All Episodes

April 26, 2025 15 mins

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.

Support the show: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenasmith

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Now it's time for me to get into some political
talk due to a headline that I just saw yesterday
that I found very very interesting. Far right conservative Candice
Owens is speaking out against one of our favorite people
in the world, supposed to lead, mister President Donald Trump himself,
and accusing the administration of fighting against free speech right

(00:23):
here in the United States of America. The comments are
a reference to Harvard University, who is suing the Trump
administration for threatening to withhold federal funding if the school
did not comply with its list of White House demands.
As a result, lawyers for the university sued the administration
earlier this week. In the suit, university lawyer claimed that

(00:44):
Trump administration is unlawfully using billions of dollars in federal
funding as quote leverage to gain control of academic decision
making at Harvard end quote. They also allege that the
funding freeze violates the first First Amendment and flouts federal law,
and that is essentially what Owens is saying as well.

(01:06):
Take a listen to her thoughts from a podcast yesterday.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
I never thought that I would see a day where
I would be rooting for a university above Donald J. Trump.
And his administration. But I don't recognize this administration right now.
I don't recognize what's happening. I have a theory, I do.
We were kicking around some theories earlier, me and the team,
and we were going, what how could Trump be such
a free speech enthusiast and being allowing these things to happen,

(01:32):
going after college universities, trying to suppress speech while pretending
that you're not suppressing speech, while pertaining that you're fighting DEI.
It's so messy, it's so obvious. Everyone knows what you're doing.
People who are still trying to grift I get. I
suppose are not willing to challenge you on this, which
is ridiculous because when you are out of office, we

(01:54):
are going to have to live with these consequences. Our
children are going to have to grow up in this America. Okay,
so we threaten our speech, it's not worth it. So
I can have pom poms and go Hurrah for a
couple of years, then go, okay, well, yeah, now it
kind of stinks because, oh, we're getting arrested for wrong think.
Got David Freeman, Yeah, A rush them, A rush Tucker

(02:14):
Carlson and Candice Owens get them.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
I love it.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
And if you think it's gonna stop with college campuses,
you're out of your mind. So you better buck up
and root for Harvard University in this fight.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
See, it's moments like this that when the show is
over and I go home and I have an opportunity
to look at some content, and then I see the
comments that come in my direction. One of the things
that grates my last damn nerves is when everybody's acting
like I'm oh, I'm flip flopping, all, I'm timid, all,

(02:51):
I'm scared to take a position. No, ladies and gentlemen,
there's something to be said about EXAs size and common sense,
not living on the fringes or the extreme, and deducing
that both sides.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Can actually make sense. Because that's what we're going to.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Do here, first off, to stop the presidents and disappoint
some of y'all. Candice Owens is not totally wrong. The
President of the United States knows that Harvard receives billions
of dollars in funding. He knows this that last year,

(03:33):
in fiscal year twenty twenty four, Harvard got six hundred
and eighty six million dollars in taxpayer dollars for fiscal
year twenty twenty four. Now, this is an institution with
an endowment exceeding fifty three point two billion dollars.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
And so when you hear stuff.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Like the president is trying to impose his will on
the country's oldest university, accusing it of engaging in anti Semitism,
along with other things, wanting them to eradicate DEI programs, how.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Far fetched is it to deduce that.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
He's trying to control speech, He's trying to control what
institutions of higher learning are actually teaching and disseminating to
the masters. How far fetched is it to say that
the president of the United States of America, the forty
seventh president, who campaigned on a lot of this stuff,
is keeping his word yet again, albeit to the chagrin

(04:42):
of millions of tens of millions of American citizens throughout
the United States of America.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
It's not far fetched.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
And when Cannae one sit up there says, be alert,
be alarmed, because if they get away with this, if
you're not rooting for Harvard on this, and the federal
government and the Trump administration is successful in muzzling or
dictating dare I say the kind of education that a

(05:12):
university like Harvard is allowed to impart upon its student body.
If they get away with that, one could easily ar
you it does interfere with free speech. Remember, Harvard University
just sued the federal government this past Monday after Trump

(05:35):
threatened to pull nine billion dollars in federal funding unless
the school agreed to a set of demands that included
broad changes to its admissions, its discipline, and its management policies.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
I'm reading from the story right here.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
The Trump administration says it's actions which include a threat
to revoke Harvard's tax tax exempt status or a response
to unchecked anti semitism on camp. Remember, just a few
weeks ago or a few days ago, Trump do throughout
two tweets. One he said, perhaps Harvard should lose his

(06:11):
tax exempt status and be taxed as a political entity
if he keeps pushing political, ideological and terrorist inspired slash
supporting sickness. Remember, tax exempt status is totally contingent on
acting in the public interest.

Speaker 3 (06:25):
Before that, Trump had said this about Harvard.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
Harvard is an antisemitic far left institution, as are numerous others,
with students being accepted from all over the world that
want to rip.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Our country apart.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
The place is a liberal mess, allowing a certain group
of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and
spew fake anger and hate.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
It is truly horrific.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
Now since our fillings began, they act like they are
quote all.

Speaker 3 (06:52):
American apple pie end quote.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Harvard is a threat to democracy with a lawyer who
represents me, who should therefore be forced to resign immediately
or be fired.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
He's not that good anyway.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Now, I hope that my very big and beautiful company,
now run by my sons get rid of him.

Speaker 3 (07:08):
A sap. There's a word other than anger and hate.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
To bring into this equation, and the word to bring
into this equation is liberal. Why because Trump, although one
would argue he's not necessarily a conservative in the same breath,
to me is because you ran with the GOP, you
won representing that ideological body, and on top of it all,

(07:35):
you've put three conservatives on the Supreme Court, basically registering
the six to three majority. So again, you are a conservative.
Why does that liberal? Why was the word liberal? Throw
me aback a little bit. I'd love to hear if
Trump feels the way that Hillsdale College runs its operations

(08:02):
as a conservative institution. How about Liberty University of Virginia.
Hillsdale is in Michigan, by the way.

Speaker 3 (08:10):
How about Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
How about Texas A and M University a large public
university with a strong military tradition and conservative student base.
That's Texas A and M. How about Brigham Young University.
That's just naming a few. Patrick Henry College of Virginia,
University of Dallas, and Texas Pepperdine University. These are institutions

(08:36):
that some would say are conservative. I'm saying it shouldn't
matter if you feel that way about liberal institutions, why
are you not feeling the same way about conservative institutions.
If you felt that way about both, on either side
of the ideological bar, then there's no argument. The problem

(08:59):
is it only seems to be one side that's problematic.
Now that's stephen A on this side. Let me go
to this side and bring this point.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Up, because we like to be fair on this show.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
When we've seen some of the actions taking place on
some of these campuses.

Speaker 4 (09:25):
It has looked like anger and hate. There's no way
around that.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
When we think about speech, we don't talk much.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
About this Israelly Palestinian conference. We don't talk much about
when Hamas or members of AMAS stormed into Israel and
kidnapped and ultimately murdered hundreds, if.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Not thousands of people. We don't talk about that.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Nor have we talked about the fact that even though
you want to go after any terrorist organization, because no
terrorist organization, there's a good organization. The flip side to
it is that you have a lot of people out
there lamenting the fact that innocent women and children are
being harmed, if not killed in the Gods are stripping
beyond and that's where some of the protesters on these

(10:17):
college campuses come from.

Speaker 3 (10:18):
I'm not taking a side. I don't know enough. I
didn't bring that up for that reason.

Speaker 1 (10:23):
I brought it up because that's what folks on the
right are saying, and they're accusing some of our prestigious
universities like Harvard, like Columbia and others in the United
States of America are fostering thoughts of anti Semitism, building
tents on campuses, blocking students from getting their education, pointing

(10:46):
out Zionists when they see them and impeding their ability
to learn peacefully. Now, when the right brings that up,
what do you say?

Speaker 3 (10:59):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
I'm simply saying that's the reason we got to watch
the outcome of this case. Because if Trump wins this case,
even though he's highlighting liberal institutions, which will be alarming

(11:23):
and concerning in and of itself, because we know he's
gonna favor the right over the left, he's gonna leave
some other institutions alone while he bothers others. It's problematic
because there's a bigger, grander issue here. If he wins
the case, then guess what he's showing an ability to

(11:45):
impede upon one's right to the first Amendment, which is
free speech. And if he could pull that off, what
can he do to anybody that opens their mouths and
the sense in any way that is.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Displeasing to him? What will he do? Then? We don't know,
but it's scary. It is scary.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
My thing is, we also have to be mindful that
when somebody brings up the fact that Harvard received six
hundred and eighty six million dollars in taxpayer money for
fiscal year twenty twenty four, when they asked the question
on the right, why does an institution with an endowment
of over fifty three billion dollars, which is the largest

(12:28):
in this country, why do they need taxpayer dollars close
to seven hundred million of our money. That is a
legitimate question. I'm not saying I got no to answer.
I'm not saying that it doesn't benefit our society considering
the students and the quality of the students that emanate
from places like Harvard and Columbia and come out into
American society and make a contribution to this country. I'm

(12:49):
simply saying it's a legitimate question. This is not stephen
A casting the spurs is a cast in judgment. You
have some folks on the right that believe some of
these universities are engaging in anti Semitism and beyond, which
is what Trump articulated. You got Candace Owens, a renowned
Trump's supporter, unapologetically so suddenly going against the administration because

(13:14):
she says they're repeating on free speech.

Speaker 3 (13:21):
Which side do you roll on?

Speaker 1 (13:24):
And why you want me to give y'all a piece
of advice on this subject?

Speaker 3 (13:30):
Bump.

Speaker 1 (13:31):
The individuals don't think about Donald Trump, don't think about,
Candace Owens, think about the issue, Think about the potential policy, not.

Speaker 4 (13:42):
The people, because if you really really think.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
About what has ailed our society, that's really what it
comes down to. We don't like him aha, we love
him aha, and that's what the issue is.

Speaker 3 (13:54):
And a lot of times our.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Emotions are dictated by people we do or don't like,
as opposed to the actual policy and issues that will
affect lives far extended beyond ourselves. This is one of
those times.

Speaker 3 (14:12):
Candace Owens is bringing up the issue of free speech
and Donald Trump, who she has supported for years, is challenging.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
Harvard's right to do whatever it wants as an institution
of higher learning, which by the way, is a private institution.

Speaker 4 (14:38):
Who's right, Who's wrong? The courts will decide.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
And if the courts decide that Donald Trump is right,
Candace Owens is arguing that the courts will be giving
him the right to impede on free speech not just
for institutions of higher learning, but for American citizens all

(15:10):
over this nation.

Speaker 4 (15:13):
Is she right.

Speaker 3 (15:16):
Or is he right?

Speaker 4 (15:19):
Inquiring minds would love to hear what you think. That's
why you got to watch this.

Speaker 1 (15:28):
I know I am oh I know I am
Advertise With Us

Host

Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.