‘I Didn’t Stutter’: Stephen A. Smith and Sunny Hostin Clash on ‘The View’ Over Video Urging Troops to Ignore Trump
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith appeared on the talk show “The View” to strongly criticize Senator Mark Kelly for participating in a video by the so-called “Seditious six,” which encouraged military personnel to refuse illegal orders. Smith condemned Kelly’s public message as reckless and disrespectful to the commander in chief. sunny Hostin, also on the show, defended Kelly by citing comments from former Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the military’s duty not to follow unlawful orders and challenged Smith to reconsider his position. Smith refused to change his view, arguing that Kelly, despite his military and astronaut background, was out of line to make such statements publicly. The exchange highlighted a contentious debate over the balance between lawful military obedience and the responsibility to resist unlawful commands, with Smith emphasizing the risky implications of Kelly’s message.
ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith stormed onto “The View” this week, not for entertainment, but to confront a dangerous lapse in judgment. The well-deserved target: Sunny Hostin.
The spark was a video from the “Seditious Six,” spearheaded last month by Sen. Elissa Slotkin and also including Sen. Mark Kelly and four member of the House of Representatives, urging troops to ignore “illegal orders.”
Smith didn’t mince words when specifically targeting Kelly: Such public messaging to active-duty military is reckless.
“Respectfully, senator, what the hell are you doing?” Smith said in an earlier clip replayed on the show, according to Fox News. “Looking into the camera and telling military men and women to ignore the commander in chief? How dare you? How dare you do that?”
Hostin apparently took umbrage with those remarks, and made sure to tell Smith about it when he appeared on the ABC talk show.
You can watch the whole exchange below:
WARNING: The following clip contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
“You know I like you, right?” Hostin began, rather disingenuously. “OK, so you recently accused Senator Mark Kelly, a veteran, an astronaut, of crossing the line for participating in a video reminding troops that they can refuse to follow illegal orders.”
The show then cut to other scathing comments Smith made about Kelly’s participation in that video. Hostin picked up again after the clip ended.
“Let me just remind you that [Secretary of Defense] Pete Hegseth said in 2016, ‘I do think there have to be consequences for abject war crimes. If you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that. That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief,’” Hostin recited. “Now, given the fact that the secretary himself said that, I’d love to give you the opportunity to perhaps change your position on what you said.”
(Spoiler alert: He won’t.)
“I’m not changing a thing,” an unusually muted Smith replied. “I didn’t stutter.”
“You want to stay loud and wrong?” shot back Hostin.
“Well, you could call it ‘loud and wrong’ all you want to,” Smith said. “You’re entitled to your opinion, I’m entitled to mine. Here’s the reality of the situation: First of all, I don’t give a damn what Pete Hegseth has to say.”
Smith then took a shot at Hegseth, saying he’s unqualified for the war secretary role.
“As it pertains to Mark Kelly, what I was talking about was military,” Smith said. He went on to ramble a bit, but the point had largely been made: Kelly was out of line with his remarks for a litany of reasons.
Look, gratuitous shot at Hegseth notwithstanding, Smith is largely correct about this.
Kelly isn’t just a politician: He’s a retired Navy pilot and former astronaut. When someone with that resume speaks to troops, words carry weight.
And yet, Hostin waved off the practical implications, framing the video as a harmless lesson in civic duty.
Urging troops to second-guess the commander in chief in public isn’t civic virtue — it’s political theater with dangerous potential.
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