‘His Opinion Is Meaningless’: MAGA Torches Flip-Flopping Stephen A. Smith for Blasting Donald Trump’s DEI Hire of Pete Hegseth on Fox News
What is a meritocracy, anyway? The right says eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion will create a society where people will be judged solely on their abilities, not identity.
If so, one would expect President Donald Trump‘s prospective Cabinet to be made up of nothing but the best and the brightest. So how then do you explain the appointments of vaccine skeptic nepo baby Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and embittered conspiracy theorist Kash Patel, Trump’s picks to lead Health and Human Services and the FBI?
Then there’s Pete Hegseth, who was forced to step down by the two nonprofit advocacy groups he once ran — Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America — following accusations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.
“My God, Sean, when you’re talking about people who are unqualified,” sports commentator Stephen A. Smith told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity Tuesday night. “I wish (Hegseth) nothing but the best. He served our country in the military. But when you’re a weekend host on Fox News, and now you’re the defense secretary overseeing three and half million people, that is not qualified.”
Smith’s comments followed a discussion of DEI, which MAGA has identified as the cause of everything bad that’s ever happened in human history. And his point is well-taken. Replacing a diverse field of candidates with one made up almost entirely of “mediocre white boys” (credit: Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett) does not strike a blow for competence.
Smith has largely curried favor with Trump since his re-election, saying he regretted voting for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He’s also accused the Joe Biden administration of orchestrating a witch hunt against the Republican standard-bearer and echoed MAGA’s false claim that federal agents were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
His criticism of Hesgeth didn’t sit well with MAGA nation, which had been warming up to the ESPN stalwart.
“When you’re a sportscaster, you’re not qualified to speak on politics,” wrote one commenter on X. “Is that how this works?”
“Conveniently leaves our education, military background, and experience ..Nice try ..Stick to the latest NBA news…,” wrote another.
Hesgeth is certainly well-educated, with degrees from Princeton and Harvard. And his military service, deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2021, warrants respect. But those qualifications have little to do with managing the massive bureaucracy that is the Defense Department.
Is a man who couldn’t manage two small nonprofits really the best person for the job?
Smith, meanwhile, remains a polarizing figure, alienating many progressive fans with his pro-Trump takes. But his defense of DEI may have won some of them back.
“Stephen A. Smith is out here dropping truth bombs on DEI,” remarked a fan on X. “If he keeps this up, don’t be surprised when he starts showing up in even more 2028 Democratic presidential primary polls.”
The meritocracy works in mysterious ways.