ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith suggested that Democrats shifted left to appeal to non-black voters during a Wednesday interview on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger.”
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all captured the vast majority of black voters in the last three elections. Smith said on Bensinger’s show that he did not believe their loyalty to the party had paid off. (RELATED: ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’: Crucial Voter Groups Fleeing Democrats, Says Stunned Fmr Clinton Pollster)
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“[A]s a black man, civil rights legislation 1964, I’m going to ask the Democratic Party, tell me what you’ve done for us since that time. You’ve had at least 80% of our vote since then,” Smith said. “Tell me what we’ve gotten out of it. ‘Cause seems to me like we still got some of the same troubles. You’ve given us more access to capital. I’ll give you that. But what else have you done? Fair Housing Act, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act. I got you. But what have you really, really done for us? You understand?”
Smith questioned how the Democrats moving far left helped black Americans.
“When you were sitting up there and you were the progressive left, hard left, and you were pushing athletes transitioning from male to female, competing with young ladies — how did that benefit the black community?” he asked. “When you were talking about cancel culture and woke culture and people were getting dismissed, suspended, or fired for pronouncing the wrong pronoun or something — how did that help the black community?”
“You sure you didn’t sell us out? You sure that you weren’t doing this to ingratiate yourself with a different voting bloc so the black vote wouldn’t mean as much to you as it once did?” he continued. “Are you sure about that? Please explain, because I’m all ears, because it looks that way to me.”
Gallup polling published in February 2025 found that 45% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents wanted the party to become “more moderate.” An Oct. 20 New York Times editorial board piece also argued for both parties to moderate, asserting that there were no far-left Democrats like Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who represented swing states or districts.
Moreover, Smith said he was pleased with President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory because he believed the Democratic Party had long manipulated black voters on NewsNation’s “CUOMO” in May.
“I think, for the longest time, black Americans have played the role of suckers to the Democratic Party,” he said at the time. “They’ve guilted us into voting for them, making us feel as if we’re going to be ostracized, creating division within our own communities or what have you to get our vote, instead of saying to us, ‘Hey, this is what we will do for you. And it will work better than what they’re offering.’”
Portraying Harris and the Democratic Party as excessively far left on transgender issues was one of the most effective advertising campaigns in boosting support for Trump and Republican candidates during the 2024 election, according to multiple reports.
Trump made inroads with black voters in 2024, garnering 13% of their votes, including 21% of men, according to a CNN exit poll.
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