Jemele Hill, a writer for The Atlantic and former ESPN colleague of Stephen A. Smith, has criticized Smith's recent dinner with former President Donald Trump. Hill questioned the value of the meeting, which also included Kid Rock and Bill Maher, during her "SPOLITICS Live" podcast.
Hill recalled Trump's previous public remarks about Smith in June, where the former president reportedly called Smith "stupid" and of having a "low IQ." "Ain’t this the same dude that basically called you stupid? He called you stupid!" Hill stated on the podcast. "He told America you were stupid and low IQ. Gotta say, when I think about dinner companionship, last person I want to have dinner with is someone who called me stupid to the world."
Smith had stated that his purpose for dining with Trump was to discuss the need for increased funding at historically Black colleges and universities. However, Hill characterized the effort as a "dummy mission," arguing that Trump's personality and past actions do not indicate a capacity for compassion or compromise that would make such a discussion fruitful. "Trying to appeal to his sensibility and appeal to his compassion to me is a dummy mission," Hill explained.
This dinner occurred despite Trump's past critical remarks towards Smith, particularly after the sports personality predicted he would bring bad luck to the New York Knicks during the NBA Finals. Trump had questioned Smith's aptitude and IQ, though he had previously suggested he would like to see Smith run for president. Smith had publicly challenged Trump to a debate in response to the IQ comments.
More recently, Smith described his dinner with Trump as cordial, stating that the former president "could not have been nicer" and did not evade any questions.