Stephen A. Smith Defends Trump Meeting, Tells Off Race Baiting Sunny Hostin

Nicholas Fondacaro
October 21st, 2026 4:59 PM

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Sports and politics commentator Stephen A. Smith drew the ire of members of ABC’s The View earlier this week because he dared to take a meeting with President Trump so he could advocate for issues he cared about to the leader of the country. Stepping onto a hostile set, Smith confronted The View cast during Wednesday’s episode where he told off race baiting co-host Sunny Hostin, who proclaimed that Trump’s presidency was so “disgusting and abhorrent” that she would never meet with him.

“It's something they I struggle with. Because I do think when you have the opportunity to meet with a world leader and advocate for something that's important, that you do take that opportunity. But I have to agree with Ana. I think he's the criminal in chief. I think that he would not listen,” Hostin chided on Tuesday.

Adding: “It's so disgusting and abhorrent, I don't think I would meet with him. And I also don't understand why Kid Rock is in the White House.”

 

 

The grilling Smith received from The View was almost immediate and one of the first things he did was spell out the “three agendas” he went into the meeting looking to push:

Number one, to address unemployment with black women in this country. I came to address the Protect College Sports Act that obviously was passed through the Senate and now has to go through the House, which I'm not a supporter of because I don't think it has representation for the student athlete. And of course number one on my list, was HBCUs. I'm the ambassador for HBCU Week since 2019, which we've generated over $150 million in scholarships for over 12,500 students.

Smith explained that he spoke with Trump about how some of his tactics for dealing with DEI programs in the government had spooked some in the private sector from donating to HBCUs, because they were worried the government would crackdown on them.

According to Smith, Trump was receptive to his argument; Trump even called him a couple days later to go over his points again so he could bring them up in a different meeting. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg sounded shocked (Click “expand”):

SMITH: And to his credit he said, ‘I actually didn't think about that. I'm going to think about that a lot more and I'll be talking to you about it." And to his credit, thereafter, he called me after the meeting a couple of days later to ask me to reiterate what my points were about the HBCUs because he plans on talking to people about that in the next few days.

GOLDBERG: In the next few days?

SMITH: Yes. That's what he told me.

GOLDBERG: Okay.

FARAH GRIFFIN: Stay on him.

 

 

Hostin acknowledged that Smith might have persuaded Trump on HBCU funding, but still wanted to go at him for meeting with someone “with his well-document history of [racism].”

While Hostin was rambling about Trump insulting specific black individuals, Smith countered by noting Trump had insulted him too. Smith said that while he didn’t truly know if his conversation would ultimately bear fruit, “he's the president of the United States and I'll be damned if I'm not going to try.”

Hostin got into with Smith because he dare to say the incomprehensible to them, that Trump would still be president after the midterms and serve out the rest of his term (Click "expand"):

SMITH: Whether you like it or not, he's the president of the United States of America. He's not going away until 2028. At least. He's not going away. And so because of --

HOSTIN: Well, he may get impeached and convicted.

SMITH: It doesn't matter. Hold on a minute. He's been impeached twice.

HOSITN: Not convicted, though.

(…)

SMITH: He's not going away until 2028. Until 2028, he has the power of the pen of the executive office as the commander-in-chief of the United States of America. You're going to have to deal with him.

 

 

“And when it comes to getting things done I'm all about exhausting every means and every measure to try to do what's in the best interest of our community. I'm not apologizing for that to anybody,” he declared, making it clear he was done trying to justify his actions to them.

It’s easy for the cast of The View to attack people for meeting with Trump or to crow about how they would never take a meeting with him. One, they’ll never be asked. Two, they’re not counted on by anyone to be a champion of their cause at the highest level.

The transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read:

ABC’s The View
October 20, 2026
11:20:00 a.m. Eastern

(…)

SUNNY HOSTIN: It's something they I struggle with. Because I do think when you have the opportunity to meet with a world leader and advocate for something that's important, that you do take that opportunity.

But I have to agree with Ana. I think he's the criminal in chief. I think that he would not listen. And I don't think that this is a normal presidency. I don’t - I think it's abhorrent and I think it’s abnormal. I think what he's doing to Latinos, I think what he's doing to African-Americans, I think what he's doing to the LGBTQ+ community. I think the fact that he's enriching himself.

It's so disgusting and abhorrent, I don't think I would meet with him. And I also don't understand why Kid Rock is in the White House.

(…)

October 21. 2026
11:26:40 a.m. Eastern

STEPHEN A. SMITH: And I came there with three agendas. Number one, to address unemployment with black women in this country. I came to address the Protect College Sports Act that obviously was passed through the Senate and now has to go through the House, which I'm not a supporter of because I don't think it has representation for the student athlete. And of course number one on my list, was HBCUs. I'm the ambassador for HBCU Week since 2019, which we've generated over $150 million in scholarships for over 12,500 students.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Good for you.

SMITH: That's something that’s, as an HBCU graduate, that's something that’s near and dear to me.

And because of his initiatives against DEI, you have a lot of folks in the corporate stratosphere that are a bit reluctant to donate and be as charitable as they've been in the past. Because their fear is that it's going to be interpreted as a DEI initiative, which will cause the attention of the government to come raining down upon them. And as a result of that, they're not giving the way that they were giving. And I went to the White House to look him in the face and to address that with him directly.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: I did not ask why this initiative, this DEI initiative was so important to him to -

SMITH: I did not ask him that question.

GOLDBERG: Okay.

SMITH: What I said to him was, ‘I know what's important to me and I know that it's important according to you. You are a conservative in office who wants to cut federal spending. You want the private sector to be more dominant than the corporate -- than the public sector.’ I said, ‘well, it doesn't make sense that you're basically impeding the willingness of folks in the private sector to be as charitable and as philanthropic as they've been in the past. This is something that you should want to encourage.’

And to his credit he said, ‘I actually didn't think about that. I'm going to think about that a lot more and I'll be talking to you about it." And to his credit, thereafter, he called me after the meeting a couple of days later to ask me to reiterate what my points were about the HBCUs because he plans on talking to people about that in the next few days.

GOLDBERG: In the next few days?

SMITH: Yes. That's what he told me.

GOLDBERG: Okay.

FARAH GRIFFIN: Stay on him.

SUNNY HOSTIN: I want to know what was on the menu. But I also want to know --

SMITH: Chicken, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli.

HOSTIN: And why was Kid Rock there?

SMITH: Kid Rock is a personal friend of his.

HOSITN: Oh, okay.

SMITH: And not only that, you sort of knew that as well because the mentality was we were not going to say anything until the president said something. Well, I turned on the TV and everybody like, ‘did you see Fox News?’ I said, ‘What happened?’ They said, ‘Kid Rock is on Fox News right now talking about the meeting.’ So, I said, ‘evidently it's all right to talk about it.’ And then the President came out and talked about it. So, that's when I came out and talked about it.

HOSTIN: Well, you know, you discussed black unemployment, DEI, HBCU funding with the president. Now, he says he hadn't thought about it.

SMITH: From the corporate standpoint.

HOSITN: From the corporate standpoint. But with his history, with his well-documented history of, you know, being sued for discriminating against black people in housing. He wasn't held liable for it. That case was settled. Insulting the accomplishments of black women, calling Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson low IQ --

SMITH: And me.

HOSITN: And you.

SMITH: And Obama and others, yes.

HOSTIN: And others. And the birther, you know, Haitians are eating the pets and the dogs. I mean, he has this --

ANA NAVARRO: Central Park 5.

HOSITN: Central Park 5. He has this history of racial bias and it's so clear. Do you think meeting with him that you would get -- you got anywhere?

SMITH: I don't know. We'll find out. But he's the president of the United States and I'll be damned if I'm not going to try. The reality is that it doesn't matter.

We live in a country, ladies a gentlemen, where if you are a felon you can't vote but evidently you can run for the presidency.

HOSTIN: Yes, you can. Yes, you can.

SMITH: And the reality is I'm just speaking from a constitutional perspective in that regard. And it points to a bigger issue. There are so many people that have this mentality, ‘why even waste time talking to him?’ Whether you like it or not, he's the president of the United States of America. He's not going away until 2028. At least. He's not going away. And so because of --

HOSTIN: Well, he may get impeached and convicted.

SMITH: It doesn't matter. Hold on a minute. He's been impeached twice.

HOSITN: Not convicted, though.

SMITH: He's been impeached twice. Well again, you're going to have a situation where, I think, the Republicans are going to maintain the Senate. They'll probably lose the House. So, you'll get folks to impeach him but then they'll step in and they’ll save him and it will be an ongoing continuous thing.

And don't get me started with that because I get disgusted with all that pomp and circumstance. I'm so sick and tired of us acting like that's going to do something. He's not going away until 2028. Until 2028, he has the power of the pen of the executive office as the commander-in-chief of the United States of America. You're going to have to deal with him.

And when it comes to getting things done I'm all about exhausting every means and every measure to try to do what's in the best interest of our community. I'm not apologizing for that to anybody.

SARA HAINES: Good for you.

(…)

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