ESPN host Stephen A. Smith defended his stated regret over voting for Vice President Kamala Harris during a podcast appearance on Wednesday, pushing back against hosts Cari Champion and Jemele Hill who suggested his comments targeted Black women.
Smith, during an appearance on the "Flagrant and Funny" podcast, elaborated on his remarks about regretting his 2024 vote for Harris. He cited a moment from "The View" in October 2024, where Harris stated she could not think of anything she would do differently than President Joe Biden. Smith described this as a missed opportunity, arguing that Harris's loyalty to Biden overshadowed her own presidential ambitions.
"When she passed up on that opportunity, this is not a dumb woman. This is a former state attorney general. This is a former senator. This is a former vice president of the United States. She is not dumb," Smith stated. "There's only one reason she said that, because her loyalty to Joe Biden usurped everything else."
Champion and Hill questioned the necessity of Smith expressing regret after the election, with Champion asking why it was necessary to negate the work Harris had done. Smith clarified that he supported Harris leading up to the election and voted for her. His comments about regret, he explained, came after the election, reflecting his honest feelings in the moment.
"I supported her leading up to the election. I voted for her. I was on the airwaves talking about what it's going to take to win, win, win. And when it was over, I was honest about how I felt in the moment that that transpired," Smith said. He later countered Champion's accusation of targeting Black women by asking if the disagreement could be viewed as such, rather than disparagement.
Smith had previously discussed his vote and subsequent regret in earlier interviews. In an interview with Sage Steele, he confirmed he voted for Harris but later regretted it. He explained that he initially believed Harris possessed the ability to compromise and work across the aisle. However, observing the Democratic Party's stance even after an election loss led him to feel there was "no hope."
In a January 2025 interview with Bill Maher, Smith commented on supporting Harris, stating, "Yes, I voted for her, a lot of people voted for her, but in the end, we end up feeling like d--- fools, because we supported it. We fell for the okiedoke as they say. If you had a primary, the likelihood is she would not have been the Democratic nominee."
Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters.org, offered a perspective on Smith's honesty, suggesting that more commentators should be willing to admit when they are wrong or express regret, emphasizing the importance of transparency and reflection from those in the media and public discourse.