Hours before the game, Smith used ESPN’s “First Take” to declare that he’d be “blaming” such a loss on the president due to Trump’s “selfish” and “narcissistic” decision to attend the game at Madison Square Garden, which was subjected to heightened security measures ahead of tipoff as a result.
“This is not the place for the president to be coming. He knows it. He just doesn’t care,” Smith said before the president watched the Spurs’ Game 3 victory over the Knicks, marking New York’s first loss since April 23.
Critics on social media weighed in on the clip, with several users on X arguing that the president has used the “low IQ” label as a go-to attack toward people of color.
