A sharp confrontation between Trump and a sports commentator who mocked the president’s sleep during a match

US President Donald Trump sparked a new wave of controversy after entering into a public confrontation with the famous sports commentator, Stephen A. Smith, against the backdrop of his recent harsh criticism of the president, due to him appearing asleep during a New York Knicks game.

The photographers’ lenses captured pictures of Trump in which he appeared to be asleep while attending an NBA final match between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, despite the noisy atmosphere and the great media attention that accompanied his attendance at the gym.

These pictures quickly turned into material for comment and ridicule in the American media, as Smith devoted part of his program “First Take” on ESPN to talk about the incident, directing sharp criticism at the American president.

Addressing the viewers, Smith said: “Do you know what Trump was doing during the match? Search the Internet and watch the videos for yourselves. I won’t say he was snoring because I wasn’t next to him to hear it, but he was definitely not awake. In fact, he wasn’t awake at all.”

Smith continued his sarcasm, addressing Trump, saying: “If your presence at the game was so important, why did you appear to be asleep?” You yourself are the one who called former President Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe,” so what title can we give you now, when you were not awake during the match?

These statements angered Trump, who did not delay in responding. The US President published a sharply worded post on his “Truth Social” platform, in which he directly attacked Smith.

Trump began his post by saying: “Stephen A. Smith is an arrogant and foolish person, his intelligence is very limited, and in short, he is stupid as a rock, and he does not have any qualifications that qualify him to think about running for a high political office, or even for a lowly political office.”

He added that Smith would not stand in any political debate, considering that he would lose even to the weakest politicians.

He also mocked him, saying that the performance of former President Joe Biden would seem special compared to what Smith could offer, stressing that the latter would turn into an object of ridicule if he decided to enter the world of politics.

This confrontation is of particular importance given that Trump had previously expressed his admiration for Smith, and even indirectly encouraged him to think about running for the presidential race.

In April of last year, Smith announced that he did not rule out running for the presidential elections scheduled for 2028, and that he was keeping all options open to him, which was welcomed by Trump.

In May 2025, Trump expressed his desire to see the famous sports commentator as a presidential candidate, describing him at the time as a “smart person.”

He later wrote on the Truth Social platform: “I am good at selecting people and candidates, and I think Smith is suitable for this type of position, and I hope to see him try it out.”

But this friendly relationship between the two men began to deteriorate, after Smith criticized Trump’s attendance at the New York Knicks match in Madison Square Garden, a match that ended in the team’s loss.

The sports commentator was not content with criticizing the presidential presence, but went so far as to hold Trump responsible for ending the team’s 13-game winning streak.

In response to these criticisms, Trump doubted Smith’s ability to lead the country, and told reporters before boarding the presidential plane: “He is a really nice man, but running for president requires special abilities and high competence, and it also requires a high level of intelligence, and I am not sure that Stephen possesses that, in fact, I do not think that he possesses it at all.”

As the exchange of criticism continued, the intensity of the statements between the two parties increased, and Smith justified his position by saying that Trump’s attendance at the final round matches caused a state of chaos, due to the exceptional security measures that accompanied the visit.

The sports commentator pointed out that the fans faced great difficulties in reaching the hall due to the strict security measures, which included a heavy deployment of police officers, the establishment of large-scale security barriers, and inspection procedures that he described as similar to those adopted at airports, which led to severe crowding and obstruction of traffic and fans wishing to follow the match.

Smith said: “Why do I hold Trump responsible? It’s very simple, because he ruined our entire atmosphere. I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it again: The man ruined everything.

About the Daily Beast

. Trump previously expressed his admiration for Smith and encouraged him to consider running for the presidential race.