Pushback over Stephen A. Smith's decision to attend a White House dinner hosted by President Donald Trump has come from a range of commentators and observers. The dinner brought Smith together with Bill Maher and Kid Rock.
Smith said he had come across unflattering remarks about Kid Rock — touching on race and Confederate flags — yet maintained that none of it would have stopped him from attending. He used a portion of his remarks to stand behind the dinner — which he described as running well past four hours — contending that his presence there was aimed at advancing the interests of HBCUs and Black communities.
On X, Jemele Hill — a television personality formerly with ESPN — wrote that Trump had never demonstrated a meaningful commitment to improving the lives of Black Americans, and that the dinner had produced the result he was looking for. Hill contended that Smith had gone directly to journalists to discuss how well-regarded he is among celebrities, then questioned how often people would accept such a pattern at face value.
Smith later addressed Hill's remarks on his Straight Shooter with Stephen A. podcast, where he stated that whenever HBCUs face difficulties, he intends to offer whatever support he can. Smith also expressed a readiness to meet with the president at the White House, adding that such a visit would hinge on receiving an invitation to do so.
Questions about Kid Rock's use of the Confederate flag at performances have drawn objections from various quarters over an extended period. Objections to a Detroit chapter honour for him surfaced among NAACP members in 2011, while six years later another Detroit civil rights organisation raised the Confederate flag and his remarks about Colin Kaepernick as grounds for scrapping his scheduled performances.
Kid Rock took the headline slot at TPUSA's alternative Super Bowl halftime show in February — positioned by organisers as family-oriented programming — on the same night Bad Bunny appeared during the main broadcast. One source described his pitch for the role as resting on two pillars: his relationship with the president and his standing as a recording artist.
Smith noted that Kid Rock had drawn resistance from Black voters and those outside conservative circles, and that questions about race had also come up in conversations. The topic of Confederate flags was raised in the discussion, and Smith said the message was received and noted.
Smith also brought up Kevin Hart, noting that Kid Rock is the person Hart named on a list of individuals Hart described as unable to tolerate Black people — a list that, Smith pointed out, Hart had placed Smith on as well, something Smith characterised as audacious before setting the matter aside.
Smith drew a parallel between the president and boxing promoter Don King, telling the interviewer that his closest prior experience with someone of that conversational style dated back to a meeting with King years earlier. Smith added that Hart, in his view, carries himself as a person of genuine character. Smith identified the individual with that conversational style as Trump.
Both Smith and Maher, he noted, have received invitations to return to the White House.
