticism. "I'm blaming him. Why am I blaming him? Because the President disrupted our mojo. The man messed things up," Smith said. He emphasized the weight of the moment for New York fans, noting the Knicks haven't captured a championship since 1973.

Smith then highlighted what he saw as a glaring contradiction. "The brother wasn't awake. He wasn't awake. If it was that important for you to be there, why did you look like you were asleep? Didn't you call our former President Joe Biden, 'Sleepy Joe'? Well, what should we call you? Cause you weren't awake. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks were blowing Game 3. You turned your back on them. For your own selfish, narcissistic motives."

The analyst also addressed Trump's IQ jab head-on, suggesting an alternative resolution. "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 me, I could ask you to debate me since you think you're that dude. We could go a myriad of ways."

With the series set to continue as a best-of-seven matchup, the Knicks will travel to San Antonio for Game 5 against the Spurs.