Stephen A. Smith doesn’t mind speaking his mind, and when he sat down with President Donald Trump, he made sure the conversation went beyond politics to an issue close to his heart: HBCUs.
The ESPN personality and Winston-Salem State alum recently attended a private dinner at the White House with Trump, comedian Bill Maher and musician Kid Rock. But while the gathering drew big names, Smith said he accepted the invitation for one reason: to make sure HBCUs stayed part of the conversation.
During an appearance on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Smith opened up about the dinner.
“He was talking a mile a minute. He didn’t duck any smoke whatsoever,” Smith said. “Every single issue that Bill Maher or I confronted him with, he had an answer for.”
There was one topic, however, that stood out to Smith.
“I would think the only thing he didn’t have an answer for was when I brought up the issue involving HBCUs,” he added.
And that, Smith explained, was the whole point of being there.
Why HBCU funding was front and center
Smith acknowledged that Trump signed legislation connected to the FUTURE Act, which provides $255 million annually for HBCUs. But he believes the conversation about funding shouldn’t stop with federal dollars.
Stephen A. Smith says he pressed Trump on multiple issues during his dinner with Trump https://t.co/hg0zLHlnIg
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His concern is that the administration’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — commonly known as DEI — could have unintended consequences for private giving to HBCUs.
Smith argued that some corporations that have historically supported Black colleges may be pulling back on their philanthropic contributions because they fear becoming targets of criticism over their involvement in race-related initiatives.
“I wanted to make the point to him that, because of his fixation on his opposition to DEI, even though the federal government had allocated those funds for HBCUs, private corporations that are charitable and philanthropic in nature, throughout the years, to HBCUs had curbed some of that spending to some degree,” Smith told Hannity.
In other words, Smith wants to know whether the political climate surrounding DEI is making companies think twice about supporting institutions that have long depended on private donations, partnerships and corporate philanthropy.
Smith’s argument was that protecting those relationships should be a priority regardless of where someone stands politically.
Smith used Trump’s own principles to make his case
Rather than approaching the conversation strictly as a political disagreement, Smith framed his argument around the free-market principles Trump has championed.
Smith pointed out that conservatives often advocate for less government involvement and encourage businesses to operate freely.
“I said to him, ‘You’re a conservative in office. You believe in free market capitalism. You believe in less government and people going out there and operating within the confines of the free market to really generate revenue,’” Smith recalled.
“Why would you get in the way, in any way, of corporations doing this, intentional or not?”
Did Trump hear him out?
According to Smith, Trump took the concern seriously.
“He took heed to that and said that was something he was going to think about strongly,” Smith said, adding that Trump told him he would be meeting with his people to discuss the issue.
Whether that conversation leads to any changes remains to be seen. Still, Smith appears to have accomplished what he set out to do: put HBCU funding directly in front of the president
