Stephen A. Smith blasted Donald Trump’s “disgusting rhetoric” towards slain filmmaker Rob Reiner and warned that it will get Republicans “booted out of office.”
The longtime sports commentator laid out his Trump takedown on his YouTube show “Straight Shooter” and raged against the president’s “juvenile tendencies” and “lack of statesmanship.”
The ESPN host also invoked the Sept. 10 killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, saying people should not treat any murder as an opportunity to score points.
It’s “stuff like this that’s going to end up costing the GOP,” he warned, even though “plenty of them have come out and spoken out against the president.”
Smith posted a shorter version to his X account, condemning violence and stressing that “there’s no place for it.”
He’s just the latest famous figure to speak out against Trump’s Truth Social post, which suggested—without evidence—that Hollywood actor/producer Reiner’s killing alongside his wife, Michelle, was linked to “the anger he caused” through anti-Trump politics, which he billed “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
The couple was stabbed to death at their Los Angeles home on Sunday, and police arrested their son, Nick Reiner, 32, on suspicion of murder.
The 79-year-old’s message drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as from across the entertainment industry.
Smith pointed to what he called a baseline standard that should apply regardless of political tribe. “Prioritizing a core level of decency where somebody gets killed, somebody gets murdered, that ain’t the time to be sticking out your chest,” he said.
He said, “When Charlie Kirk got assassinated, people like myself and various others were like, ‘yo, he got killed.’”
Smith believes the president’s tone derails the policy arguments he wants to litigate, such as tariffs and border control.
“That’s what I would like to be discussing,” he said, before unloading on Trump’s “classness, the juvenile tendencies, the lack of statesmanship.”
Smith’s outburst is part of his drift into political commentary over the past year, which has seen him react to Trump’s on-air “flattery” about a hypothetical 2028 run, and spar over the president on late-night and cable show hits.
His criticism of Trump’s Reiner post has been in sync with the entertainment world, which has unanimously reacted with shock and disgust. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said, “When I first saw it, I thought it was fake.”
Musician Jack White went further, branding Trump a “disgusting, vile, egomaniac, loser, child,” and adding, “To use someone’s tragic death to promote your own vanity and fascist authoritarian agenda is a corrupt and narcissistic sin.”
And speaking on Fox News, actor James Woods, 78—previously an outspoken Trump supporter—called the president’s comments about his dear friend “infuriating and distasteful,” adding that “it’s not how America should behave.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
