ESPN host and podcaster Stephen A. Smith continues to be in hot water for his criticisms against Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett.
Based on the blowback and angry reactions on social media, you would be forgiven if you thought that he cursed her out, insulted her looks, denigrated her parents or defiled the grave of a deceased family member.
In actuality, Smith’s true crime was offering a mild criticism, and truthfully solid advice, to a woman who has largely taken the place of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez as the left’s favorite darling.
And like AOC before her, Crockett has been shining brightly as the loudest mouthpiece for the left’s resistance against the Republican Party. As such, she is widely believed represent the future of the Democratic Party and perhaps even a future contender for president.
It’s one of the reasons she has become increasing belligerent and foul mouthed during interviews and public appearances.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy trash talking drama in my politics and blood sports, but there does come a point where there has to be some substance beneath the noise to make all the drama worthwhile.
This underlying lack of substance is exactly what Smith took aim at during his Straight Shooter podcast. Here, Smith questioned whether Crockett's approach of constantly yelling and cursing out President Trump was beneficial for her constituents in Texas.
He added that, despite her antics being well received in Democratic circles and her most fervent base, they were counterproductive to getting things done in Washington.
Everyone with an ounce of political acumen understands that not only is what Smith said entirely inoffensive, it’s utterly correct.
One of the things that doesn’t get talked about enough when it comes to President Trump is just how easy it is to get on his good side and actually score political wins so long as he’s sufficiently buttered up.
For better or worse, President Trump is a man of extremes. What this means in practice is that it’s just as easy to be his friend as it is his enemy and vice versa.
The truth is, if you really want to get things done as a congressional leftist, it’s as simple as playing up to his ego and for that courtesy, he’s almost always happy to give you something in return. We’ve seen this constantly in how he deals with other world leaders and those in Congress.
You wouldn’t know it now by the way they get along in public, but Trump and Marco Rubio and even Vice President JD Vance weren’t always bosom buddies.
“He’s a deal maker. And if you figure out a way to make him look good in anyway, quid pro quo is something he lives by,” Smith said during his initial monologue. “He’ll reciprocate.”
It’s solid advice, if you’re someone that’s actually in congress to score legislative victories for your particular side. But then, Crockett has never been interested in anything more than her own advancement and to her credit, she has made quite the name for herself...