Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Stephen A. Smith Torches Crockett, AOC And Newsom In Blistering Rant

Screenshot/YouTube/Stephen A. Smith

SiriusXM’s Stephen A. Smith rebuked Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, along with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, on “Straight Shooter” on Wednesday.

Republicans lead Democrats by 7% on the economy, 13% on immigration and 22% on crime, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted Sept. 11 to 15. During a rant on his show about Democratic political strategy, Smith condemned Crockett’s rhetoric, cast doubt on Ocasio-Cortez’s presidential viability and scrutinized Newsom’s record.

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“Jasmine Crockett, you’re calling [Presidential Donald Trump] everything under the sun,” Smith said. “How’s that going to work if it serves to alienate folks because they’re saying you’re just him on the other side of the aisle acting the same way you’re accusing him of acting, and then you get dismissed?”

Crockett has called Trump an “enemy to the United States” and repeatedly compared him to Hitler.

“AOC, I believe, can win the Senate seat in New York over Chuck Schumer!” Smith added. “I don’t think she’ll win the presidency.”

The SiriusXM host then turned his attention to Newsom, whom he said he believes will be pursuing the presidency in 2028.

“You going to pull it off with the record that took place in California all of these years under your stewardship!? It’s nice to see him sticking his chest out and going off!” Smith said. “You think they don’t have clips of how you embraced extreme leftist policies during the whole woke movement and cancel culture and everything else!?”

“You think they didn’t see people getting arrested and let out of jail the same day!? You think they don’t have footage of crime ravaging the streets of Los Angeles or homelessness!?” he added. “You think they don’t know about the cost of living and how it’s the highest in this republic right now!?”

Homelessness has been a pervasive issue in California for several years under Newsom’s tenure, with the state allocating billions of dollars attempting to tackle it. The governor has attributed the problem on California’s policies that have prevented adequate housing construction.

While Newsom claimed that neither he nor his office used the term “Latinx” during a March episode of “This Is Gavin Newsom,” CNN proved him wrong later the same month, showing footage and past social media posts.

Newsom leads the pack of potential 2028 Democrats with 21% among registered voters who are Democrats or Democratic-leaning Independents, while Ocasio-Cortez is in third place with 12%, according to a Yahoo/YouGov poll conducted from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2. Former Vice President Kamala Harris ranked second at 19%.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten expressed surprise on Monday at how closely Ocasio-Cortez trails Newsom because of how “liberal” she is. She is a Democratic Socialist and one of the authors of the “Green New Deal,” a multi-trillion dollar proposal to move the U.S. toward net-zero emissions and guarantee jobs in the process.