Stephen A. Smith says “we're tired of transgender issues and culture wars” after mocking presidential run

ESPN Sports Debate host Stephen A. Smith has plunged so deeply into the political arena that he claimed in an interview on “The View” on Thursday that he would consider running for president. And he's already analyzing the Democrats' failed strategy in this year's election.

During an interview on “The Will Cain Show” later Thursday, Smith delivered a scathing criticism of the Democratic National Committee and its message ahead of Election Day, pointing to transgender issues as one of his weak points.

“There's such a strong bias towards the progressive left when we talk about transgender issues, culture wars, identity politics and all that stuff. We're tired of all this. That makes perfect sense to me, and I'm fine with it, even if I didn't vote for it [Trump]. “I'm no longer as stunned and feeling like nothing but gloom and doom and the world is ending because the person I voted for didn't win,” Smith said.

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Smith previously spoke about the issue of transgender athletes in women's sports in an interview with Bill O'Reilly on June 16, 2023.

“In my opinion, no,” Smith said when asked if he thinks transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against women. “In this regard, I am very supportive of the gay and transgender community. But when you talk about people who were born male and compete in a women's sport because they became women, then that's definitely a discussion we should be having.” Everyone did, because at first glance I see I don’t see how it’s possible, and I don’t see how it’s right… There’s a justice problem.”

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In 2016, during an episode of his ESPN radio show, Smith questioned the validity of a lawsuit brought by an LGBT rights group in North Carolina over a state law that sought to ban transgender people from using the restrooms of their preferred gender. North Carolina passed House Bill 2, which required people to use the restroom that corresponded to the gender on their birth certificate in public buildings and government offices. The bill was the first of its kind in the United States.

However, Smith still mocked women who claimed they felt “unsafe” sharing a bathroom with biological men during the same monologue.

“They get too exaggerated, they make too many exaggerations, because that’s not the problem. You don't have to be afraid and feel insecure if you don't want a man in the toilet with you if you are a woman. You just don't want to be with them because you're a different gender because there's a men's room and a women's room and that's it,” Smith said.

“Don’t tell me the insecure part! Like, 'Oh my God, I'm scared for my life.' … Stop! That’s not the problem!”

The issue of transgender rights, particularly transgender inclusion in women's sports, became a hot topic in the 2024 election cycle. It became such a vulnerability for Democrats that many of the party's candidates refrained from supporting transgender people.

Those Democrats included Texas Rep. Collin Allred, Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola. Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown recently defended himself when linked to the issue by claiming he was never in favor of allowing biological men in women's sports. Allred, Peltola and Brown all lost their campaigns.

Vice President Kamala Harris did not speak at length about her stance on the issue of transgender athletes in sports after becoming the Democratic nominee in July, and in interviews with Fox News and NBC News addressed questions about her past support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care for prisoners and prisoners illegal immigrants.

However, other key figures in the Democratic Party have increased their support for transgender rights and inclusion in women's sports throughout the election cycle.

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Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked the Green Party's presidential nomination after the party's vice presidential candidate Butch Ware spoke out against it Transgender athletes in women's sports.

“Like I said. This ticket is predatory and people deserve better,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X in response to a video in which Ware expressed his views on transgender athletes.

In April, the Biden-Harris administration issued a sweeping rule clarifying that Title IX's ban on “sex” discrimination in schools also covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and “pregnancy or related medical conditions.”

And while the government insisted the regulation does not affect athletic fitness, several experts say Evidence presented told Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately bring more biological men into women's sports.

Democrats have tried to advance the Equality Act, proposed in 2019 with changes that would “force public schools to admit biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls' sports teams.” In March 2023, Democrats argued for and proposed transgender rights legislation a resolution “recognizing that it is the duty of the federal government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights.”

Several US states have their own laws to restrict or prevent transgender inclusion in women's sports. However, there have also been incidents in some states with these laws in which the inclusion of transgender people in girls' sports was made possible by a federal judge's decision.

Judges Landya McCafferty of New Hampshire and M. Hannah Lauck of Virginia, both appointed during the Obama administration, each issued rulings this year that allowed biological men to play on high school girls' soccer and tennis teams . McCafferty issued an order allowing two transgender athletes to compete on girls high school soccer teams in New Hampshire, while Lauck ruled that an 11-year-old transgender tennis player could compete against girls her own age in Virginia.

Smith has said numerous times that he would consider running for public office. Since the election results, he has been among the few members of the liberal media to support the outcome of Trump's victory, and has harshly criticized left-wing figures such as Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Jimmy Kimmel in their portrayal of Trump.

Smith has not ruled out a possible presidential run.

“I have no desire to become a congressman or senator. But if you came to me and told me that I had a legitimate chance of winning the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it,” he said on “The View” Thursday.

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