President Donald Trump’s plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza has met resistance from an unexpected source, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
Oddly, The ESPN hot-taker took time away from Super Bowl week and a flurry of NBA trade activity to address the president’s announced, undefined, and not yet fully detailed vision for U.S. involvement in Gaza.
However, despite jam-packed sports week and the limited knowledge of the president’s intentions, Smith blasted the idea on Wednesday’s edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show as “utterly ridiculous.”
“He sounded like he was looking to build Trump casinos or Trump hotels or whatever the hell else he’s trying to come up with,” Smith said. “It was utterly ridiculous and I’m going to say that right now, plain and simple.”
Smith acknowledged that Middle East policy isn’t his “lane” but believed Trump’s statement warranted his analysis.
“But when I saw this president speak last night as if he was in the process of facilitating a business deal, that is where my antennas went up, and I became incredibly alarmed,” Smith said. “You have no business doing that.
“Do you understand how the Gaza Strip has been ravaged? Do you understand what that area of this world looks like right now in the aftermath of Hamas invading Israel, killing hundreds of people — if not over a thousand — along with other things they are they are alleged to have done? [Do] you have any idea? Have you seen the footage? Have you seen the wreckage? It’s been reduced to rubble. It’s [uninhabitable] right now. And I get that part, but to go out there and to say that they should just leave, that doesn’t even begin to say irresponsible.”
