During a live NewsNation town hall, sports commentator and SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith abruptly walked off stage after delivering a fiery rebuke of Washington’s political class, accusing lawmakers of being detached from the everyday struggles of working Americans as the government shutdown dragged into its third week.
The discussion, moderated by Chris Cuomo, featured Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, and former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, noted The Daily Caller. The conversation grew tense as participants sparred over government spending, healthcare, and foreign aid. When Cuomo turned to Smith, the ESPN analyst unleashed a blistering critique of both parties.
“I just want to say it is trying to be very respectful to everybody because they deserve it. Let me say that because you deserve it. But let me say this,” Smith began. “I don’t think Washington understands how ticked off we truly are. Think about the conversation that we’re having right now. You brought up the single payer system, emulating Canada. We’re looking at a president that just gave 20 billion to Argentina. We’re hearing about us witnessing what I consider to be a retribution tour. Even though to some degree, I don’t blame him because of how people went after him.”
Smith’s remarks, met with applause, turned emotional as he cited the story of an air traffic controller in the audience who was moonlighting for DoorDash to make ends meet during the shutdown. “Still, it appears to be counterproductive. We’re listening to this kind of stuff. While a young man walked up to the microphone and said that he had to leave here to go and work on DoorDash,” Smith said. “And I’m not accusing any of you directly or personally of feelings where I’m just talking about the apparatus that is Washington, the nation’s capital. This is why you have so many Americans … so pissed off at Washington because somehow some way you get to have these conversations [and] engage in specific elements of it to talk about what we need to do to get things better.”
Smith pressed the panel on fiscal accountability, blasting the ballooning federal debt. “Our debt is 37.8 trillion. Somehow, some way, the taxpayers [have] been paying this, been throwing money, because we all look at our check, and it’s been going to the government,” he said. “And somehow some way you’re supposed to be doing something constructive and productive enough to make sure that we don’t have that kind of deficit. It isn’t happening.”
Linking the abstract debate to the tangible consequences of the shutdown, Smith concluded his remarks with visible frustration. “A government shutdown is going on right now. A man has to work on DoorDash when he’s really an air traffic controller that we applauded. And we’re up here talking about how much some money is going to cost. And the only person that doesn’t have a check coming is him. You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to take a break,” he said, before rising from his seat and walking off stage.
Smith has been rumored to be considering a presidential run himself.
The episode encapsulated the growing frustration of many Americans caught between political stalemate and economic uncertainty—an anger Smith gave voice to, even as Washington remains mired in debate over who is to blame.
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