Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Stephen A. Smith Has Some Tough Love For Jasmine Crockett

Screenshot/YouTube/Stephen A. Smith

SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith on “Straight Shooter” Monday doubled down on his criticism of Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, while emphasizing that he respected her and wanted to help her succeed.

Smith was responding to backlash to his Wednesday “Straight Shooter” commentary on Crockett, in which he denounced her “disrespectful” rhetoric about President Donald Trump, saying it did not serve her constituents. He clarified in a video posted to his YouTube channel that he believed she was intelligent but catering to “the streets” in a counterproductive manner.

WATCH:

“What I was saying was: this educated, brilliant black woman representing over 750,000 people is engaging in verbiage and rhetoric for the streets! And that’s fine when you in the streets!” Smith said. “How many of y’all bring the streets to the table when you at the negotiating table trying to get a deal done? How many of you are able to think that for a second that you able to bring street verbiage to Capitol Hill and that’s gon’ work for you?”

“You literally have senators and congressional figures on Capitol Hill on the side of the Republicans telling the networks, whether it’s Fox News, NewsNation, or anybody else, ‘Please, please, please put her front and center on camera!” he continued. “Why would they do that? Because they know it wins for them. And what I was saying was I appreciate her passion, her intellect, the fact that her heart and her willingness to be courageous and all of those things are in the right place. But my God, isn’t it about winning too? Ain’t it about getting it done?”

Crockett has surged to prominence with her racially-charged tirades and inflammatory attacks on Republicans. She has called Trump a “wannabe Hitler” and “an enemy to the United States,” and dubbed wheelchair-bound Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels” during a speech at the Human Rights Campaign in March.

“Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there, come on now,” Crockett said at the time. “And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot ass mess, honey.”

Smith also suggested on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” in May that Crockett’s political strategy of constant Trump resistance was an abdication of her duty as a representative.

“When I hear Jasmine Crockett talking about how ‘I’m just against all things and everything Trump,’ is that legislating? Isn’t it an obligation that you have to come up with something?” Smith asked. “If the other party is in office, you have to go from thinking that you’re going to get what you want if your party was in the White House and instead transitioning to ‘How can I work with the other party to get some of what I want? Because I know I’m not going to get most of what I want because they won the election.’”