Stephen A. Smith: I'd Run for President If...

Trevor Noah 0:00 [upbeat music] Do you actually plan to run for president? [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 0:06 Look, honestly speaking-

Trevor Noah 0:08 I like that. Yes

Stephen A. Smith 0:09 ... Trevor, I, I, I will be openly, I will be very open about this. I wasn't messing around. I'm a person, you can't blackmail me. Go ahead and tell.

Trevor Noah 0:18 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 0:19 Get, tell everything, you understand? Because I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna be a prisoner.

Trevor Noah 0:24 Stephen A. is like, "Release the tape." [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 0:25 Release the tape. Do whatev- whatev- whatever you think you got-

Trevor Noah 0:28 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 0:29 ... release it. Hell no.

Trevor Noah 0:29 I don't negotiate with terrorists.

Stephen A. Smith 0:30 Hell no. I don't believe it's fair for me to run from the hot seat when I put people in it all the time. Plus, this guy, look at him, dad. He got a belly. He's not in shape. You know what? That kind of weight in your midsection, it would really compromise you. You, your lift in your legs. That's gonna affect your velocity-

Trevor Noah 0:48 You're getting too personal, dude

Stephen A. Smith 0:49 ... blah, blah. And I'm bring-

Trevor Noah 0:50 [laughs] You're getting too... You can't talk about us like that. We're still here.

Stephen A. Smith 0:53 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 0:54 We know, we know-

Stephen A. Smith 0:55 I got you

Trevor Noah 0:55 ... you didn't like him.

Stephen A. Smith 0:56 I got you.

Trevor Noah 0:56 We know, we know. [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 0:56 I got you, man. I got you.

Trevor Noah 0:59 This is What Now?

Trevor Noah 1:00 With Trevor Noah. [upbeat music] Stephen A. Smith.

Stephen A. Smith 1:09 What's going on, big guy?

Trevor Noah 1:10 Oh, man.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11 How you doing, man?

Trevor Noah 1:12 I'm... You don't, you don't understand how excited I am.

Stephen A. Smith 1:13 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 1:14 You know those people you will hang out with where you go, "This is gonna be exciting, it's gonna be interesting- Mm ... and I feel like there's a good chance somebody's gonna get in trouble for this conversation." I don't know who. [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:26 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 1:26 The odds are even. [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:27 You know, I'm willing to bet it's probably me-

Trevor Noah 1:30 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:30 ... but that's all right. How you doing, man?

Trevor Noah 1:31 I'm fantastic.

Stephen A. Smith 1:32 Good to be talking to both of you.

Trevor Noah 1:32 How are you?

Stephen A. Smith 1:33 Good to see both of y'all, man.

Trevor Noah 1:33 Thank you for joining us. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:34 My pleasure, man.

Trevor Noah 1:34 Thank you for joining us. This is, um... I, I love reading about somebody's life when you already know them. Mm. Because I think sometimes we take for granted that we build perspectives on people based on how we met them- Mm ... not necessarily on who they are.

Stephen A. Smith 1:47 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 1:47 You know? And when I was reading about your life, um,

Trevor Noah 1:50 you correct me if I'm wrong, but you had four older sisters, yes?

Stephen A. Smith 1:52 Yes. Four older sisters.

Trevor Noah 1:53 Right. Four older sisters. And as I was reading, like, your stories, your interviews, your previous, like, just everything, I, I couldn't help but wonder. I was like, "Did ESPN make Stephen A. Smith, or did those four older sisters make E- Stephen A. Smith?" [laughs] Like, it feels, it feels like-

Stephen A. Smith 2:09 Oh, it definitely four older sisters

Trevor Noah 2:10 ... yeah, it feels like-

Stephen A. Smith 2:10 It's definitely four older sisters

Trevor Noah 2:11 ... okay.

Stephen A. Smith 2:11 I mean, that, that, that makes me laugh when people, you know... I don't know how, how my, my college buddies, everybody that knows me, you know, people will, they always tell me people walk up to them and say, "Is, is, is he really that way?" They're like, "Yo, he's always been that way. He's always been that way." They said, "He would argue with us in school. You know, he would debate with us in school. He thought he knew everything about sports before." I said, "Whatever," you know? I mean, I'm just convicted with what I believe and, you know, what, what I know what I know, and I'm willing to admit what I don't know.

Trevor Noah 2:43 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 2:44 And that's that, you know? So I'm not apologizing for it. And a lot of times people want you to, you know, move softly. "I mean, I, I, I think I know this. Well, uh, let me throw this your way." No, you weren't there. I was. I'm telling you what I saw. I'm telling you what I know. I mean, are we really gonna expend energy with that? That's what the, to me, it's just so much is about wasted energy when people are pretending to be something-

Trevor Noah 3:08 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 3:08 ... or trying to appease. But you don't wanna offend anybody.

Trevor Noah 3:10 Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 3:10 You don't wanna offend anyone.

Trevor Noah 3:11 Right, right.

Stephen A. Smith 3:11 But in the same breath, it's like you don't wanna waste time either. Get to the point, you know? The, if this is what I know-

Trevor Noah 3:18 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 3:18 ... and I was there, and you weren't, I had this experience, and you didn't, I'm not debating with you. It is what it is.

Trevor Noah 3:25 So when you were that kid in the house and you had those four older sisters, were you fighting for your space? Was this-

Stephen A. Smith 3:29 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 3:30 Was it like a, was it like a battle of the minds, a battle of personalities, a battle of, like, Stephen A. saying-

Stephen A. Smith 3:34 No

Trevor Noah 3:34 ... "I know I'm the youngest, but yo-

Stephen A. Smith 3:36 Uh-uh

Trevor Noah 3:36 ... I, I know-"

Stephen A. Smith 3:37 I'm battling, but be clear. I was getting my ass kicked a lot.

Trevor Noah 3:40 Yeah, that's what I was about to say.

Stephen A. Smith 3:41 A lot. [laughs]

Trevor Noah 3:41 When you have, when you have an older sister-

Stephen A. Smith 3:43 Four

Trevor Noah 3:43 ... there's no battling of the minds anything.

Stephen A. Smith 3:45 Yeah, man.

Trevor Noah 3:45 Four.

Stephen A. Smith 3:46 Four older sisters.

Trevor Noah 3:46 You're dead, man.

Stephen A. Smith 3:47 Four older sisters. I had no chance.

Trevor Noah 3:48 Got ten down all the time.

Stephen A. Smith 3:49 I had no ch- just, you know... I mean-

Trevor Noah 3:51 Yep

Stephen A. Smith 3:51 ... listen, they would debate with me about certain things, and when they were l- when they were losing-

Trevor Noah 3:54 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 3:55 ... "Shut up. Go to your room. Please take out the garbage. It's your turn to wash the dishes.

Stephen A. Smith 4:00 Clean the yard." That kind of thing.

Trevor Noah 4:02 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 4:02 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I wasn't one that grew up with a lot of rights.

Trevor Noah 4:05 So, so then you were used to what I would say you sometimes experience now, which is-

Stephen A. Smith 4:09 Yeah

Trevor Noah 4:10 ... you work in the profession of putting your opinion out there.

Stephen A. Smith 4:12 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 4:12 And the public is in the business of clapping back-

Stephen A. Smith 4:16 Yeah

Trevor Noah 4:16 ... when they don't agree with you, which they often don't.

Stephen A. Smith 4:18 Right.

Trevor Noah 4:18 But it seems like you, you've got, like, a, like, a tough skin. It seems like that. Do you, do you feel that way or you don't?

Stephen A. Smith 4:23 Oh, yeah. I mean, well, I will say to you, first of all, I'm most, I'm right most of the time. Let's get that out the way first.

Trevor Noah 4:28 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 4:29 I am right most of the time.

Trevor Noah 4:30 Yes.

Stephen A. Smith 4:30 They just-

Trevor Noah 4:31 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 4:31 ... really illuminate times when they got me or they think they got me-

Trevor Noah 4:37 Oh

Stephen A. Smith 4:37 ... and I'm wrong.

Trevor Noah 4:38 Oh. Mm-hmm. Because of how... Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 4:39 That's how it is.

Trevor Noah 4:40 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 4:40 That's number one.

Trevor Noah 4:41 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 4:41 But it's like, you know, the, the, the criticism from the public, it phases me under two conditions.

Trevor Noah 4:48 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 4:49 When I'm wrong-

Trevor Noah 4:51 Mm-hmm

Stephen A. Smith 4:51 ... or when I know they're lying.

Trevor Noah 4:54 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 4:55 Like, you know I'm right, but you're feeding into the algorithms-

Trevor Noah 5:00 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 5:00 ... or you're feeding into public perception, or you're so damn soft that you wanna join with the gang mentality and pile on because-

Trevor Noah 5:09 Right, right

Stephen A. Smith 5:09 ... it's, it's convenient for you to do so. And, and the p- the easiest people that it is to catch with that w- is where, you know, people that you know don't particularly care about this. Do you ever find yourself looking at people that might be, you know, spewing criticism in your direction and you're like, "Are you really that upset?"

Trevor Noah 5:28 A lot of the time they are.

Stephen A. Smith 5:28 "Does it really mean that much?"

Trevor Noah 5:29 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 5:29 Like-

Trevor Noah 5:30 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 5:30 ... it can't possibly mean that much-

Trevor Noah 5:32 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 5:33 ... to you, that particular subject. If you disagree with me, fine. But to be so angry about it, really? That's what you're doing? That's when you know that either it's made up or- They don't like your ass, and they were just looking for an excuse

Trevor Noah 5:46 It's not about the subject, it's about you

Stephen A. Smith 5:48 ... they were looking for an excuse-

Trevor Noah 5:50 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 5:50 ... to pounce on you. Like you said, it's not about the subject, it's about me, and far more often than not, it's about me, but I don't really worry about it too much for a couple of reasons. Number one, I just got tougher skin than that. It ain't gonna phase me. I ain't gonna lose no sleep over it, you understand? It ain't gonna compromise me. That's number one. And number two, I think it's important to

Stephen A. Smith 6:10 recognize what my background is.

Trevor Noah 6:11 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 6:12 And it's not just me being raised by four sisters. It's me being a journalist. People, they forget that in this day and age, 'cause everybody's got a voice now.

Trevor Noah 6:20 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 6:20 Everybody got a podcast, YouTube show. You know, everybody got a social media account, it's Twitter, X, whatever it is. And the world has a voice now. I grew up when it wasn't like that, and you had to earn the right to have a voice. I had to be an intern to a high school reporter to a college reporter to a, a, a pro reporter-

Trevor Noah 6:42 Oh, okay. I hear what you're saying

Stephen A. Smith 6:42 ... to a, a NBA columnist to a general sports columnist. In 2003, when the Philadelphia Inquirer named me a general sports columnist, I was the 21st African American in this nation's history-

Trevor Noah 6:56 Wow

Stephen A. Smith 6:56 ... to be named a general sports columnist. People like William C. Rhoden and Mike Wilbon and Kevin Blackistone and Ralph Wiley and others preceded me, but I was number 21.

Trevor Noah 7:08 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 7:08 And so it wasn't... What that meant was you had a license to give your opinion, because social media wasn't here.

Trevor Noah 7:14 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 7:15 It didn't exist back then. And so because of that, opinions came from people who were licensed to have one, which were columnists.

Trevor Noah 7:23 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 7:23 So the, what I had to go through to earn the right to express my opinion, they're teaching you in journalism, you're in the wrong field if you're here to be liked.

Trevor Noah 7:33 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 7:33 In pursuit of the truth, the number one thing you have to shed is this insatiable appetite to be liked. If that is important to you, leave the business. They told you that when they were training you.

Trevor Noah 7:45 That's the first thing they told you.

Stephen A. Smith 7:47 That's where I come from. And so for me, to come from that background, I actually laugh when people think that their criticisms are phasing me.

Trevor Noah 7:56 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 7:56 It's like, really? You really think I'm losing sleep over this?

Trevor Noah 8:00 Can I, can I tell you what-

Stephen A. Smith 8:01 Like, step out

Trevor Noah 8:01 ... can I tell you what this just sounded like? This sounded like a more articulate version of Bane's Born in the Dark speech.

Stephen A. Smith 8:07 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 8:07 That's what this just sounded like now. Like he, like he was like, "Raw criticism, rawr. You merely adopted criticism. I was forged in criticism."

Stephen A. Smith 8:16 [laughs] Right.

Trevor Noah 8:16 That's what this sounded like. Okay, so what would you say, what would you say is the biggest difference then? Looking at it, uh, you know, from a, from a qualified perspective, from a, you know, journalism school perspective, from, like, the grind, what would you say the biggest difference is between somebody who's just, like, shares their opinion on topics and they're going o- or, and somebody who has gone down the path that you have. When you look at it, what do you see?

Stephen A. Smith 8:37 When you've gone do- when you've gone down the path that I've gone down, it's not always, please don't make me wrong, I've certainly made my mistakes.

Trevor Noah 8:44 Mm-hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 8:45 But for the most part, you're putting forth your due diligence.

Trevor Noah 8:48 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 8:48 You know, you're like, "Do we know this is true?"

Trevor Noah 8:51 Okay, there's work behind it.

Stephen A. Smith 8:52 I mean, I gotta, I gotta, I, you know, I gotta do... You know, "You sure?" You know, there's a level of skepticism.

Trevor Noah 8:57 Yeah, right.

Stephen A. Smith 8:58 And, and, and contrary to what people believe about most people that were raised in the field of journalism, there's a humane perspective that kicks in-

Trevor Noah 9:08 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 9:08 ... because there's something that makes you feel uncomfortable about talking about things you just don't know.

Trevor Noah 9:15 Yeah. Makes you feel uncomfortable.

Stephen A. Smith 9:16 You just don't know. You don't, you don't feel armed.

Trevor Noah 9:18 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 9:19 You don't feel buffered, you know? And, and don't get me wrong, you still do it sometimes. Like, I found myself, I got in trouble recently speaking about something on, you know, pop culture and entertainment, 'cause I didn't know. It was just all over the news, but I didn't know anything about it, and I opened my big fat mouth and said something about it-

Trevor Noah 9:34 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 9:34 ... and I shouldn't have. And that's on me, because I was doing multiple jobs that day, and then they just asked me this question on, on a, a podcast that I'm developing under my Straight Shooter Media company culture table, and I just answered it. And I shouldn't have. But in the end, for the most part, 99% of the time, I didn't s- I don't know. I don't know, but I gotta do my research. I gotta ca- make some calls.

Trevor Noah 9:58 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 9:59 I gotta read more. I don't know about this.

Trevor Noah 10:02 That's an interesting... Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 10:03 That's the approach. Today's world doesn't teach you that.

Trevor Noah 10:06 Yeah. Today's world, today's world also doesn't reward it. We always talk about this.

Stephen A. Smith 10:09 Yeah. That's right.

Trevor Noah 10:10 It doesn't, it doesn't reward the I don't know.

Stephen A. Smith 10:12 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 10:12 It doesn't reward the let's see.

Stephen A. Smith 10:14 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 10:14 It doesn't reward the let's read up on it. So, so sometimes, do you feel that people are sometimes trying to get a take out of you because they know that the take already comes with a little more potency because it's from you? Like, they know, let me ask Stephen A. Smith-

Stephen A. Smith 10:27 Oh, that's absolutely true

Trevor Noah 10:28 ... let me ask Stephen A. Smith about Pokemon, because even though he, he may not be into Pokemon-

Stephen A. Smith 10:33 He's gonna have to say something about it. Yeah

Trevor Noah 10:33 ... he's, and, and I'm assuming these things.

Stephen A. Smith 10:35 My brother-

Trevor Noah 10:35 He has something to say about it

Stephen A. Smith 10:36 ... I got something to tell y'all about the NBA Finals in San Antonio between

Stephen A. Smith 10:40 the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. This guy is heckling me constantly while I'm taping segments.

Trevor Noah 10:50 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 10:51 And I'm completely ignoring him because I'm very good at that. I'm very good at telling you to kiss my ass without ever telling you to kiss my ass. I'm just very good at it, and I know how to ignore people. I know how to just keep it moving.

Trevor Noah 11:04 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 11:06 And finally, as I'm walking away, the guy screams at me, "Are you the only guy that gotta make money? Damn, Stephen A., say something. We trying to get paid out here."

Trevor Noah 11:19 Oh.

Stephen A. Smith 11:21 And I turned around, and I walked over to him and shook his hand and said, "What you want?"

Trevor Noah 11:27 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 11:27 'Cause I respect that.

Trevor Noah 11:28 Thank you for your honesty.

Stephen A. Smith 11:29 Thank you for the honesty. You know, you just, you, you, you know, you were trying to heckle me, heckle me. And, and then you admit it. "Look, man, I'm bothering you because you're the one here that I can make money off of right now."

Trevor Noah 11:41 We're trying to make-

Stephen A. Smith 11:41 "I'm trying to get this money"

Trevor Noah 11:42 ... trying to make content.

Stephen A. Smith 11:42 "And this is how I'm making this money-

Trevor Noah 11:44 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 11:44 ... by doing this YouTube." And because he admitted it, I stood right in front of him and I said, "Ask away." Because at least you admitted it. All right, you trifling ass up.

Trevor Noah 11:54 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 11:55 But it's all right. It's okay. You admitted it, and because you admitted it, I'm good. You know, I'm good. At least you were honest about it.

Trevor Noah 12:02 Oh, man.

Stephen A. Smith 12:03 You, you were honest about it, I can respect that.

Trevor Noah 12:05 Hm.

Stephen A. Smith 12:05 You just trying to make some money. Got it.

Trevor Noah 12:07 So okay, does, d- do you sometimes wish that then peace would follow? Because I, I, I can't imagine what it must be like. I mean, I hosted The Daily Show for years, I've been a stand-up comedian.

Stephen A. Smith 12:17 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 12:17 We've been doing comedy 20 years. We started together.

Stephen A. Smith 12:21 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 12:21 Giving your opinion in an- any public forum invites the response to said opinion.

Stephen A. Smith 12:25 Hm, mm.

Trevor Noah 12:25 Right? We talk about this all the time.

Stephen A. Smith 12:27 Right.

Trevor Noah 12:28 But I can't imagine being somebody on your level who's seen as somebody who gives controversial opinions or strong opinions, and I go, like, what is your life like? Do you, do you just have people heckling at you when you walk in the street? Do you have people-

Stephen A. Smith 12:40 Sometimes

Trevor Noah 12:40 ... yeah?

Stephen A. Smith 12:40 Sometimes, but I get a lot of love and a lot of respect.

Trevor Noah 12:43 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 12:43 I think there's this misnomer that, you know what, people are heckling me and bothering me all the time. I would tell you, man, it is very... Don't get me wrong, I run into them all the time, but weighted against those who support me-

Trevor Noah 12:55 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 12:55 ... and show me love-

Trevor Noah 12:56 Mm-hmm

Stephen A. Smith 12:56 ... I can't even... It, it's, it's out of the park. It's nothing compared to the cynics and the critics. Nothing.

Trevor Noah 13:02 The, the ripple versus the calm.

Stephen A. Smith 13:03 And you know, so, so-

Trevor Noah 13:03 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 13:04 ... and, and I, and I appreciate it because they appreciate my honesty. I'm not telling you def- if I haven't seen something-

Trevor Noah 13:13 Right

Stephen A. Smith 13:13 ... if I'm not a direct conduit to the information that I'm pushing out there, then I'm at the mercy of my sources who I've networked, who've given me the intel, et cetera, et cetera. So I'm telling you, "Well, here's what I heard. This is what I'm being told," that kind of thing. And based on that information, here is where I stand.

Trevor Noah 13:36 Hm.

Stephen A. Smith 13:37 And people respect that because I'm not telling you to ignore the information.

Trevor Noah 13:42 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 13:42 I'm not telling you I have all the facts.

Trevor Noah 13:44 Hm, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 13:44 Based on what I know, this is where I stand.

Trevor Noah 13:48 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 13:48 And they appreciate the fact that I'm honest enough to tell them where I stand based on that information, that I'm not scared to do so. Because they know a lot of people that are fearful of letting you know where they stand and how they feel because of the potential repercussions out there. And it could be-

Trevor Noah 14:07 Hm

Stephen A. Smith 14:08 ... reporters that wanna come across as objective. It could be athletes that, you know, don't wanna upset a fan base. It could be actors and actresses that don't want to upset a studio.

Trevor Noah 14:19 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 14:19 It could be executives that come with an inordinate amount of responsibility, and they're representing the brand that they represent, and they don't wanna cast any aspersions on it. There are an abundance of reasons that contribute to people being reluctant. And then, then you got some people out there that just don't want noise.

Trevor Noah 14:37 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 14:37 They just want peace.

Trevor Noah 14:38 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 14:38 They're like, "Listen, I can do my job. I wanna go home. I wanna live my life."

Trevor Noah 14:42 It's the age of cheering.

Stephen A. Smith 14:42 "I don't feel like being bothered."

Trevor Noah 14:44 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 14:44 "I don't feel like being bothered."

Trevor Noah 14:45 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 14:46 Here's where it becomes stressful for me mentally, internally.

Trevor Noah 14:49 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 14:50 By virtue of what I do for a living, there's an inordinate amount of times where I've got people on the hot seat.

Trevor Noah 14:58 Okay. Hm.

Stephen A. Smith 15:00 I don't believe it's fair for me to run from the hot seat when I put people in it all the time.

Trevor Noah 15:04 Hm, okay. That's good for the goose.

Stephen A. Smith 15:06 You know what I'm saying?

Trevor Noah 15:07 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 15:07 So it's like, I don't, you know, i- if you know anything about me, I... Listen, I'm here. It's a pleasure to meet you, an honor to meet you, 'cause I've been a fan of your work for a very, very long time.

Trevor Noah 15:16 Yeah, appreciate that. Thank you.

Stephen A. Smith 15:17 I don't know what the hell you're gonna ask. I didn't tell my team, "What he gonna ask?"

Trevor Noah 15:21 No, you didn't.

Stephen A. Smith 15:21 No, I didn't do that.

Trevor Noah 15:22 No.

Stephen A. Smith 15:22 And you know, when, when I go interviews, you know, people have orchestrated a list of questions. What? No.

Trevor Noah 15:27 List of questions, restrictions.

Stephen A. Smith 15:29 Whatever.

Trevor Noah 15:29 Don't ask this, don't talk about that.

Stephen A. Smith 15:31 I don't do that.

Trevor Noah 15:31 Stay away from that. No.

Stephen A. Smith 15:32 I, I don't do that. I know how to say, "No comment." I know how to say, "None of your damn business."

Trevor Noah 15:35 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 15:36 I know how. I, I don't have to do that. I don't, I don't play that game. It's like, wait a minute. I'm, I'm, I'm doing, I- even though I'm a incredibly respectful interviewer-

Trevor Noah 15:46 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 15:46 ... I'm very, very big on letting you tell your story. I'm just asking you the questions that people wanna know, but I'm not trying to-

Trevor Noah 15:52 Hm

Stephen A. Smith 15:52 ... have a got you moment.

Trevor Noah 15:53 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 15:54 But I still know it's a hot seat. Because if you try to bullshit me, I might catch you, and then it's not, might, might not be good for you. I know that. So I know that that could, somebody could come sit down with me with a level of trepidation.

Trevor Noah 16:06 Right. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 16:06 And because that's the reality, knowing that I put people in that position for a living-

Trevor Noah 16:12 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Stephen A. Smith 16:13 ... how hypocritical would it be for me to sit in the chair, to, to refrain from sitting in the chair-

Trevor Noah 16:19 Hm

Stephen A. Smith 16:19 ... to refrain from being asked tough questions?

Trevor Noah 16:21 Right, right.

Stephen A. Smith 16:22 To, to, to wanna police... Like, that's one of the problems my publicist has with me. She's like, "Stephen, I just wanna say- "

Trevor Noah 16:27 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 16:27 "I don't care what they're gonna ask. Let 'em ask it." [upbeat music]

Trevor Noah 16:33 Still to come in this episode.

Stephen A. Smith 16:36 I really genuinely believe I could win, but the flip side to it is that I would have to give up my money, because equal time rules, according to the FCC, states by virtue of what I do for a living-

Trevor Noah 16:49 Okay

Stephen A. Smith 16:50 ... I would have to give up my job immediately.

Trevor Noah 16:52 Hm.

Stephen A. Smith 16:53 I don't know if you've seen the news about my contract.

Trevor Noah 16:56 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 16:57 And I'm not confirming or denying that contract, but I will confirm I ain't giving it up.

Trevor Noah 17:02 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 17:03 I ain't giving it up. Hell no. I'm not giving that up. So it was a easy decision. Oh, I gotta get... And I was informed.

Trevor Noah 17:10 Hm.

Stephen A. Smith 17:10 I was informed. I was told, "If you decide to run, the second you announce-

Trevor Noah 17:18 That's it

Stephen A. Smith 17:19 ... you will be taken off the air-

Trevor Noah 17:21 No

Stephen A. Smith 17:21 ... immediately."

Trevor Noah 17:24 This segment is brought to you by Google Pixel. Every day, it feels like I'm on a new scavenger hunt, but not the fun kind. I'm constantly switching between countless apps just to try and find the information that I need. Like the other day, I was trying to find the address of a restaurant someone had sent me. Simple enough, right? But then, this is what happened. I opened my messages. I saw a video somebody sent me of a parrot singing opera, and then the next thing I know, I'm watching an interview with a woman who trains parrots. 20 minutes later, I know the average lifespan of a macaw, I've forgotten where I'm supposed to have dinner, and I'm wondering whether I have what it takes to raise a bird that might outlive me. Enough with digital rabbit holes. Thankfully, my Google Pixel 11 is designed with Gemini intelligence. Helpful suggestions pop up right in the text thread when I'm making plans, proactively pulling up restaurant details, calendar availability, or live flight info. The info you need right when you need it. Learn more about what the Google Pixel 11 can do at googlestore.com. These AI features are available in select countries and languages for users 18 and older. Make sure to check responses. Some of the most interesting things you learn happen while you're doing something completely ordinary. Maybe you're cooking dinner while watching a history video. Maybe you're on a flight catching up on a long-form interview, or maybe you're trying to figure out how to fix something in your house because apparently owning a screwdriver means you're an electrician now. But you see, that's one of the things I love about YouTube Premium. I travel a lot, so I download videos before a flight. That way, I'm not leaving my entertainment in the hands of airplane Wi-Fi. Yeah, I've made that mistake before. You think you're gonna watch something in 4K, and suddenly everyone's face is pixels. But one of my favorite features is smart downloads. You see, YouTube Premium can automatically download recommended videos for you based on what you already watch. So sometimes I'll get on a plane, I look at my phone, I'm like, "Ah, I didn't download anything." Then it's like, no, YouTube already thought about this. They packed entertainment for me in my little lunchbox. And with background play, I can lock my phone, switch apps, and whatever I'm watching just keeps on going. So if you like YouTube, you will love YouTube Premium. Sign up now for your free trial at youtube.com/premium. Terms apply, cancel anytime. [upbeat music] So let me ask you this then, let me ask you this. See, here's a few things that I found myself thinking when- For sure

Trevor Noah 20:00 ... when I knew you were coming through to hang out with us. One was, um, how do you choose when to apologize? Because you, you, you stand on what you say.

Stephen A. Smith 20:10 Sure.

Trevor Noah 20:11 But I, I-

Stephen A. Smith 20:12 10 toes down

Trevor Noah 20:12 ... 10 toes down. Is that what they say? [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 20:13 You always say 10 toes down. That's what they say. That's what they say. I love that. 10 toes down. [laughs] They say, they say 10 toes down. I don't know where the hell it came from- I love it ... but that's what they say. That's what they say. Go ahead. Us QTs hate that. [laughs] Yeah. [laughs]

Trevor Noah 20:23 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 20:23 So I don't stand by what I say? Here we go.

Trevor Noah 20:25 So, but, but, but, but you have apologized.

Stephen A. Smith 20:29 Yes.

Trevor Noah 20:29 You, you've apologized when you felt like people have misinterpreted. You've apologized when you felt like maybe you didn't speak with enough clarity.

Stephen A. Smith 20:35 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 20:35 One of the more recent ones, Ari, was, I think it was the NFL player who said they were-

Stephen A. Smith 20:39 Lane Johnson

Trevor Noah 20:40 ... yeah, Johnson-

Stephen A. Smith 20:40 Yeah

Trevor Noah 20:40 ... said he was taking, stepping away from the NFL for his-

Stephen A. Smith 20:43 Yeah

Trevor Noah 20:43 ... mental health, and you said something. People came at you, and then you apologized-

Stephen A. Smith 20:46 Yeah

Trevor Noah 20:46 ... and then you clarified, and that got me thinking. I went, "Okay, Stephen A. stands by what he says."

Stephen A. Smith 20:52 Mm.

Trevor Noah 20:52 But I do see examples of him apologizing. I'd love to know why he apologizes in some instances, and others he goes, "No, no, no. There will be no apology for this."

Stephen A. Smith 21:03 When somebody attacks me on the facts and my facts are right- Mm ... I ain't budging. Get the hell over it. Mm. You- I, I am not wrong. Mm. But there's a perspective that comes with anything that we discuss, and that perspective, in large part, has something to do with how you ultimately make people feel-

Trevor Noah 21:29 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 21:29 ... about what you have said. So let's take the Lane Johnson situation into-

Trevor Noah 21:33 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 21:33 ... consideration. Lane Johnson is an All-Pro right tackle. He's going into the Hall of Fame. He's had mental health issues in the past, which in all honesty, I actually had forgotten about, you know, when I was talking about him that day. But they said he retired from the Philadelphia Eagles, um, and you know what? They attributed some of his decision to be the mental health. Mm. I wasn't talking about him. What I was saying was that this man's going to the Hall of Fame, one of the great ones, whatever, but damn it, the Philadelphia Eagles, they could make you wanna do that. You know what I'm saying? 'Cause they've been awful. You understand? Because, because they don't protect the quarterback.

Trevor Noah 22:08 Right, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 22:09 You understand? I'm saying it's object- this man hasn't given up a quarterback hit or a quarterback sack this season, but everybody around him has. They can't protect the quarterback. They can't run the football. They can't get wide receivers open. I mean, it's rough out there, and it's chaotic. They got a bunch of stuff going on, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But because I said it like that- Mm.

Trevor Noah 22:26 Okay

Stephen A. Smith 22:26 ... the mental health community-

Trevor Noah 22:28 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 22:29 Mm ... got, you know, they were very put off and offended by that. And so for me, I'm thinking about it. I'm like, "That's not what I said. I'm joking around about the Eagles." But then I said, "First of all, it's mental health issues. I shouldn't have been joking," number one. Number two, somebody reminded me of his history. I said, "Damn." Oh, yeah. "You're right." Yeah. Yeah. Point two.

Trevor Noah 22:54 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 22:54 Point number three, Jay Glazer works for Fox

Stephen A. Smith 23:00 Sports. Um, he's been a friend of mine for 13 years. Really big, strong mental health advocate who has had his own battles, and he talked about his battles in the past when he was interviewing, when I was interviewing him. He was also a friend that was there for me and spoke to me about my mental health issues when my mother died.

Trevor Noah 23:22 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 23:23 I've never been one who felt that I had any kind of mental issue whatsoever until 2017 when I lost my mother. It is, to this day, the most devastating thing that has ever happened to me. Sorry for your loss. I cried every day for a year. Yeah. I was in a very, very dark place for, I would say about two years, where I didn't care whether I lived or died. Mm-hmm. I wasn't gonna go kill myself, but I didn't care about being reckless. I didn't care about, I was just in a really bad place, and I remember Jay Glazer calling me back then 'cause he saw something. And I knew that I had already started going to therapy 'cause I had already owned up f- to myself and to my loved ones. I kinda needed this help, but I had- Mm ... never spoken about it publicly. And so when the Lane Johnson thing, fast-forward, comes about- Jay Glazer calls me, and Jay Glazer said, "Do you remember how you felt when your mother died?" I said, "Of course I did." He said, "Do you remember how long it took you to acknowledge it?"

Trevor Noah 24:23 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 24:24 And I say, "Yeah." [sighs] And then he said, "That's mental health with a lot of people."

Trevor Noah 24:32 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 24:32 He said, "The, the, the, the resistance to revealing the vulnerability."

Trevor Noah 24:38 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 24:38 "And I know you didn't mean it, because I know you, brother. We've been friends for 35 years, and I know where your heart is." He said, "But how it came across was light-hearted, and it's the kinda thing that someone in the mental community can interpret as shame."

Trevor Noah 24:56 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 24:56 Hmm. He said, "And because they can interpret it as shame, because it's aloof, it's dismissive- Right, right, right ... it's downplayed, and they feel coming forward would make them look weak, it can serve as a deterrent- For others ... for them-

Trevor Noah 25:11 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 25:11 ... to come forward to seek the help that they need."

Trevor Noah 25:15 And for others as well.

Stephen A. Smith 25:16 Right.

Trevor Noah 25:16 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 25:16 And so my point in answering your question is, ain't that more important than me standing 10 toes down? Okay. I see what you mean. That's more important than me being right.

Trevor Noah 25:24 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 25:25 It doesn't matter what my intent is. It doesn't matter what I think I said. What matters is that there's a community out there that was potentially negatively affected in a very profound way by how I chose to handle the subject of his retirement, knowing-

Trevor Noah 25:41 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 25:42 ... his connection with mental health.

Trevor Noah 25:45 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 25:45 And I said, "Nah, that's far more important than me being right."

Trevor Noah 25:50 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 25:51 And when I apologized, and I have apologized on numerous occasions in the past, that's exactly what I'm thinking about. I'm thinking about the lives affected.

Trevor Noah 26:00 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 26:00 Because I'm okay. So if I'm okay, I'm like, "What am I worried about me for? I'm okay." You know? It's those people that need to know I didn't mean it that way. That wasn't my intent.

Trevor Noah 26:12 Has it gotten easier or harder to apologize the bigger you've gotten?

Stephen A. Smith 26:16 Um, it's gotten... Well, it's easy for me because my mother taught me at a very young age, it's really, really easier to live for, to, for peop- to force people to live with your truth than for you to have to live with your lies. And I take that in a very macro perspective. I'm not going home and tossing and turning because I'm trying to protect myself. I ain't doing that. Mm-hmm. I'm the type of person, I'd rather get it over with. Like, I'm a person, you can't blackmail me. Go ahead and tell.

Trevor Noah 26:52 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 26:53 Tell me everything. You understand? Because I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna be a prisoner.

Trevor Noah 26:57 Stephen A. is like, "Release the tape." [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 26:58 Re- release the tape. Do whatever, do whate- whatever you think you got, release it. Let him negotiate with Turtle then. Hell no.

Trevor Noah 27:04 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 27:04 Because I'm not, I'm not going to be-

Trevor Noah 27:06 Okay

Stephen A. Smith 27:07 ... I know that I can't sleep, I can't rest, I can't be at peace if I'm at the mercy of someone else.

Trevor Noah 27:12 Yeah, they're holding... They've got that... We talk about, they're holding you.

Stephen A. Smith 27:15 Yeah. Yeah.

Trevor Noah 27:15 They've got... You know what I mean.

Stephen A. Smith 27:16 I can't do that.

Trevor Noah 27:17 Okay, all right.

Stephen A. Smith 27:17 I'm not built like that. It, it ain't happening to me.

Trevor Noah 27:20 That's fascinating. Um, coming to New... How much time do you actually spend in New York?

Stephen A. Smith 27:25 I'm, I'm, I'm in New York, uh, about 40% of the year.

Trevor Noah 27:28 Like, you have sort of been labeled as, like, the number one Mamdani hater. But I, again, this is, like, a clip world, so, you know, you'll see a piece of what Stephen A. Smith says about Mamdani-

Stephen A. Smith 27:37 Right

Trevor Noah 27:37 ... and then a piece of what you say about politics.

Stephen A. Smith 27:39 I appreciate you saying that.

Trevor Noah 27:39 And so-

Stephen A. Smith 27:40 I don't hate the man

Trevor Noah 27:40 ... yeah, but I wanna know from, from your perspective, when you talk about it, you talk about New York, you talk about Mamdani, like, what have you seen, what do you continue to see, and what do you wish people would understand about what you're trying to say whenever you say something about him?

Stephen A. Smith 27:52 All I try to say, listen, I am not an aficionado. I read Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Politico, Drudge Report, New York Times, LA Times, you know. Um, I, I read a lot of stuff and a lot of material that I can get my hands on, but, when I have time. I'm not an aficionado. It's not what I do all day, every day.

Trevor Noah 28:11 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 28:11 That's usually sports. That's not this other stuff. But I'm a conscious observer and I pay attention. And I'm a voter and I'm a taxpayer. That last part is very critical.

Trevor Noah 28:21 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 28:21 I'm a damn taxpayer. You see, I'm not gonna be objective.

Trevor Noah 28:25 [laughs] Everyone in New York remembers that part very clearly.

Stephen A. Smith 28:27 No, no, no. I'm not... Excuse me. Taxpayer. I, I am not going to be objective and neutral when I look at my check. Hmm.

Trevor Noah 28:35 When your money's involved.

Stephen A. Smith 28:35 When it comes to New York and California.

Trevor Noah 28:37 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 28:37 I'm just not. I'm just not gonna do it. I'm, I'm not gonna do it. I know that New York and California are the two highest tax... And to, Jersey. Jersey, by the way. Let's not, let's not leave Jersey out of this. The highest taxes in the country, okay? And so when, when I've made, when, when I've made X amount of dollars, a- and 54 to 57% or 60% of my money is gone, I don't like you.

Trevor Noah 29:03 50-something [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 29:04 I don't, I don't like you.

Trevor Noah 29:05 I, I, yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 29:06 I don't like, I don't like... We don't have to be... I don't like you.

Trevor Noah 29:08 50 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 29:08 And, and, and here's, and here's why. Oh, man. And here's why. Because this is me. Mamdani is a socialist. Right.

Trevor Noah 29:18 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 29:18 Listen, I ain't got no problems with socialists. There's socialists all over the world. I got a problem with them in America.

Trevor Noah 29:24 Why?

Stephen A. Smith 29:24 Because we were raised as capitalist. That's why.

Trevor Noah 29:28 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 29:28 And because-

Trevor Noah 29:29 Okay, but, but what, here's o- one thing I'll, I'll, I find interesting, though. I agree with, like-

Stephen A. Smith 29:33 Mm-hmm

Trevor Noah 29:33 ... and I think you'll understand this-

Stephen A. Smith 29:35 Okay

Trevor Noah 29:35 ... as a journalist, as a broadcaster, et cetera.

Stephen A. Smith 29:37 Hmm.

Trevor Noah 29:37 I find there's oftentimes a disconnect in how America advertises itself, even to itself-

Stephen A. Smith 29:43 Hmm

Trevor Noah 29:43 ... and how it acts.

Stephen A. Smith 29:44 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 29:44 Right? So we can start with the very foundation of the country, the document written, all men are created equal.

Stephen A. Smith 29:49 Got it.

Trevor Noah 29:50 There were men-

Stephen A. Smith 29:50 We know that's not true.

Trevor Noah 29:51 Exactly.

Stephen A. Smith 29:51 Okay.

Trevor Noah 29:51 There were men of a certain color and women of that same color who were not equal at all.

Stephen A. Smith 29:55 Totally true.

Trevor Noah 29:55 But the document said it, right?

Stephen A. Smith 29:56 Mm, mm.

Trevor Noah 29:56 I think America does the same thing when it comes to capitalism, in my opinion.

Stephen A. Smith 29:59 Okay.

Trevor Noah 29:59 America loves to expound this idea of, like, capitalism, capitalist, capitalism. But when you analyze it, when you analyze it, and when you stress test it, a lot of the time, the best things that come out of America aren't capitalistic ideas. Like, you look at the boom in America's economy.

Stephen A. Smith 30:13 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 30:13 You look at the, like, like, the golden generation, when people were buying houses, people were going to school. They're very socialist principles, government paying for people's education, helping them buy homes.

Stephen A. Smith 30:21 Right.

Trevor Noah 30:21 Give them loans, et cetera.

Stephen A. Smith 30:23 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 30:23 And my big one, Stephen A., is business I don't understand how people can say that all the time in America when American businesses are running a socialist system with the government and the people don't get to enjoy that. Does that make sense?

Stephen A. Smith 30:35 It makes sense. It makes sense, and I get you. But if I sat up here and I gave you an abundance of numbers-

Trevor Noah 30:41 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 30:42 ... and it says that, "You know what? The economy is not as bad." You know, it say, "Affordability is not as bad. Inflation doesn't exist. There is no recession," blah, blah.

Trevor Noah 30:50 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 30:50 And I said all of this to you, you don't give a shit. What you care about is your rent.

Trevor Noah 30:54 That's true. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 30:55 Your mortgage.

Trevor Noah 30:56 That's true.

Stephen A. Smith 30:56 Your car payment, your grocery bills, et cetera, et cetera.

Trevor Noah 30:58 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 30:58 And so when you're feeling the full effect of it, and then you hear these politicians coming down the pike, and they continuously give you the same song and dance about what they wanna do for you-

Trevor Noah 31:09 Right, right

Stephen A. Smith 31:09 ... right?

Trevor Noah 31:09 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 31:09 But you know that's not getting done, all of a sudden, that's why Trump's in office. Trump ain't in office 'cause he's the answer, Trump's in office because it's a backlash. It was a backlash against Obama initially.

Trevor Noah 31:19 Mm-hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 31:20 It was ultimately a backlash against Biden and Kamala Harris the second go round, post-COVID, obviously, and all of this other stuff that was going on. Cancel culture, identity politics, those kind of things played a role.

Trevor Noah 31:31 Race also, you gotta include.

Stephen A. Smith 31:32 Well, I'm, I'm, I'm sorry. I mean, I, I thought that was automatic.

Trevor Noah 31:35 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 31:36 My bad, my bad, my bad, my bad. I, I didn't think I had to say that.

Trevor Noah 31:40 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 31:40 I mean, that's automatic, you know? But I think that when you l- when you look, because clearly you've got a white contingent out there that's incredibly comfortable-

Trevor Noah 31:47 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 31:47 ... and Trump has made them very comfortable.

Trevor Noah 31:49 Right, right.

Stephen A. Smith 31:49 Although he doesn't wanna accept accountability for it, but what's the big deal with that? The man won't accept accountability for anything, so we understand who he is and how he rolls. But the reality is is that when you look at things from the perspective that I'm looking at it as, understanding that these things exist, I'm ultimately looking at two parties. I'm looking at the binary system that we live in.

Trevor Noah 32:10 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 32:10 Am I a f-

Trevor Noah 32:10 Which, which is not great, but yeah

Stephen A. Smith 32:12 ... which is not great.

Trevor Noah 32:12 But it's what, the one you have.

Stephen A. Smith 32:13 Am I a fan of conservatives? Hell no. You know what I'm saying? Do I believe in some free market capitalism? Yeah, with safety net, sure. Do I, do, do I want the, do, do I mind entitlement programs? You're damn right I don't. I wanna look out for the less fortunate and the disenfranchised.

Trevor Noah 32:26 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 32:26 That's what helped me get to where I am.

Trevor Noah 32:28 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 32:28 I'm not averse to that. The flip side to it is that I don't like a party that comes to us and tells us, "You know what? We got your back." Well, how? "'Cause we say so, that's how." And then you don't support them, and you're a sellout to your own community.

Trevor Noah 32:43 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 32:43 Or you're a racist, or you're this or you're that. But we don't get to look at you and say, "Other than telling us how awful they are, could you tell us what's good about you?"

Trevor Noah 32:50 Right. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 32:51 "And by the way, are you gonna continue to come to us and raise our taxes? You built $40 trillion of debt." Not just you, both parties have done that, right? The cost of living, right? We see all of this stuff going on, and we're looking at you coming to us, telling us the government has your back. But when you think about the American dream, free market capitalism, to some degree, serves a role in it. You and I ain't working at the post office, okay?

Trevor Noah 33:15 Mm, mm-hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 33:15 We've, we've got better opportunities. We ain't knocking a post office job.

Trevor Noah 33:19 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 33:19 We ain't knocking any of those jo- A job is a damn job.

Trevor Noah 33:21 Right. Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 33:22 You a hardworking American citizen, God bless you, more power to you, but that ain't what we grew up dreaming about.

Trevor Noah 33:27 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 33:27 And when I think about what one party does against the other, what I often do is say, "That's the party in the face of my community swearing you have our back. But you doing everything you can to make sure immigration favors you so you can sit up there and lock down that kind of vote. But what have you done for the Black community?" I have a right to ask that question. You might have the answer. You might have the answer.

Trevor Noah 33:50 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 33:50 "Hell with that, they the one running for office. Do you have the answer?"

Trevor Noah 33:53 That's a good point. Okay, I see what you're saying.

Stephen A. Smith 33:54 "Don't tell me, don't tell me what Trevor Noah said. You do it. He ain't running for office, your ass is. Do you have the answers? What have you done?"

Trevor Noah 34:02 So-

Stephen A. Smith 34:02 And I look at things along-

Trevor Noah 34:03 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 34:03 ... along, along those lines, and I question it. Not to say that I'm gonna go against you-

Trevor Noah 34:08 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 34:08 ... but I'm cynical by nature, especially when it comes to politicians, 'cause I don't like none of your asses.

Trevor Noah 34:13 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 34:14 I don't believe none of y'all. And that's what I'm saying. But I can't knock this side if I think they've given me the impression that they were never concerned about me anyway.

Trevor Noah 34:22 Okay, no, I hear, I hear what you're saying.

Stephen A. Smith 34:23 Never li- they ain't even lying about it.

Trevor Noah 34:24 So here's something I've always wanted to know.

Stephen A. Smith 34:26 Sure.

Trevor Noah 34:26 Especially from somebody who loves sports and is ingrained in it the way you are.

Stephen A. Smith 34:29 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 34:29 I

Trevor Noah 34:30 grew up watching football, soccer, right?

Stephen A. Smith 34:32 Yes.

Trevor Noah 34:32 So the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, all of that stuff.

Stephen A. Smith 34:35 Mm.

Trevor Noah 34:35 Okay? So that's- But you're forgetting the PSL ... that's, that's the world I grew up... And if he doesn't know the P- if I say PSL, he's gonna, then it's like- Stephen A. Smith will admit if he doesn't know. Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 34:43 Mm.

Trevor Noah 34:43 The PSL. Anyway. [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 34:45 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 34:46 Do you know what the PSL is?

Stephen A. Smith 34:47 You heard of it? I'll be damned if I know anything about soccer.

Trevor Noah 34:48 Okay. So- [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 34:50 Even though I enjoy it when I'm watching it at the World Cup.

Trevor Noah 34:52 Yeah, that's, that's-

Stephen A. Smith 34:52 Love it

Trevor Noah 34:53 ... everyone, everyone loves it.

Stephen A. Smith 34:53 Love it.

Trevor Noah 34:54 So one of the things I've always found interesting is how American sports is based on a socialist type principle. I've always been intrigued by this, in that, in that when a team is performing at the worst level-

Stephen A. Smith 35:08 Mm-hmm

Trevor Noah 35:09 ... generally what the system does is they then afford that team the opportunity to get some of the best players so that that team can rise up in the ranks.

Stephen A. Smith 35:17 Okay.

Trevor Noah 35:17 I've always been amazed by that.

Stephen A. Smith 35:18 Well, th-

Trevor Noah 35:19 Like in basketball, that's what happens, right?

Stephen A. Smith 35:20 That's fine. That's fine. The draft, I mean-

Trevor Noah 35:21 Yeah, yeah, right

Stephen A. Smith 35:22 ... if you're the worst NFL team, you're gonna get the f- the number one overall pick.

Trevor Noah 35:24 Okay, so, so let's, let's just start with that. Like, I've, this is just an honest question. It's not even, like, a gotchas.

Stephen A. Smith 35:28 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 35:28 I just wanna understand. Do you, do you like that system?

Stephen A. Smith 35:30 It doesn't bother me. You know why?

Trevor Noah 35:32 Why?

Stephen A. Smith 35:32 Because it was collectively bargained.

Trevor Noah 35:34 Okay, okay.

Stephen A. Smith 35:35 So think about what I'm talking about with the whole Protect College Sports Act right

Stephen A. Smith 35:40 now-

Trevor Noah 35:40 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 35:40 ... what my issue is.

Trevor Noah 35:41 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 35:41 They're getting-

Trevor Noah 35:42 Well, what is that about? I don't know what it is. What is it?

Stephen A. Smith 35:42 Well, the Protect College Sports Act is a bipartisan bill-

Trevor Noah 35:46 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 35:46 ... that just went through the Senate by a 77-22 vote. It was authored by Senator Ted Cruz out of Texas, republic- Republican, but it was, it was coordinated in concert with Democratic senators like, uh, one out of Washington, another guy by the name of Chris Coons out of Delaware, who's a, a Democrat, 77-22, um, because they need to reel in college sports because of name, image, and likeness-

Trevor Noah 36:09 It's gone crazy

Stephen A. Smith 36:09 ... and how that's taken over college sports.

Trevor Noah 36:12 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 36:12 And you've got some players making money. The NCAA, through their lobbyists and what have you, have been working their magic on Capitol Hill to grease the skids to get a bill in place that would essentially compromise everything the Supreme Court just granted- ... college athletes, um, in 2022.

Trevor Noah 36:31 I see.

Stephen A. Smith 36:31 And we, and here's why it's a big deal. Brett Kavanaugh is a Supreme Court justice support, uh, appointed by President Donald Trump.

Trevor Noah 36:39 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 36:40 He voted against, uh, uh, not voted, I'm sorry. He spoke out against the NCAA saying, "No other business in America gets away with what y'all getting away with, exploiting these underprivileged athletes."

Trevor Noah 36:51 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 36:51 "It's wrong." And basically, without saying racist, basically alluded to them being racist in their tendencies.

Trevor Noah 36:57 Huh.

Stephen A. Smith 36:58 And he called them out. That's why NIL came into play-

Trevor Noah 37:01 Right

Stephen A. Smith 37:02 ... over the last few years. Well, this is a way to circumvent all of that. And to have a law in place, you're prohibiting players from transferring more than once. You're ma- you're capping their, the money that they can earn collectively. You know, a, a bu- you're not doing it to the coaches, you're not doing it to the administrations. All of this kind of stuff is going on. And so I bring that up because I am adamantly against the bill.

Trevor Noah 37:27 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 37:27 But not because of the bill.

Trevor Noah 37:29 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 37:29 I don't care about the particulars of the bill. My issue is 48% of the athletes are Black in football, in college.

Trevor Noah 37:37 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 37:38 50% of them are Black in basketball.

Trevor Noah 37:40 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 37:41 Why the hell isn't there any representation for them at the negotiating table?

Trevor Noah 37:44 Hm.

Stephen A. Smith 37:44 Yeah. Who the hell are y'all to say, "We have your best interests at heart."

Trevor Noah 37:49 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 37:49 "This is what we're going to do, and y'all don't need to be there at all." Now, I want to, I want you to understand the impact. The president, who is in support of this bill, summons a whole bunch of people: network executives, business executives. I mean, uh, uh, legendary coaches like Nick Saban and others. I mean, he got the whole gang. 50, he had Condoleezza Rice there, former Secretary of State.

Trevor Noah 38:12 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 38:13 Condi? Yeah, Condoleezza Rice.

Trevor Noah 38:14 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 38:14 Right. He had 50 people there in attendance. Two are Black. Condoleezza Rice. Did you Condoleezza? Okay. Condoleezza Rice. Okay, I was check- She- I was just checking ... she's a Black woman. I mean, listen, ju- just because you don't d- you disagree with her politics, don't mean- Yeah, yeah, I was just checking, yeah ... but I can tell you this. Condoleezza Rice and Charlie Ward, a former star player at Florida State who used to play for the Knicks as a point guard.

Trevor Noah 38:36 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 38:36 He played football and basketball. There's a Black coach by the name of Marcus Freeman, he happens to be one of the top five coaches in America- Hm ... who coaches at Notre Dame. He was not invited. Oh, there was not a Black commissioner that was invited. There was not a Black athletic director [laughs] that was invited. No Black administrator whatsoever was invited. You had all these white folks up on Capitol Hill-

Trevor Noah 39:01 Hm

Stephen A. Smith 39:01 ... with two Blacks sprinkled in the mix, and said, "We have to come to a conclusion about what's best for these student athletes" without having any representation- representation, yeah ... at the negotiating table.

Trevor Noah 39:15 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 39:15 That is my issue. So what I have been saying to people is, I'm not here to fight the particulars for a bill, because I don't give a damn what collective bargaining agreement you come up with. There's gonna be winners and losers. Hm. You're gonna get some of what you want, not most of it, blah, blah, blah.

Trevor Noah 39:29 But you want it to be chosen-

Stephen A. Smith 39:30 I'm not sweating that

Trevor Noah 39:31 ... by the people who are affected by it.

Stephen A. Smith 39:32 But the people that are affected by it-

Trevor Noah 39:34 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 39:34 ... as long as you sitting across that negotiating table- Yeah ... there's nothing we can say. But if you don't have them at the negotiating table, that is un-American.

Trevor Noah 39:42 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 39:42 That is un-American.

Trevor Noah 39:43 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 39:44 And that's the difference. [upbeat music]

Trevor Noah 39:47 Coming up on What Now? How would you want to see America run? Not what America is, 'cause I've heard you say-

Stephen A. Smith 39:55 How would America-

Trevor Noah 39:55 You go, 'cause you will say, like, "This country wasn't built on socialism," or, "This country's about capi-" No, I hear you, but I'm saying if you, as Stephen A. Smith, were going from scratch, you go like, "Okay, I'll..." And it would work, what systems would you wanna see?

Stephen A. Smith 40:05 Something, uh, this is very simplistic-

Trevor Noah 40:07 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 40:07 ... and I get it. But me personally, when I say pro-business, here's what I mean.

Trevor Noah 40:12 Mm-hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 40:14 It would be a priority for me to make sure as many American citizens, citizens as possible-

Trevor Noah 40:21 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 40:21 ... is gainfully employed. Yeah.

Trevor Noah 40:23 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 40:23 You know, for one reason: 'cause you got something to lose. When you got something to lose, you know how to act.

Trevor Noah 40:29 Mm-hmm. Verizon knows that holiday decisions and holiday deals can be complicated. Every year, I tell myself I'm gonna keep the holidays simple, and then the invitations start. They start coming in. Should I go to the party? Should I stay at home? If I go, do I bring a gift? If I bring a gift, does everyone get a gift? And why does someone have an organized Secret Santa where the spending limit is $50 but the minimum is 75? How does that even make sense? That's not a gift exchange, that's a financial audit. And then there's the food. Do I cook? Do I order? Do I pretend I cooked? Because, I mean, I feel like if you transfer something into your own serving dish, legally you've participated in the preparation, right? Well, if you want a holiday decision that's not complicated, switching to Simplicity Plan from Verizon is the one for you. One plan, one price. Just $30 a line per month for you or the whole family. The holidays are complicated. Switching to Verizon and shopping their best deals is simple. For new customers, $30 a line includes auto-pay and switch discount. Unlimited data is restricted to on-device smartphone usage. Domestic data roaming at 2G speeds. Additional taxes, fees, and terms apply. [upbeat music] So with American sports, I've always felt like in a great way they go, there's this, like, socialist attitude to sports.

Stephen A. Smith 41:52 Hm.

Trevor Noah 41:53 Worst team can become a great team because we'll give you a chance.

Stephen A. Smith 41:55 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 41:56 Best team doesn't just, just stay the best team forever because they got the most money or, or whatever it is. In soccer-

Stephen A. Smith 42:02 Soccer's-

Trevor Noah 42:02 ... around the world-

Stephen A. Smith 42:02 ... I know we don't

Trevor Noah 42:03 ... bad team can stay bad forever because they don't have enough money.

Stephen A. Smith 42:06 Hm.

Trevor Noah 42:06 The rich get richer, the poor at some point just disappear, and then they s-

Stephen A. Smith 42:09 So you're saying y'all are more capitalistic?

Trevor Noah 42:11 In sports.

Stephen A. Smith 42:11 All right.

Trevor Noah 42:12 In sports.

Stephen A. Smith 42:12 In soccer.

Trevor Noah 42:13 Yeah, only in soccer.

Stephen A. Smith 42:14 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 42:14 Only in soccer.

Stephen A. Smith 42:14 Only in soccer, okay.

Trevor Noah 42:15 But I, I wonder for you, 'cause I hear what you're saying about the system, but this is something I've never

Trevor Noah 42:20 actually heard anyone ask you is, as Stephen A. Smith, if the system worked perfectly, and this is a crucial one.

Stephen A. Smith 42:27 Okay.

Trevor Noah 42:27 If it worked perfectly.

Stephen A. Smith 42:28 Which system are we talking about?

Trevor Noah 42:28 Let's forget what people do or don't do.

Stephen A. Smith 42:30 Hm.

Trevor Noah 42:30 No, another political system.

Stephen A. Smith 42:31 Got it

Trevor Noah 42:32 Forget what works or doesn't work, or forget what people did.

Stephen A. Smith 42:35 Mm.

Trevor Noah 42:35 You know, 'cause sometimes we can blame a system for how people made it, uh, shitty-

Stephen A. Smith 42:39 Cool, yeah

Trevor Noah 42:39 ... essentially.

Stephen A. Smith 42:40 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 42:41 What is a world you would wanna see, or how would you want to see America run?

Stephen A. Smith 42:44 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 42:46 Not what America is, 'cause I've heard you say-

Stephen A. Smith 42:48 How would America-

Trevor Noah 42:48 You go- 'cause you'll say, like, "This country wasn't built on socialism," or, "This country's about cap-" No, I hear you, but I'm saying if you, as Stephen A. Smith, were going from scratch, you go like, "Okay, I'll..." And it would work, what system would you wanna see?

Stephen A. Smith 42:58 Something, uh, this is very simplistic-

Trevor Noah 43:00 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 43:00 ... and I get it, but me personally, when I say pro-business, here's what I mean.

Trevor Noah 43:05 Mm-hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 43:07 It would be a priority for me to make sure as many American citizens, citizens as possible-

Trevor Noah 43:14 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 43:15 ... is gainfully employed.

Trevor Noah 43:16 Yeah, okay.

Stephen A. Smith 43:17 You know, for one reason. 'Cause you got something to lose. When you got something to lose, you know how to act.

Trevor Noah 43:22 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 43:23 Because it's gonna cost you if you mess it up. See, when you ignore the lesser amongst us, I'm talking about those who have the haves and the have-nots, when you ignore the have-nots-

Trevor Noah 43:34 Right

Stephen A. Smith 43:34 ... amongst us, have no regard for them, you're inviting chaos.

Trevor Noah 43:39 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 43:39 Because folks have nothing to lose. I can't tell you how many times growing up poor, there were times where I'm sitting there and I'm looking at the drug dealer down the block, you know, I could get about five Gs this week if, if I'm willing to stand on the corner, lie to my mom, go around the corner, deal some drugs. I, I can get about five Gs a week. I can do that. And it took everything in me-

Trevor Noah 43:59 Not to

Stephen A. Smith 44:00 ... not to do it.

Trevor Noah 44:01 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 44:01 And through the grace of God, it's just that I had a wonderful mom. That's it. It's, she saved me. It's just that I had a wonderful mom, and you know what? It was a bunch of Muslim brothers in the community as well, and I knew them, and they were real big on discipline, and they watched my back, and it was all about discipline, all about patience, all about-

Trevor Noah 44:19 Right, right, right

Stephen A. Smith 44:19 ... understanding that your time would come. Don't, don't, don't ge- get addicted to the microwave society, I gotta get it now, now, now. You know what? Some things are worth waiting for. You could do it, you could do it. You gotta have a mission in mind. You gotta have a vision. You gotta fall in love with the process. It can't just be about the end game.

Trevor Noah 44:33 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 44:33 And I remember one Muslim brother told me this, and I'll never forget this as long as I live. He said, "I want you to dream for a second. I want you to stand right in front of me. I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to imagine your dream. Think about the one dream that it is that you want more than anything coming true." And I said, "Yeah." He said, "Now open your eyes. You achieved it. What you gonna do next?" He said, "The first thing that you're gonna think about is what's next."

Trevor Noah 45:02 Hmm. Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 45:03 Because you did it. It don't stop because you did it. If you aim to get it, then you're gonna aim to keep it.

Trevor Noah 45:11 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 45:11 If you're aiming to keep it, you're gonna try to capitalize off of what you've gained. In the process of doing all of that, you're gonna think about new goals because you're gonna think, "Where do I go from here?"

Trevor Noah 45:20 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 45:20 That's the human engine. That's what it is. You understand? You had enough success. You had an incredible d- Late Night show with The Daily Show. You could have stopped. What you doing now? Lord knows what you're doing-

Trevor Noah 45:33 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 45:33 ... because you don't stop. I got a lot of things going on. I don't stop-

Trevor Noah 45:37 Right

Stephen A. Smith 45:37 ... because there's more to get. Now, you're not getting it because you're greedy. You're going after it because that's what living is.

Trevor Noah 45:45 Well, it's doing. Doing, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 45:46 It's doing.

Trevor Noah 45:47 Getting is generally a byproduct of doing.

Stephen A. Smith 45:48 It's, it's doing. You're not standing still.

Trevor Noah 45:48 Yes. If you're lucky enough-

Stephen A. Smith 45:50 Yeah

Trevor Noah 45:50 ... getting is a byproduct of doing.

Stephen A. Smith 45:51 Right.

Trevor Noah 45:52 But, but if, if I'm hearing you correctly, it's interesting 'cause I'm, I'm, I'm picking up these threads in, in your life.

Stephen A. Smith 45:57 Okay.

Trevor Noah 45:57 And, and, you know, you've mentioned a few things in the conversation, and I know a few things about your life.

Stephen A. Smith 46:01 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 46:02 And, uh, maybe, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm like, I'm picking up this Stephen A. Smith, like, this little kid, and you've spoken about these things publicly. You know-

Stephen A. Smith 46:10 Mm

Trevor Noah 46:10 ... you were dyslexic.

Stephen A. Smith 46:11 Yep.

Trevor Noah 46:12 You know, you struggled because of this dyslexia. People labeled you as stupid. People labeled you-

Stephen A. Smith 46:16 Mm

Trevor Noah 46:16 ... as not intelligent. People-

Stephen A. Smith 46:18 My father.

Trevor Noah 46:18 Right, your dad.

Stephen A. Smith 46:19 My father was the one that did it, yeah.

Trevor Noah 46:20 Your mom, on the other hand, went, "No."

Stephen A. Smith 46:22 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 46:23 "That is not what that is."

Stephen A. Smith 46:24 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 46:24 And, and you had these two counter forces in your life.

Stephen A. Smith 46:27 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 46:27 One telling you that you are not, one telling you that you are-

Stephen A. Smith 46:29 Hmm

Trevor Noah 46:29 ... that you are-

Stephen A. Smith 46:30 Yeah

Trevor Noah 46:30 ... or you can be. And I'm interested in how you got pulled in one direction versus the other. Like-

Stephen A. Smith 46:40 Well-

Trevor Noah 46:40 W- was it, was it to prove yourself, or, or was, was, was your mom's love-

Stephen A. Smith 46:44 It's a combination of it all

Trevor Noah 46:44 ... greater than your father's doubt?

Stephen A. Smith 46:45 It's, it's a combination of it all.

Trevor Noah 46:46 Yeah?

Stephen A. Smith 46:46 Number one, let's keep it a buck. You love those who love you.

Trevor Noah 46:51 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 46:52 If we're honest. Really, if, if you really, really think about it, you love those who love you.

Trevor Noah 46:55 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 46:56 My mother loved me. Now, I was her baby. Youngest of six. Brother died in a car accident in 1992.

Trevor Noah 47:01 I'm sorry, man.

Stephen A. Smith 47:02 My old- Appreciate that. He was my older brother, you know, and, and, and I had left with my four sisters, but my mama loved her baby boy. You know, and she would, you know, sh- she ne- I... My mother passed away when I was 49. She was battling cancer for, like, 10, 11 years.

Trevor Noah 47:17 Sure.

Stephen A. Smith 47:19 She told me she loved me more in the last three years on this earth than she had ever told me in the first 46.

Trevor Noah 47:30 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 47:30 I could count on one hand how many times I heard my mother love me for the first 46 years of my life, but I knew it every day.

Trevor Noah 47:36 You knew it, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 47:37 Everything she did showed me she loved me. Even when she disciplined me, she showed me she loved me. It was never a doubt, not one day, that I wasn't loved by my mama, you know? And so there were times that I questioned whether my father loved me at all.

Trevor Noah 47:53 Hmm. Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 47:54 Um, the hunger to prove him wrong-

Trevor Noah 47:57 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 47:57 ... certainly that served as a motivation. The hunger to prove her right, that I was a worthy investment-

Trevor Noah 48:02 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 48:02 ... obviously that played a role. Um, all of those things, it, it, it, it's not one isolated thing. It's all of it. But I think that also it's amazing how some of the things that serve to keep you down also can propel you the second you see a sliver of hope-

Trevor Noah 48:24 Mm-hmm

Stephen A. Smith 48:24 ... a sliver of light.

Trevor Noah 48:25 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 48:25 I remember my seventh grade teacher sent my book, Straight Shooter: Second Chances, you know, um,

Stephen A. Smith 48:30 my, my, my book, Straight Shooter: Second Chances, First Takes, all of that, and the teacher's name was Mr. Caravan. And it was parent-teacher night- And he looked at my mother and he said, "Your son thinks he's stupid." He said, "He has never gotten over the fact that he's gotten left back." He said, "But all of y'all are missing it." He said, "Your son is not stupid at all." He said, "Your son gets bored very, very easily. He gets distracted. He could be in a room full of noise and detach himself and hear nothing. He's like that." He said, "But when he's excited, he's my best student." He said, "Find out what your son has a passion for-

Trevor Noah 49:29 Mm-hmm

Stephen A. Smith 49:29 ... and you will have a superstar on your hands."

Trevor Noah 49:32 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 49:32 That's what he told my mother right in front of me, and that was the first time in my life, outside of my mother, that I heard anybody express any shred of confidence in me.

Trevor Noah 49:42 Shout out Mr. Caravan.

Stephen A. Smith 49:43 And so when he said that, I said, "What am I passionate about?" And it

Stephen A. Smith 49:50 was two things. I had this fixation, this fasc- I still do to this very day. Like, I'm a Law & Order fanatic. Like, Law & Order-

Trevor Noah 49:57 The TV series?

Stephen A. Smith 49:57 Yeah, Law & Order with Sam Waterston.

Trevor Noah 49:59 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 49:59 Back in season, like, three or four. Season, I think it's season th- to, like, 21, I've never missed an episode. I've watched every episode. I love courtroom drama. It's on my bucket list. I actually played a scene for Law & Order when they killed me in Central Park.

Trevor Noah 50:12 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 50:12 They killed me in Central Park. They w- I just, I was playing an agent and, and I was... It was a good scene, too. It was-

Trevor Noah 50:17 They killed you in my favorite episode [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 50:18 Fellas, fellas, it was a good scene. I was so proud of myself. I had a blast. You know, and then they ended it, and the scene, I'm the, I'm the one that gets killed, and I'm the one that the case is based on. So they killed me. But it's on my bucket list-

Trevor Noah 50:28 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 50:29 ... to be a lawyer-

Trevor Noah 50:30 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 50:30 ... in the courtroom because I've always said if I wasn't doing what I was doing, I think I would be a criminal lawyer. If I was smart enough to pass the bar and all those, I'd be a criminal lawyer 'cause I love courtroom drama, and that was one thing. The other thing was sports, and why did that matter? Because I had no confidence in my ability to read and comprehend.

Trevor Noah 50:53 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 50:54 Hmm. Zero.

Trevor Noah 50:54 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 50:55 So what happened was is that when he said what he said, I'm picking up sports magazines, newspapers. I have no problem understanding this.

Trevor Noah 51:06 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 51:06 Hmm.

Trevor Noah 51:07 'Cause I'm interested.

Stephen A. Smith 51:07 Zero.

Trevor Noah 51:08 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 51:08 You know, 'cause I was interested and passionate. Now, the dyslexia, g- uh, my sister helped me overcome that at an earlier age-

Trevor Noah 51:14 Right

Stephen A. Smith 51:14 ... in terms of reading comprehension, not looking at words backwards and all of this other stuff. But the comprehension really elevated when it came to the sports, and why that mattered was because it changed my relationship with my father. I never forgot what he said about me. I never forgot how he felt about me, and that always stuck with me.

Trevor Noah 51:33 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 51:34 But what happened was is that it went from my father not having any confidence in me to me watching sports with him to him literally giving me assignments to tell him what happened in the sport.

Trevor Noah 51:51 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 51:52 Because he saw that I was a master at it.

Trevor Noah 51:55 How did that make you feel?

Stephen A. Smith 51:56 I felt vindicated. I felt like, "Yeah, I'm not what you thought I was."

Trevor Noah 52:02 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 52:02 You understand? He's like, "What happened? And, and why did they ch..." I said, "Well, Dad, they put this pitcher in, man. His arm was getting tired. The velocity was at about 93 miles an hour, but it was at 101 the inning earlier, so he's clearly wearing down. Plus, last game, if you remember, he was a bit fatigued 'cause he got hit in the arm. He didn't remember it. He went li- he went back to the dugout. He wasn't himself. Plus, this guy, look at him, Dad. He's got a belly. He's not in shape. You know what? That kind of weight in your midsection, it would really compromise you. Y- your lift in your legs, that's gonna affect your velocity." You're getting too personal, Stephen. "Blah, blah, blah."

Trevor Noah 52:33 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 52:34 And I'm break- You're getting too... You can't talk about us like that. We're still here. [laughs] We know, we know you be liking. I got you. I got you. We know. We know. I got you, man. I got you. [laughs] But I was, I was breaking all of this down. My father like- Yeah. That's amazing ... and all of a sudden he was like, "Well, shit. Well, what happened tonight?" And he started depending on me-

Trevor Noah 52:52 Oh, wow

Stephen A. Smith 52:52 ... to elevate his sport, and he was a baseball encyclopedist, knew his stuff backwards and forwards. But he couldn't believe what I knew, and that's what propelled me in the world of sports because I had gained not only the acceptance but the admiration of my number one nemesis- This is crazy ... which was my dad. Sh- And that assisted in- Hmm ... my career.

Trevor Noah 53:14 So you see, this is what I mean by the threads. I go, a love of litigation.

Stephen A. Smith 53:19 Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 53:19 A love of sports. That's what Stephen A. does in my opinion. You're out there every single night arguing in the court of law. It's just a court of law that takes place on a court or a field.

Stephen A. Smith 53:27 I was gonna say, it's a love for interpretation.

Trevor Noah 53:29 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 53:29 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 53:29 And then, and then on top of it, it's the, it's the passion to prove yourself to a naysayer.

Stephen A. Smith 53:34 Right.

Trevor Noah 53:34 The passion to prove that you do know what you know.

Stephen A. Smith 53:37 Yes.

Trevor Noah 53:37 The passion to know that you do back it up with something. The passion...

Trevor Noah 53:40 If, if I read correctly-

Stephen A. Smith 53:41 Hmm

Trevor Noah 53:42 ... and, and if I remember this, and you talked a little bit about it now, but it's like, you know, it was a long journey with your dad. But he got to the point where he was like, no, he had to, like... He gave you that. Not even had to. He gave you the respect. He was like, "Man, you've, you've done it. I'm proud of you. I see you. I acknowledge you."

Stephen A. Smith 53:56 He never said he was proud of me.

Trevor Noah 53:57 He never said he was proud of you?

Stephen A. Smith 53:58 Never.

Trevor Noah 53:59 Huh.

Stephen A. Smith 54:00 Never. My mother did, but he never did.

Trevor Noah 54:04 Did he come close to it, or did he not?

Stephen A. Smith 54:06 He just said, "You're smart. You're smart, my son." West Indian accent.

Trevor Noah 54:11 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 54:11 You know, he'd say, "You're smart. I didn't realize how smart you were gonna be, but you're smart." That's all he ever said.

Trevor Noah 54:17 Did he have a bit of guilt in and around that?

Stephen A. Smith 54:20 No, my father. I wouldn't associate the word guilt with my father. My father always found a way to justify the things that he said and did.

Trevor Noah 54:27 Huh.

Stephen A. Smith 54:28 Um, and he was not very, very, very big on ac- accountability until he got older.

Trevor Noah 54:33 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 54:33 When he got older and he started looking at his own mortality, couldn't move the same, um, wasn't as healthy, had to be a bit more dependent on my mother and the family. Um, I think then is when it kicked in, but not before.

Trevor Noah 54:49 And your mom on the other

Trevor Noah 54:50 side left you with the love, the belief, the, the pride, the joy. She also left you, you know, when I read through your story, with a powerful message, which I, I genuinely could relate to, and I think many people can. And it is the luxury that some people possess in their success is that it's theirs and theirs alone.

Stephen A. Smith 55:12 Mm.

Trevor Noah 55:12 And I know that that can be a little lonely for some people.

Stephen A. Smith 55:15 Mm.

Trevor Noah 55:15 But there is like a, a relief in knowing that what you can achieve and what you can do in your life, whether it's a promotion at work or-

Stephen A. Smith 55:21 Yeah

Trevor Noah 55:21 ... whatever it may be, is yours.

Stephen A. Smith 55:22 Mm.

Trevor Noah 55:23 And your failure is also yours. Your mom left you with something really beautiful and powerful. She said, "Hey, look after the family."

Stephen A. Smith 55:29 Yeah. Well, that's not always the most beautiful thing.

Trevor Noah 55:32 Yeah, but I'm, it's power-

Stephen A. Smith 55:33 It, it, it-

Trevor Noah 55:33 That's what I'm saying

Stephen A. Smith 55:34 ... it's powerful because, you know, it's like, I have, let me be very clear, I got four wonderful sisters. I mean, I love them, Linda, Arlyn, Abigail, and Carmen. Um, I love them dearly. Sometimes it's a lot because I've also got 15 nieces and nephews.

Trevor Noah 55:55 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 55:55 And half of them I'm daddy to.

Trevor Noah 55:57 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 55:58 Um, and that was before my two daughters came along. So it is a challenge, particularly when you're the lone individual successful compared. My sisters are, you know, one's a professor, one's a teacher, one's retired as a mediator for the American Arbitration Association. My sisters have done well, but obviously I've been blessed to have done significantly well for myself, and when they know me and they know what my mom said-

Trevor Noah 56:27 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 56:27 ... so they will come to me in a heartbeat looking for assistance because they know I'm not gonna say no because Mom-

Trevor Noah 56:35 Mama said so [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 56:36 ... Mom's watching me, you know?

Trevor Noah 56:37 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 56:37 Right. So they, and Mom says, she, I can see my mom now, Stephen, that, that, you know, you need to be doing that. Do- take care of your sister, you know? And I can hear her voice with me every day.

Trevor Noah 56:45 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 56:46 And so because of that, I get real ticked off at them sometimes because they know-

Trevor Noah 56:50 That they can use that

Stephen A. Smith 56:51 ... I'm not gonna say no. Right. You know? And come on now, get it together, you know, that kind of thing. But that's all it is, man. It's just that it's a lot of pressure because it puts the onus on you to live better, to take care of your health-

Trevor Noah 57:04 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 57:04 ... to do what you can to be the best that you can be because so many people are dependent on you. And it's, it's, you know, the Black family is not the typical nuclear white family out there, you know? What, you know, the median salary in America, for example, the Asian American community, last time I looked a few weeks ago, is like about 126,000 in a year.

Trevor Noah 57:23 Okay.

Stephen A. Smith 57:23 Uh, white, about 98, 99,000 a year. Hispanics in the 70s. Black folks are 59,000.

Trevor Noah 57:29 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 57:29 You know what? I've often said when white folks catch a cold, Black folks catch pneumonia. It's always rougher for us. I got that. And so because that's the reality, when you make it, everybody feels they made it. Right. And you don't want them to feel otherwise 'cause you're not trying to abandon them.

Trevor Noah 57:45 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 57:46 But you also know they didn't put in the 70, 80-hour weeks. They didn't pound the pavement for as many years as you have. They didn't put in that work that you put in. And so the level of entitlement that people can come with sometimes can be challenging. My sisters are not like that, but what ha- what happens is, is that you get fearful because a lot of times I had to remember when my family was in my pockets, I'm like-

Trevor Noah 58:09 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 58:09 ... damn. And then I had to remember, no, it's not bad, it's just that it's so many of them.

Trevor Noah 58:14 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 58:14 Oh, yeah. Like if, if, if one- it's not one person coming to me all the time. Right, right, right.

Trevor Noah 58:18 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 58:18 This one person came to me, and then that one person. Right. I got 19 immediate relatives [laughs] . Right.

Trevor Noah 58:23 Yes.

Stephen A. Smith 58:23 You know? Right [laughs] . So it's like somebody's always coming, and it's not like, it's not like it's the same four or anything like that.

Trevor Noah 58:29 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 58:29 And you feel compelled to take care of them, but the pressure is enormous because if you go-

Trevor Noah 58:37 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 58:37 ... all of that goes, and you feel compelled, if you're wise enough, to take care of yourself, which is why I take care of myself, because I know so many people are dependent on me.

Trevor Noah 58:49 So how do you balance that care with keeping people accountable and independent? And, and this is what I mean is, like, I think a lot of people can relate to this idea of you grapple with one side of caring for others who need you.

Stephen A. Smith 59:03 Mm-hmm.

Trevor Noah 59:03 On the other hand, sometimes one of the worst things you can do is constantly help a person-

Stephen A. Smith 59:09 Right

Trevor Noah 59:09 ... when they, you know-

Stephen A. Smith 59:10 Oh

Trevor Noah 59:10 ... and you, you look at it on different levels.

Stephen A. Smith 59:11 Don't enable. Crippling them.

Trevor Noah 59:12 Yeah, yeah. So, so I think of it, like with babies, you know, child-

Stephen A. Smith 59:15 Mm

Trevor Noah 59:15 ... therapists will talk about this.

Stephen A. Smith 59:16 Right.

Trevor Noah 59:17 Parents, some parents will solve everything for their child.

Stephen A. Smith 59:19 Right.

Trevor Noah 59:19 Child tries to unscrew something, they unscrew it.

Stephen A. Smith 59:21 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 59:21 Child tries to climb on something, they lift them up, et cetera, et cetera.

Stephen A. Smith 59:24 Mm.

Trevor Noah 59:24 And then they go, "Your child doesn't learn that they can do things by themselves and for themselves," you know?

Stephen A. Smith 59:29 Mm. Mm.

Trevor Noah 59:29 You, you think of it in life as well. It's like my grandmother, in the last year-ish of her life, was really struggling to walk and move, et cetera. She was staying with extended family. When she came to live with my mom, my mom said, "No, you, you gotta walk."

Stephen A. Smith 59:42 Mm.

Trevor Noah 59:42 And I remember the rest of us, we were like, "Mom, what are you doing?" You know how my mom is. She's like, "Ah, hey, hey." She's like, "She must walk." And we were like, "She can't walk." She's like, "No, no, she's just forgotten that she can walk-

Stephen A. Smith 59:50 Mm

Trevor Noah 59:50 ... because everyone treats her like she can't walk, but she can walk." And we were like, "My mom's crazy." I promise you, no lie, a few months later, my grandmother was walking again.

Stephen A. Smith 59:57 Mm.

Trevor Noah 59:58 And she was, she would, would laugh about it, and they would roast each other. But my, my grandmother said, she said, "Hai." She said, "She frustrated me so much, I just had to walk."

Stephen A. Smith 1:00:05 Yeah, right.

Trevor Noah 1:00:05 And we laughed about it. So I, I would love to know, as somebody who's now been on that journey, how do you find that balance between saying, "Hey, I'm looking after you," and actually I'm holding you back by doing everything for you?

Stephen A. Smith 1:00:18 Exactly what you just described about your grandma, I call it Mama strategy. See, my mother always had our back, but she wasn't pleasant about it. She would harass the living hell out of you to do the things that you were supposed to do, and she would make sure that even though she would help you, she would do it begrudgingly.

Trevor Noah 1:00:40 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:00:40 She would, you would hear her voice. It's like nails on a chalkboard.

Trevor Noah 1:00:43 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:00:44 Ga, ga, ga, ga, ga, ga, ga. And it wouldn't stop because the whole point was I'm not gonna allow you to sit here comfortably- Oh, okay ... while you're getting. Right. I'm gonna make it very uncomfortable for you to ask. You're gonna wanna run out and get it yourself rather than deal with my voice. Hmm. Rather than deal with me grating your last nerve because- I'm just bothering you because I won't just give it to you and let it slide.

Trevor Noah 1:01:11 Right. Right.

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:12 That's me.

Trevor Noah 1:01:13 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:15 I will sit there. I won't do it the first time, but you come to me a little bit too much, oh, no, you're gonna hear my mouth. Why, what you doing? Where the hell was the last thing I did for you?

Trevor Noah 1:01:22 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:22 Or what that... What you making of that? Why you back now? What, what, what, what, you think you gonna just keep coming to me, coming to me, ask, ask, ask? Better get your act together. What's up? Nieces, nephews-

Trevor Noah 1:01:33 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:33 ... more so again, more so than my sisters, you know? Because my sisters, I mean, listen, they raised me, and they don't need much, and when they need, I got 'em.

Trevor Noah 1:01:40 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:41 And those are my sisters. You're the child. You had plenty of opportunities to lift yourself up and handle your business. Don't play with me. Handle your business,

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:50 you know? So that's how I treat 'em.

Trevor Noah 1:01:53 Do you actually plan to run for president?

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:54 [laughs]

Trevor Noah 1:01:56 Cool.

Stephen A. Smith 1:01:58 Honestly, honestly speaking, honestly speaking-

Trevor Noah 1:02:00 I like that. Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 1:02:02 ... Trevor, I, I, I will be openly, I will be very open about this. I wasn't messing around.

Trevor Noah 1:02:07 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:02:08 I mean, it was like, under no circumstances is I'm telling you I'm qualified. What I'm saying to you is we got a bunch of unqualified-ass people trying to run.

Trevor Noah 1:02:16 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:02:16 And I'm like, "This is bad." I'm like, listen, you can't, you can't tell me... Listen, I had, I had a governor, I can't give his name 'cause I don't know if he would want me to, and he looked at me and he said to me, "Look, the real work is done in the States." He said, "The presidency is essentially a bullhorn that forces you to pay attention to the things that need to be paid attention to."

Trevor Noah 1:02:45 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:02:45 "If there's anybody that could do that, it is you." And I was like, "So explain what that means." He said, "Federal government, you've got your people in place. Every single department knows what to do, et cetera. You got a budget, you gotta look at that, fine. You got the states, governors running every state, mayors running the cities. They're handling their business individually. You got money that you can allocate. You also got the ability to print money when necessary, as we can see."

Trevor Noah 1:03:13 Mm-hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:03:13 "You got all of this stuff going on, right? But what the presidency does is force you to pay attention to things that matter to the country. It could be the economy. It could be safety. It could be the borders. It could be a lot of things. This is what it is, and you need somebody that has this magnetic relationship with the microphone and the camera to speak to millions upon millions of American citizens-

Trevor Noah 1:03:41 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 1:03:42 ... letting them know what the hell is going on and what should matter to them." He said, "You can do that."

Trevor Noah 1:03:50 But do you think the solution-

Stephen A. Smith 1:03:52 A-

Trevor Noah 1:03:52 ... to the problem is, and I'm not saying you'd be an extension to the problem, but listen to what you said.

Stephen A. Smith 1:03:56 Sure.

Trevor Noah 1:03:56 You said, "We have a whole bunch of..." You said, "I'm not qualified."

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:00 Right. I'm not.

Trevor Noah 1:04:00 "But we have a whole bunch of un- unqualified people doing this." And then I go, but then, is that the way we solve the problem-

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:06 Because-

Trevor Noah 1:04:06 ... by adding another unqualified person?

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:08 Because, b- I, and I, and that's a fair question. My response to that is that I would never surround myself with unqualified people.

Trevor Noah 1:04:13 Okay. Okay. I hear what you're saying.

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:14 My point is, is that I'm-

Trevor Noah 1:04:15 All right. Hmm. So you're thinking of it as a managerial role.

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:17 The, uh, the, uh... Because when, when, when... Exactly, because my whole-

Trevor Noah 1:04:19 You know you're unqualified.

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:19 Because my whole point is this-

Trevor Noah 1:04:21 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:21 ... in the end, if you think about what we're really, really talking about with this president, of all the complaints people may have-

Trevor Noah 1:04:27 Yeah. Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:28 ... what you're really, really upset about is that you don't trust his soul.

Trevor Noah 1:04:32 Yes.

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:33 You don't trust that his soul is in the right place-

Trevor Noah 1:04:35 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 1:04:35 ... for the common man and woman throughout this country. Ain't nobody gonna look at me and say I ain't concerned about that. Oh, hell no, I'm definitely going to be concerned about that. I don't need to make billions. I don't need to engage in cryptocurrency and pad my wallet by about $5 billion. I don't need to sit up there and have a bunch of AI executives in front of my face and then, "You know what? It's, it's a moral, it's a moral commitment." Re- moral, re- really? That's what we supposed to s- Hell no. You know what? There's a safety net to e- everything-

Trevor Noah 1:05:07 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:07 ... that really, really matters, and you have to do what's in the best interest of the people, not yourself. Damn, I got mine. I grew up in Hollis, Queens. I was on welfare. I know what government cheese tastes like. I know what government bread is like. I ate sugar sandwiches when I was younger. Literally, government bread, sugar poured on it, and ate it. This is what I grew up struggling with. It was, I, I had to eat, you know, my mother used to cook this nasty liver and make you drink cas- drink a little castor oil and all of this.

Trevor Noah 1:05:36 Oh, you a- you guys also had the castor oil with the liver?

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:39 Oh, hell yeah.

Trevor Noah 1:05:39 Oh, right. [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:39 My mother did all of this, and I'm going like this. I know what it's like-

Trevor Noah 1:05:43 Hmm

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:43 ... to be hungry.

Trevor Noah 1:05:44 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:44 I know what it's like not to have anything in the refrigerator.

Trevor Noah 1:05:46 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:46 So my point to you is that, damn, I'm not trying to s- I'm not trying to sit up there and be somebody that's wanting to cap what you're earning-

Trevor Noah 1:05:53 Right. Right

Stephen A. Smith 1:05:53 ... anything like that. But in the same breath, I'm saying, I wouldn't need to be in office and I'm pursuing money for myself. What are we doing for the American people? I remember, I never forget, I was so pissed with Trump, um, uh, this is like a year ago or so, when he came and he was talking about paying the insurrectionists from January 6th-

Trevor Noah 1:06:13 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Stephen A. Smith 1:06:14 ... some money, and I went like this. Everybody was upset with him. "Oh, they're criminals. Oh, they, they stormed the United States Capitol." I'm like, hold up, hold up. Bump all of that, okay? 'Cause depending on which political side of the aisle you're on, you don't care. You care if you're on the left 'cause you think they're criminals. You don't care if you're on the right 'cause all you care is about him being in office and a Democrat not being in office. That's not the real issue. Yo, you wanted $1.5 bill- billion dollars. Didn't you get 5 billion from crypto?

Trevor Noah 1:06:44 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:06:45 Why don't you pay it? That was my response.

Trevor Noah 1:06:47 Hmm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:06:47 It's like, you got 5 billion.

Trevor Noah 1:06:49 You got it, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:06:50 Damn, you got it. You know, if you care so much, give it your damn self. What you coming the taxpayer to do it for? It's ridiculous. See, those kind of things, to me, I would never be that guy. I'm not trying to sit up there and tell you that- I would do things perfectly or I would know everything. I would surround myself with people who do, and guess what? Those people who do know what to do, I know that I would have the conscience to look out for the best interests of the country and not myself, which to me-

Trevor Noah 1:07:19 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 1:07:19 ... is what you ask from your leaders. You ask for the competency, but you gotta have a soul and care about something other than your damn self. That was why I was saying it. I was looking at it, I'm like, "Listen, listen. I would run as a Democrat. Let me tell you what ain't gonna happen. We ain't gonna have men transitioning to women and competing against girls in women's sports."

Trevor Noah 1:07:42 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:07:43 I got two daughters. Ain't no dude, you know, with his parts-

Trevor Noah 1:07:47 Mm

Stephen A. Smith 1:07:47 ... sharing a bathroom with my daughter.

Trevor Noah 1:07:48 Or getting in a, getting in a boxing ring with them at the Olympics.

Stephen A. Smith 1:07:50 I would-

Trevor Noah 1:07:51 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:07:51 It's not happening.

Trevor Noah 1:07:52 Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:07:52 Now, I'm a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Live and let live, but not at the expense of young ladies. Can't do that.

Trevor Noah 1:08:00 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:00 That's me. That's my only cardinal rule about that. Outside of that, live and let live, you understand? You wanna come to me socialism, I'm t- this is where, getting back to Mamdani. My daughter loves Mamdani.

Trevor Noah 1:08:12 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:13 And I know exactly why, 'cause she ain't paid a damn bill yet. [laughs]

Trevor Noah 1:08:17 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:17 That's why. She ain't paid a damn bill.

Trevor Noah 1:08:19 I knew, I knew you were gonna say that.

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:20 She ain't paid a damn bill.

Trevor Noah 1:08:21 I knew you were gonna say that.

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:22 When, when, I'm, let me tell you something, she about to turn 18, and when that happens, fellas, she's gonna have a job.

Trevor Noah 1:08:31 Amen.

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:31 I don't give a damn if it's for a month, 'cause I wanna see her face when she sees that check.

Trevor Noah 1:08:37 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:37 And I'm gonna make sure she's working in New York. I wanna see the check.

Trevor Noah 1:08:41 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:41 You see, when you, when you went to work thinking that this is the money that you were earning, and then the check comes home and more than half your shit is missing, I wanna see what you say then. Yeah, Nyla, I'm talking about you.

Trevor Noah 1:08:54 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:08:55 I can't wait because I ain't having it. Those are the kind, that's what I'm talking about, but outside of that, no, I don't... I, listen, I was serious about it because I really genuinely believe I could win, but the flip side to it is that I would have to give up my money, because equal time rules according to the FCC states by virtue of what I do for a living-

Trevor Noah 1:09:18 Okay

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:18 ... I would have to give up my job immediately.

Trevor Noah 1:09:21 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:21 I don't know if you've seen the news about my contract.

Trevor Noah 1:09:24 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:26 And I'm not confirming or denying that contract, but I will confirm I ain't giving it up.

Trevor Noah 1:09:31 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:32 I ain't giving it up. Hell no. I'm not giving that up. So it was a easy decision. Oh, I gotta get... And I was informed.

Trevor Noah 1:09:38 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:38 Seriously, I was informed. I was told, "If you decide to run, the second you announce-

Trevor Noah 1:09:47 That's it

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:47 ... you will be taken off the air-

Trevor Noah 1:09:50 No

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:50 ... immediately-"

Trevor Noah 1:09:51 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:51 ... 'cause of equal time.

Trevor Noah 1:09:52 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:52 That's what's legal. Immediately.

Trevor Noah 1:09:53 'Cause now you're campaigning. Yeah, it makes sense.

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:54 Is that, because you gotta have the, 'cause the other candidate.

Trevor Noah 1:09:56 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:56 If I was a lawyer or accountant, that'd be different.

Trevor Noah 1:09:58 Yeah, that makes sense.

Stephen A. Smith 1:09:58 No, by virtue of what I do for a living-

Trevor Noah 1:10:00 Yeah, the platform

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:01 ... I have to come off the air.

Trevor Noah 1:10:01 Yeah, yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:02 Which means I gotta give up my money. There ain't no option. You ain't gotta worry about me running. I tell you that right now, 'cause I ain't giving up my money.

Trevor Noah 1:10:08 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:08 Not my money. All these politicians try to get what I got. What the hell I'm doing that for? Trevor, that ain't happening. You can go up, you can say whatever you want, it ain't happening.

Trevor Noah 1:10:15 I love how-

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:15 Ain't gonna do

Trevor Noah 1:10:15 ... I love how Stephen A. is so committed to this. Even if he is the politician that'll make it-

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:20 Mm

Trevor Noah 1:10:20 ... that he earns less, he's like, "No, I won't. I won't let, let my money go down from me being a politician."

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:25 Not, not my money. Not my money that I earned.

Trevor Noah 1:10:27 No, no, man.

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:27 Now, I'm not gonna go to the White House supposedly or representing the American people-

Trevor Noah 1:10:31 Yeah

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:31 ... and try to rob the American people of its money.

Trevor Noah 1:10:33 Right. No. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:33 But I'm not do- I earned this.

Trevor Noah 1:10:35 Mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:36 This, this, I've earned this career. I've worked in this career for 30 years. That's why I'm getting paid.

Trevor Noah 1:10:41 Right.

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:42 They ain't getting paid that I am. I'm not giving it up. Now, if I didn't have it, you'd have a different argument.

Trevor Noah 1:10:47 Mm, mm.

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:48 If you told me I had to give it up once I won the, once I won the presidency, that would be different.

Trevor Noah 1:10:52 But no, because of this-

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:53 But I gotta campaign on a maybe-

Trevor Noah 1:10:56 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:56 ... and give up my money? Oh, hell no.

Trevor Noah 1:10:58 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:10:58 That ain't no thought. That's done. I'm not, please. You ain't gotta worry about me.

Trevor Noah 1:11:02 [laughs]

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:03 I'm perfectly fine hosting my shows, living my life, doing what I'm doing. I ain't giving up that money.

Trevor Noah 1:11:08 Oh, man. You have to be unemployed in hopes of being employed.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:11 No.

Trevor Noah 1:11:11 Oh, man. Can I say, this, like, you know what? Thank you for the time, man.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:14 Yeah. My pleasure.

Trevor Noah 1:11:15 Thank you for being you.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:16 Yeah.

Trevor Noah 1:11:16 And, and I, and I will say this, and, and you, you sort of alluded to it earlier. In a world where so many people say what they want people to hear them say, in a world where so many people aim to be agreed with and, it is refreshing to have a conversation-

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:31 Yeah

Trevor Noah 1:11:31 ... with somebody who stands on what they stand on, apologizes when they, when they find out that they're wrong or they believe that they're wrong, but also is just as forthcoming as you are. Ju- genuinely, as a person-

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:40 Yeah

Trevor Noah 1:11:40 ... this has been a great time, man.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:41 Man, I've had a blast.

Trevor Noah 1:11:42 This has been a refreshing, great time.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:43 I've been a fan of yours for years. I never, ever, ever thought, 'cause I, I, I think that Jon Stewart is great.

Trevor Noah 1:11:49 Oh, he's beyond great. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith 1:11:49 And what he did with The Daily Show, it was phenomenal. I never in my wildest dreams thought anybody, especially a Black man, can come on the airwaves and do what you've done. You're phenomenal. I've been a fan-

Trevor Noah 1:12:02 I appreciate that, man

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:02 ... many, many years.

Trevor Noah 1:12:03 Thank you. Thank you, brother.

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:04 You're a sensational, sensational talent, and it is a true honor to finally meet you, my brother.

Trevor Noah 1:12:08 No, man. Come on.

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:09 So listen-

Trevor Noah 1:12:09 Thank you, man

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:09 ... I really mean that from the bottom of my heart. You too, my brother. It's good to see you. Good to meet you, my man.

Trevor Noah 1:12:13 This is great, man. This is amazing.

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:14 Any time. Any time.

Trevor Noah 1:12:14 Thank you. Stephen A. Smith.

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:15 You're welcome.

Trevor Noah 1:12:16 Oh, man.

Stephen A. Smith 1:12:16 Yes.

Trevor Noah 1:12:17 What a joy. This segment is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. I've noticed that Friendsgiving has become one of those events where everybody wants to appear effortlessly impressive. It starts innocently enough. Somebody creates a group chat, says, "Hey, let's all get together. Everybody bring something." And suddenly you're watching people negotiate their responsibilities like they're forming a government. There's always somebody who immediately volunteers to bring drinks. Of course you will. You've chosen the one contribution that doesn't require knowing how to cook. Then somebody offers to bring napkins. Oh, napkins. We're preparing an entire feast, and your contribution is helping us wipe our mouths? Meanwhile, the ambitious people start making promises they have absolutely no business making. "I'll make a homemade pie." Really? Because I've known you for seven years and I've never seen you operate an oven. But now you've watched two cooking videos, and apparently you're opening a bakery. And the problem is, once you've announced your dish in the group chat, you can't back out. You've made a public commitment. So now you're standing in your kitchen at midnight, staring at a recipe that says, "Prep time, 20 minutes," wondering why you've been preparing for four hours. I think that's where we get Thanksgiving a little wrong. We start confusing caring about people with proving how much work we've done, as though the more difficult something was to make, the more love it contains. "I was up until 3:00 in the morning making this." Why? Yeah, we love you. We would also love you if you had gone to bed. But I understand the instinct. You know, when you're feeding people you care about, you wanna bring something good. You want somebody to take a bite and say, "Mm, wait, who made this?" Although that's dangerous, too, because once you make something delicious, now you're responsible for it forever. You make one good mac and cheese, and suddenly you're the mac and cheese person. Every year, "Trevor, you're bringing the mac and cheese, right?" What if I've changed? What if I wanna explore other aspects of my culinary identity? No, the group has decided. You're the mac and cheese guy now. And that's why I think there's a difference between having high standards and making everything difficult. That's something I appreciate about Whole Foods Markets. You see, they ban more than 500 ingredients store-wide, including high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colors like Red 40. So when you're shopping for people you care about, some of that ingredient checking has already been done for you. You can focus on finding something delicious, whether you're getting ingredients to cook your favorite dish or picking up a seasonal pie or a holiday cookie platter to bring along. Because the whole point of Friendsgiving is being together. It's catching up with people, laughing about the year you've had, and finding out that somebody's been dating somebody for six months and somehow forgot to mention it. "Six months?" "Yeah, we talk every day. Well, you never asked." Those are the moments you remember, not whether somebody made their pastry from scratch. So whether you're bouncing from Friendsgiving to Friendsgiving, going home for an old-fashioned Thanksgiving, or just looking to eat good in November, be sure to keep your standards up by shopping for every feast at Whole Foods Markets. Whole Foods Markets, shop in-store or online. Thank you so much for watching the episode. If you enjoyed it, pass it on to a friend. If you didn't enjoy it, pass it on to your friend still. Let them suffer for a change. And don't forget to engage with us in the comments. Uh, if you wanna suggest a guest, maybe there's questions you want, maybe there's ideas that you have, you can chat to us. We will read through the comments, and we'll get into it. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time. Thank you for hanging out with us on What Now? And remember, we do this for you, so we would like to hear from you. Till next time. Thank you.