{"id":2414214,"date":"2025-03-21T13:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stephen-a-smith-challenges-trump-to-televised-debate-on-dei-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T17:00:01","slug":"stephen-a-smith-challenges-trump-to-televised-debate-on-dei-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stephen-a-smith-challenges-trump-to-televised-debate-on-dei-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith challenges Trump to televised debate on DEI &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstephen-a-smith-challenges-trump-to-televised-debate-on-dei-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2414214&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Stephen A. Smith challenges Trump to televised debate on DEI<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2062155\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/espn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ESPN<\/a> host and podcaster&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-a-smith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stephen A. Smith<\/a>&nbsp;called out President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> and members of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3349487\/trump-administration-civil-action-google-biden-started\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">administration<\/a> to &ldquo;defend&rdquo; their stance on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3352629\/medical-schools-dei-watchlist-civil-rights-complaint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">DEI<\/a> in a public debate against him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump, I&rsquo;m happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir,&rdquo; Smith said on Thursday morning&rsquo;s episode of ESPN&rsquo;s <em>First Take<\/em>. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d love for you to try to defend it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine-life-arts\/3350948\/alec-baldwin-family-reality-show\/\">Alec Baldwin&#8217;s brooding era<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3351526\/review-the-electric-state-netflix\/\">Robot dud: Review of The Electric State on Netflix<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3351780\/turkey-wrap-secret-show-business-success\/\">The turkey wrap secret to show business success<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Vice President Vance, you too. Pete Hegseth, you too. Stephen A. Smith is calling you out on national television. I&rsquo;d love for you to sit down with the cameras rolling and try to defend this. It&rsquo;s ridiculous.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Stephen A. Smith on the Department of Defense temporarily removing an article about Jackie Robinson&#8217;s Army history: &#8220;Nobody is calling out the President, Donald Trump. I will. I&#8217;m not gonna call him names and all this stuff like stupid folks on the left are doing. Engaging in&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dlabvFIhCC\">pic.twitter.com\/dlabvFIhCC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/awfulannouncing\/status\/1902730720272867539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>The challenge appeared to arise from Smith&rsquo;s outrage over the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Department-of-Defense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Department of Defense<\/a>&lsquo;s removal and reinstatement of an article honoring baseball legend and Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson during a purge of DEI in the DOD.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Robinson] served in our military. Drafted, served our country, and for hours upon hours in a day &hellip; his stuff was scrubbed, and we&rsquo;re supposed to believe that&rsquo;s accidental?&rdquo; Smith said to co-host Molly Qerim.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We were born at night, Molly, some of us anyway. Not last night! Not last night!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Defense Department addressed the removal of the article on Robinson, who became the first African American to break the color barrier in the MLB, in a statement, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/mlb\/news\/u-s-department-of-defense-restores-jackie-robinson-story-on-website-admits-it-was-taken-down-in-dei-purge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according<\/a> to a report.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms,&rdquo; the statement read. &ldquo;In the rare cases that content is removed &mdash; either deliberately or by mistake &mdash; that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Defense Department &ldquo;loves&rdquo; Jackie Robinson, the Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskegee airman, and all the patriotic men and woman throughout American military history, according to the statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like ever other American who has worn the uniform,&rdquo; it read.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;DEI &mdash; Discriminatory Equity Ideology does the opposite. It Divides the force, Erodes unit cohesion and Interferes with the services&rsquo; core warfighting mission.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Smith also raised the contention that DEI is only being equated with black people when white women and individuals like Defense Secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Pete-Hegseth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> have benefitted from it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Pete Hegseth is the head of the Defense Department. He has served our country with honor. I am not trying to knock him or denigrate him in any way,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;But, the fact of the matter is, how is he not DEI?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He was a solider, and then he was a host on Fox News on the weekends, and he goes from that to being the head of a Defense Department that oversees more than 3.5 million people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Smith, who has teased a possible transition to politics, refused to resort to insulting the president or his administration in his callout.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3352265\/steve-bannon-plan-trump-run-2028-incredibly-alarming-stephen-a-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">STEVE BANNON&rsquo;S PLAN FOR TRUMP TO RUN IN 2028 &lsquo;INCREDIBLY ALARMING&rsquo;: STEPHEN A. SMITH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nobody is calling out the president, Donald Trump. I will. I&rsquo;m not gonna call him names and all this stuff like stupid folks on the left are doing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Engaging in incendiary rhetoric. It&rsquo;s unnecessary. It&rsquo;s immature, and it&rsquo;s uncalled for.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the president of the United States. Treat him with the respect that he deserves. But in the same breath, call him to the carpet for stuff that he&rsquo;s doing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2062155\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2062155\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephen A. Smith challenges Trump to televised debate on DEI ESPN host and podcaster\u00a0Stephen A. Smith\u00a0called out President Donald Trump and members of his administration to \u201cdefend\u201d their stance on DEI in a public debate against him. \u201cPresident Trump, I\u2019m happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir,\u201d Smith said on Thursday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2644,"featured_media":2414215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Stephen-A.-Smith-on-Late-night-TV-scaled-1024x687.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2414214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Stephen-A.-Smith-on-Late-night-TV-scaled-1024x687.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2644"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2414214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2414215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2414214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2414214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2414214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}