Stephen A. Smith apologizes to Jasmine Crockett, calls out ‘trifling’ Trump for attacking Texas congresswoman

“I was pissed off,” said the podcaster on a special edition of “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.”

Stephen A. Smith apologized to U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, after initially doubling down on his criticism of her “rhetoric for the streets.”

During a “special edition” of his podcast show “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.,” Smith said he now understands why critics called out his remarks about Crockett. He cited his recent discovery of how President Donald Trump has publicly disparaged the Texas congresswoman.

“I saw something disturbing in regards to President Donald Trump and how he came at Representative Jasmine Crockett…I get it now with Trump feeding into that nonsense, giving him ammunition to continue to go out there and talk about our Black women that way—I got it,” said Smith.

The TV personality did not specify what remarks from Trump about Crockett changed his perspective; however, Trump has repeatedly called her out since returning to the White House. Most notably, repeatedly calling her “low IQ,” despite being a former Texas state representative, civil rights attorney, and graduate of Rhode College and the University of Houston Law Center.

“When Trump came at her like that, I said, ‘Damn it.’ I was pissed off because I said that’s what they’re talking about when they’re saying, ‘You know what, when you question something about her, it’s going to invite that,'” Smith explained.

The sportscaster issued a personal apology to Crockett.

“I can look Jasmine Crockett in the face and say I’m sorry for any…kind of noise I caused in your direction, because she is accomplished, and she is smart, and she does have an incredible, incredible challenge working in this political climate on Capitol Hill,” said Smith, who said he also supports Crockett’s potential run for U.S. Senate.

“I think she should be competing for the Senate seat in Texas or for the Attorney General spot, because she’s qualified,” he asserted.

However, the outspoken media personality did not completely back down from his critics and rejected claims that he was misogynistic or malicious.

“When somebody tries to take that to accuse me of being disrespectful or in any way misogynistic, I’m going to push back on that because that’s emphatically false. There’s no truth to that whatsoever, and I’m not accepting that, and I’m not owning that.”

Smith attempted to clarify his earlier remarks about Crockett, explaining that he didn’t want her to ” lose [her] prowess” and that he would like to see her and Democrats win back “power” in Congress in next year’s midterm elections.

“We need resistance to what we see going on in the streets of America,” he said. However, Smith said he understands why most voters supported Trump in the 2024 election.

“As trifling as President Trump can be, the matter is, millions upon millions of people felt that he was closer to normal than the Democratic Party,” Smith argued. “I want to help. I’m not trying to hurt, and I think being quiet and saying nothing and not challenging the strategy that’s been employed hurts us.”

He added, “But that doesn’t mean I’m always right, and it doesn’t mean that I’m beyond apologizing.”