Stephen A. Smith torches Dem rep over his patronizing ‘attitude’ toward panel

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith criticized Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts for his condescending “attitude” toward a NewsNation town hall panel consisting mostly of non-politicians.

Auchincloss appeared remotely on “CUOMO Town Hall: The First 100 Days,” while the in-person panel included host Chris Cuomo, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Smith, former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. During the discussion, Auchincloss implied that only politicians are qualified to speak authoritatively on voter concerns, with Smith saying his comment illustrated why Democrats lost in the 2024 election.

WATCH:

“Other than [former Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris] Sununu on that stage, nobody who is on that stage right now has talked to an actual constituent in years,” Auchincloss said. “I have done 16 town halls in the last three months. I have talked to my constituents and what I am hearing repeatedly is people are afraid. People are afraid at how badly managed this economy is being. They are afraid at how weak this president is on the global stage.”

Smith repeatedly tried to respond to Auchincloss’ condescension, but the congressman kept speaking over him before he finally broke through.

“I’m going to interject to say this to the representative: That kind of attitude where you just said only one person on this stage has talked to constituencies other than you — that’s why y’all lost,” Smith said. “Because let me tell you something. Let me tell you something right now: I can go to an arena with 20,000 people or a stadium with 80,000 people, and I can run across tens, if not hundreds of people that speak on these issues.”

“Just because you’re not speaking directly to a politician doesn’t mean you’re not speaking directly to the issues that affect the American public,” he continued. “You can’t say something like that, sir, respectfully.”

Democratic strategist James Carville sounded the alarm on “On Brand with Donny Deutsch” in June about male minorities fleeing the Democratic Party due to its condescending attitude.

“We have a huge male problem all across the board, but particularly — I hate this term but I’ll use it — ‘communities of color,’ as if all the people that are not white are the same. It’s stupid,” Carville said at the time. “And I do think, and people got a little upset with me when I told The New York Times, I think Democratic culture has too many preachy females. It’s too much, ‘Don’t eat hamburgers, don’t watch football, wear a condom.’ Like, man, shit, leave me alone, okay? I’ve got a goddamn life to lead.”

“You know, a guy works at a tire repair shop in suburban Atlanta, motherfucker’s working 50 hours a week, making $16.50 an hour, and he wants to watch the football game, and he wants to smoke dope and drink beer. And then everybody’s telling him he’s slothful and they reject that shit,” he added. “I just think some of it is this cosmopolitan condensation, if you will. Like, you need to lead the kind of life we lead, not the kind of life you lead, and it pisses people off.”

He also particularly warned about the likelihood that Democrats would “lose Hispanic males.” President Donald Trump ultimately made substantial gains with Hispanic men in the November election, securing a majority of their votes nationwide.

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