BEST OF ENEMIES

Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Trump’s ‘Disrespectful’ Obama Comment

“I was shocked that he went that far,” he said on ‘Laura Coates Live’.

Stephen A. Smith has called out President Donald Trump for claiming Barack Obama is ‘overrated.’

The sports journalist and political commentator talked with the president on his podcast, Straight Shooter. The pair discussed the former president, and Smith later admitted he found Trump’s remarks disparaging.

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“I was shocked that he went that far,” he said on Laura Coates Live on CNN on Thursday, after his sit-down with the president was published.

Smith was referring to Trump’s belief that he would beat Obama in a hypothetical presidential race. He called the two-term Democratic leader “overrated.”

“I wasn’t shocked that he said that he’d think he’d beat him, but I was shocked that he’d be so dismissive and disrespectful of Barack Obama. I certainly didn’t think that would happen, to be quite honest with you,” Smith said.

Smith and Trump’s interview took place at the White House. After the broadcaster floated the hypothetical match-up, the 80-year-old president said, “I got many more votes than he got, and I got many more votes in the states. And I have most of the state records of the big states. If you take a look at Texas, I have the all-time record. Florida, I have the all-time record.”

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“Are you saying you’d beat Obama?” Smith asked.

“Yeah, I think I’d beat him easily,” Trump said.

Smith reacted with shock before the president added, “I think he’s highly overrated.”

Trump explained that, in his opinion, Obama was not a “good president” and more of a “divider,” while he himself “brings people together.”

It comes after Trump told Ross Douthat that he cannot forgive his political enemies and admitted, “I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”

When Douthat asked on 60 Minutes if Trump could find it in his heart to forgive his enemies—even if it were a condition for entering heaven—Trump maintained that saying he could forgive them “wouldn’t be real.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Smith corrected Trump when he bragged about his popularity. “It’s interesting that the day after the election, the stock market lost $3 trillion in value, and that tells you that people aren’t in love with the Democrats, because they were voting on Democrats,” the president ranted.

Smith immediately pointed out to Trump the brutal reality facing the president, “But your approval rating is lower than theirs! Your approval rating is lower than the Democrats’.”

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