Over the past few days, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has been exchanging verbal barbs with President Donald Trump, but he might be ready to take it to the next level.
After Trump recently took a swipe at Smith’s IQ, the First Take analyst challenged him to a debate. He is not backing down from the president, saying it could happen “anytime, any place, anywhere.”
Stephen A. Smith has challenged Donald Trump to a debate after Trump questioned his IQ:
“I’ll debate you any day of the week if you want to, Mr. President. I've been trying to interview you for over a year. My IQ, my aptitude — what you scared about sitting down with little old… pic.twitter.com/srQASF6Av7
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 9, 2026
“I’ll debate you any day of the week if you want to, Mr. President,” Smith boldly declared. “I’ve been trying to interview you for over a year. My IQ, my aptitude — what you scared about sitting down with little old me? What you worried about? Anytime, any place, anywhere. White House, Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster, wherever.
“You’ll sit down with me — sports and politics and everything in between. I’d love to talk to you about a bevy of issues that are pertinent and relevant and right in your realm where your aptitude can shine brightly, and we’ll see where my aptitude lies then,” he continued.
Stephen A. Smith and Donald Trump’s beef, explained
The issues between Smith and Trump stem from the ESPN personality taking issue with the president attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday, June 8, calling the move “selfish” and “narcissistic.”
The president then took aim at the First Take analyst’s political aspirations, saying, “He’s a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ, I’m not sure he has that. I don’t think he does.”
Regardless, Trump went to the game, and Smith poked fun at the president for appearing to be “sleeping.” Of course, Trump previously dubbed former President Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe,” which Smith brought up.
Stephen A. Smith:
“There was footage of him on camera not looking awake. Dolan sitting right next to him. Both of them look like they were sleeping. You don't expect to hear that from a president that called his predecessor ‘Sleepy Joe’… I'm telling my producers inside the… pic.twitter.com/QOcR6DWN5M
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 10, 2026
“There was footage of him on camera not looking awake. [James] Dolan [was] sitting right next to him. Both of them look like they were sleeping,” he said.”You don’t expect to hear that from a president that called his predecessor ‘Sleepy Joe.'”
Ultimately, he still doesn’t believe any sitting president should be at an NBA Finals game. It’s unlikely his view on that will change, even if they have a debate.
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