ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith said Thursday that Democratic leaders who oppose President Donald Trump’s efforts to fight crime in their cities may be acting out of ego and fear of losing power.
During an interview on Fox News Channel’s The Will Cain Show, Smith told the host that Democratic figures, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, avoid working with Trump because it could hurt their public image.
“When you take those things into account, there’s no denying that there’s egos that are involved. There’s people that’s worrying about their power being usurped. There’s also people worried about maintaining power because, if any way they come across as cooperative and willing to work with the president, that they’re going to alienate their party,” Smith said.
Trump has said he plans to send federal troops to Chicago to address the city’s violent crime. In a Truth Social post Tuesday, he wrote, “At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 8 people were killed… Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, & soon. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Washington, D.C., has recently seen a drop in reported crime after Trump sent the U.S. National Guard and increased the federal law enforcement presence in the city last month.
Trump’s calls for similar federal action in Chicago have been opposed by Pritzker and Johnson.
The governor said there is no crime emergency in Chicago and claimed Trump is “attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families.” He also called Trump’s idea “unconstitutional” and “un-American.”
Last month, Johnson wrote on X, “What the President is proposing would be the most flagrant violation of our Constitution in the 21st Century. The City of Chicago does not need a military occupation.”
Smith argued that while Democratic leaders may be protecting their egos, Republicans also sometimes support Trump without question.
“But they’re not the only ones guilty of that because we’ve seen people on the right willing to sign off on anything the president says and does because of the same reasons. So, again, it’s politics across the board,” he said.
However, Smith emphasized that the focus should be on crime and deaths in Chicago, not politics.
“But as a Black man speaking to the murders that you highlighted and articulated, that’s my primary concern, and that should usurp all concerns over all other things when it comes to what we’re talking about,” he told Cain. “People are getting killed in the streets, particularly in the streets of Chicago.”
