ESPN host Stephen A. Smith sharply criticized Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for labeling Republicans as fascists. He claimed such rhetoric and Democrats' focus on marginal issues were why Donald Trump regained the presidency.
Ocasio-Cortez posted videos on Instagram after TikTok ended a 12-hour shutdown. She accused the platform of collaborating with the Trump administration. Smith fired back, pointing to "bullying tactics" by Democrats, including issues around transgender policies.
“So the left has not engaged in bullying tactics, so ‘woke’ culture didn’t exist?” Smith asked. “Where people had to make sure they echoed the right pronoun in order to keep their job security. Where you had to sit and, God forbid, you literally challenged somebody with regards to transgender issues you were considered to be transphobic.”
He went further, highlighting inconsistencies. “One minute we were called upon to protect young women. Then that got thrown out the window the second a male was transitioning to female and wanted to compete in female sports. Suddenly, there wasn’t any consistency.”
Trump's campaign ads targeted issues like these. One ad showed Vice President Harris advocating for transgender prisoners to receive sex changes as attorney general. Trump, meanwhile, openly supported banning biological men from competing in women’s sports during an October town hall.
Smith sarcastically questioned the left. “So now it’s the Republicans we need to be worried about? But not y’all? Y’all would never do such a thing. Oh my goodness. It would never be you. That would never happen. Really?”
He blamed the left’s approach for Trump’s resurgence. “Racist, fascist, and all these other names. That’s what you do when you’re on the left. Not paying attention to the fact that the vast majority of American people are tired of that.”
Smith pointed to misplaced priorities. “Trump didn’t win the election. You all lost. You put him there. Let me get real raw with this. It got so bad with Biden in office, racism was thrown aside. Transgender issues don’t make up one percent of this population. Black people make up nearly 14%. And for years, transgender issues seemed more important than black issues. That is just the truth.”
The debate over transgender athletes intensified after Lia Thomas won the 500-yard women’s final at the 2022 NCAA championships. The presence of biological males in women’s sports caused several controversies.
Some college teams forfeited matches against San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team due to a transgender player. A San Diego State player was injured by a spike from that player, sparking criticism.
High school volleyball player Payton McNabb faced similar consequences. She suffered a career-ending concussion in 2022 after being struck by a transgender player's spike. In April 2023, she testified about her ongoing medical issues.