Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday called out celebrity supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, including Oprah Winfrey and former first lady Michelle Obama, questioning whether their rhetoric hurt the Democratic nominee more than it helped.
Mr. Smith opened his eponymous YouTube show by calling President-elect Donald Trump’s victory “the greatest comeback in American history” before tackling why he thought America’s 45th president also became its 47th.
Mr. Smith said that while he thought Ms. Obama would have won handily if she had run for the presidency herself, her “us versus them” rhetoric on reproductive rights at a rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan, ahead of the election was ineffective.
“How do you think the men felt about that? So we have to do what you tell us to do, otherwise we’re anti-you — you thought that worked? Do y’all know anything about most men?” Mr. Smith asked rhetorically.
Mr. Smith then showed a clip of Ms. Winfrey saying that, if people did not vote for Ms. Harris it was possible they may never have an opportunity to vote again.
“Who believed that coming from Oprah? … This is the kind of stuff that alienates an electorate, that alienates a voter, because the freedom that you tell them they have you try to confiscate morally by letting them know ‘you ain’t worth a damn unless you vote the way we say you should vote,’” Mr. Smith said.
He added that Ms. Winfrey’s hectoring was particularly ineffective in light of inflation, immigration and other macroeconomic problems America’s voters are dealing with.
Mr. Smith took aim at another celebrity, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, on Fox News personality Will Cain’s podcast on Thursday. ESPN and ABC are both owned by Disney, and Mr. Cain used to appear on ESPN’s “First Take” with Mr. Smith.
Mr. Kimmel fought back tears on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday night and said that Mr. Trump’s victory “was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him. And guess what? It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too. You just don’t realize it yet.”
Mr. Smith told Mr. Cain that “I’m not crying over the fact that Donald Trump is the president. … I would have tried to be a bit funny and humorous with it and let everybody know it’s not gloom and doom. We’ve dealt with a lot in our society and we are going to deal with a lot more in years to come long after Donald Trump is gone, no matter what you think,” according to Fox News.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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