Whitlock: Stephen A. Smith's CBS profile shows he's the next 'clown' being ‘installed’ for 2028 presidential run



Back in January 2024, BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock made a prediction that ESPN sports critic Stephen A. Smith was quietly laying the foundation for a 2028 presidential bid. Whitlock hypothesized that Smith’s 2023 book — “Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes,” which he argued was uncannily similar to Barack Obama’s 1995 memoir “Dreams from My Father” — was the first step in his long-term plan to transition into the political arena.

Fast-forward three years after his book’s publication, and now Smith is openly teasing and seriously considering a potential run. Even though no formal declaration of candidacy has been made, multiple news outlets describe him as moving closer to a bid.

“Over the weekend, it became more crystal clear that I was right two years ago and that Stephen A. Smith is running for president,” said Whitlock on a recent episode of “Fearless.”

He warns that everyone who is rolling their eyes at the prospect of a President Smith, saying things like, “he’ll never win,” are having the wool pulled over their eyes yet again.

Smith, he argues, isn’t some organically grown would-be politician but rather the next “clown” being deliberately “installed” to push the left’s agenda. His recent CBS profile is proof, he says.

“I want to show you the cleverness and the sneakiness of what they're pulling off through Stephen A. Smith,” says Whitlock. “I keep saying this. People are into the position like … ‘Yeah, he may run, but he'll never win,’ and I say not so fast.”

“Why would you be so sure?” he asks. “They've been pulling off this scam and trick for a hundred years. They've been installing puppets and clowns in high positions for a hundred years.”

To hear Whitlock’s theory about how Stephen A. Smith is being covertly installed into D.C. politics right before our very eyes, check out the episode above.

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Ryan Clark CONVICTS Texas A&M trooper of police brutality



A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was relieved of his game-day duties after having a run-in with South Carolina player Nyck Harbor during Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.

“This kid scores a touchdown, maybe pulls his hamstring, keeps jogging up into the tunnel. And when he and a teammate are returning, this Texas state trooper, who’s there for security purposes, I’m sure, who I’m sure is a huge Texas A&M fan, and Texas A&M’s getting the doors blown off of them,” BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock explains.

“They’re down 27 to 3 at this point, late in the second quarter, and he walks through in between these two players and … gets into some elbow-to-elbow contact or whatever and points at them, and the kids, they’re excited. They turn their head briefly and then keep it moving,” he continues.


“It’s a horrible look for the state trooper. I think they had every right to pull him from the game and say, ‘Hey, man, what are you doing? Go home,’” he adds.

However, that is not what happened.

Rather, the state trooper is now being used as an example of police brutality.

“What happened at the Texas A&M South Carolina football game is unacceptable. For an officer who was there to protect everyone in the stadium to walk toward those young players with that level of aggression, that level of intention, that level of purpose,” ESPN analyst Ryan Clark said on "The Pivot Podcast."

“And now, if you are these young men’s parents, this is worst-case scenario for you. This is something you’ve coached your kids through. You’ve told them how to behave. You told them what to say. You’ve told them how to look. And you’ve told them all these things just to stay alive,” he continued.

BlazeTV contributor T.J. Moe isn’t having it.

“This is what you do when there is a shortage of racism. You create your own. Obviously, when there’s a shortage of police brutality, you have to extrapolate out a police officer on national television brushing up against some players and say, ‘Just imagine what he does when he’s not on camera,’” Moe says.

“At any point in time, Ryan gets a chance to cry about a white man looking negatively towards a black man, it helps him in a lot of ways,” he adds.

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Pat McAfee defies ESPN norms by hosting Trump — and executives can’t stop him



Like most major broadcast networks, ESPN isn’t known for being friendly to those with conservative beliefs.

But in honor of Veterans Day, Pat McAfee had President Donald Trump on his show to discuss the government shutdown, college football, and the NFL kickoff.

“I want you to picture McAfee calling Burke or Jimmy and saying, ‘Listen, White House just called,’ or ‘I have a contact there and they said I could have Trump on Veterans Day. Cool?' And they said, ‘No.’ Can you imagine them telling him no?” BlazeTV contributor and former ESPN host Sage Steele tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock.


“Like that’s not happening. It’s impossible. And Pat knows that, and he did right. There’s just no way in hell that that happens that they tell Pat no about anything,” she continues, noting that McAfee has also been “vocal, critical, about this fight between ESPN, Disney, and YouTube.”

“He’s saying whatever he wants. That man has no rules. And I think it’s hysterical because I’m picturing being a fly on the wall watching the executives melt down as this interview happened yesterday. But they could not tell him no,” she adds.

“ESPN needs that. They need someone that’s outside their control,” Whitlock comments.

“This helps them, in their minds, probably, balance things out a little bit, right?” Steele asks. “And say, ‘Yeah, we might be woke and idiots on pretty much every single topic. But we have McAfee over here talking to Donald Trump. So see? We’re not that bad.’”

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ESPN fatigue: Stephen A. Smith pushes vaccines, racial drama, and no real journalism



ESPN is in trouble, and BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock isn’t surprised — especially considering that one of its “stars,” Stephen A. Smith, has been pushing woke nonsense on listeners since the tiresome events of 2020.

In one clip that Whitlock plays from 2022, Smith addresses an incident involving a Duke volleyball player, Rachel Richardson, who claimed that she heard racial slurs in a game against BYU.

“I’m saying, BYU, you did it by allowing this to happen and not addressing it expeditiously, not addressing it with the level of quickness and speed that you should have addressed it with. So now, instead of looking at that fool, that racist bastard that was spewing that nonsense towards Miss Rachel Richardson,” Smith yelled on ESPN’s “First Take.”

“This is why I have fatigue,” Whitlock comments, annoyed. “And y’all remember this. This is about some BYU student that allegedly called some black girl the N-word or something at a volleyball game. It made no sense. There was no proof of it.”


“And Stephen A. Smith’s on TV yelling and screaming and wagging a finger at some white kid that he doesn’t know who he is. There’s no proof that it happened. There never was any proof that it happened. He made a fool of himself and ESPN, and they allowed it to happen. This is supposed to be some media corporation that should have some understanding of the basic tenets of journalism. And they’ve platformed Stephen A. Smith as if he’s the face of sports journalism,” he adds.

But Smith’s BYU outburst is far from the worst of it.

“The virus has been especially brutal to my community, with data showing black Americans being far more likely to get infected, get hospitalized, and, yes, even die from COVID-19. And now the data shows black Americans are not getting the vaccine, at least not at the same rate as other communities,” Smith preached on ESPN.

“Just in Philadelphia, where Rite Aid pharmacies are distributing the vaccine, 87% of vaccinations so far have gone to white folks, reportedly,” he added.

“‘You gotta take this poison, y’all,’” Whitlock mocks. “‘Black people, my community. Now, yes, I lived in a gated community filled with white people, but when I say my community, I’m talking about you black people.’”

“‘You got to take this experimental vaccine and kill yourself. … My IQ is probably in the low 80s, but I’m a doctor and can tell you what vaccines you should take,’” he continues.

“This is insanity,” Whitlock says, adding, “And you wonder why people have fatigue.”

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ESPN Star Tells Liberal Viewers To Stop Crying Over His Interview With Trump
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ESPN Star Tells Liberal Viewers To Stop Crying Over His Interview With Trump

'And, he's hilarious'

ESPN’s empire is crumbling — and Netflix and Amazon are 'ready to pounce'



ESPN’s reign as the king of sports media may be nearing its end.

BlazeTV contributor Paul Burkhardt is among those who believe this to be true, explaining that the network is “very vulnerable” as competitors like Netflix and Amazon prepare to make a “power play” that could permanently reshape the sports broadcasting landscape.

“I don’t think a lot of people are realizing — and I’ve been on this and been studying this now for probably about a year and a half — I believe ESPN is very vulnerable right now,” Burkhardt tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock and the rest of the panel on “Fearless.”

“And it’s the worst time for this to happen, because I think Netflix and Amazon are in a position to make the ultimate power play over the next, say, two to five years. They’ve already started to dabble into the games. They already have the leagues with them to some varying degree,” he continues.

“I think there’s a takedown about ready to happen, and I’m in line to watch it,” he adds.


Burkhardt believes that “Netflix and Amazon are ready to pounce.”

“I think that ESPN could be drunk on its success. ESPN has always had an overinflated sense of itself, particularly the on-air talent, because ESPN had such a monopoly on sports coverage that anybody you put on there was going to have the feeling of having a following,” Whitlock agrees.

“I don’t think Stephen A. Smith has a sincere following. I think he’s been forced down our throats on ESPN, but no one thinks Stephen A. Smith is talented. No one thinks he’s that informed or that insightful about sports,” he continues.

“It’s kind of reflective of the whole mentality of Hollywood and the leftist deal. … If they decide this person’s important; if they want to put Joe Biden in as president even though he’s half dead; if they decide, ‘Hey, no one likes Hillary Clinton, but we’re going to run her for president,’” he adds.

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GAMBLE: In huge new deals, ESPN and Google cave to the online betting economy



A simple Google search stopped being simple a long time ago. With sports scores, flight costs, and news articles being integrated into the engine over the years, it seemed the search giant could not pack any more ways to push its verticals into the engine.

But it's still trying.

If 2024 was the year of the small modular nuclear reactor — which were approved en masse to power AI — 2025 may be the year of the gambling partnership.

'Just ask something like "What will GDP growth be for 2025?"'

Google and Disney's ESPN have both inked new deals with gambling websites that will further increase the visibility of betting into everyday life.

Why not gamble?

Google announced in a blog post on Thursday it will integrate both Kalshi and Polymarket into its engine "so you can ask questions about future market events and harness the wisdom of the crowds."

The pleasant descriptors for the American trading websites can be further summarized by noting they are simply platforms for gambling on nearly anything.

At the time of this writing, Kalshi's feature bet is who will be nominated for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys. On Polymarket, users can bet on when the government shutdown will end, who will win the Super Bowl, or on the price of Bitcoin.

Google says, "Just ask something like 'What will GDP growth be for 2025?' directly from the search box to see current probabilities in the market and how they've changed over time."

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Photo by Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Popular gaming (not for kids)

ESPN decided to end its partnership with Penn Entertainment early, just two years into a supposed 10-year deal. ESPN provided a $38.1 million buyout, according to Sportico, and then turned around and linked up with DraftKings immediately.

Where Penn operates casinos and slots in addition to its online sportsbook, DraftKings is not your father's gambling dynasty. Instead, the brand is fully immersed in the culture, consistently appearing as a sponsor on popular YouTube channels that target a younger demographic.

What started as a company meant for fantasy drafts has evolved into a gambling empire that tends to skew younger and has a more lenient platform in terms of what types of sports bets are allowed.

Interestingly, Penn Entertainment previously owned Barstool Sports before selling it back to founder Dave Portnoy, who would also later partner with DraftKings.

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No Escape

DraftKings has previously partnered with professional sports teams and leagues in the past, including those in the NFL, MLB, and NBA. Now, after also announcing a deal with NBCUniversal in September, the company's ads will appear across every major sports league's broadcasts.

This includes NFL, PGA Tour, Ryder Cup, Premier League soccer, NCAA football, NBA, and the WNBA, as well as Super Bowl LX, NBA All-Star Weekend, and the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup.

On ESPN, the integration will be more betting-based, with the network saying it will roll out DraftKings in ESPN's full "ecosystem" to offer at least three DraftKings products starting in December.

With search engines, networks, sports leagues, and YouTubers all jumping on board with the gambling revolution, it seems a betting culture is being fully immersed into all facets of the economy ... and life itself.

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ESPN forced her to get the COVID shot — then fired her anyway



Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele was among those in 2021 forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine in order to keep her job — but after complying and getting the shots, her employer let her go anyway.

Steele was taken off the air following a podcast appearance on “Uncut with Jay Cutler,” where she called vaccine mandates “sick” and “scary.”

“You’ve had this long career, this illustrious career, and it came to a point when truth was on the line, and you took a risk,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey says to Steele.

“I had been suspended, punished at ESPN in 2021. As we tape this, exactly four years ago I was suspended and in bed, sobbing and scared to death of what was next,” Steele explains.


“I was suspended for speaking up about being forced to take the COVID vaccine in order to keep my job at Disney. ... I had to be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021, or else, and I waited until the very last second, and I had prayed about it,” she continues.

While Steele was against taking the shots, the pressure she felt as a mother with bills to pay was too much, and she decided to comply.

“I was ready to walk away, but as the sole wage earner with three kids and an ex and alimony and all those things, I felt like I had to make the choice to do it to keep my job. I still struggle with that. I feel like I caved,” she explains.

“So, I did it, and I complied, and then I talked on a podcast about it,” Steele tells Stuckey, noting that she went on the podcast immediately after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, so she was extra angry.

“I said, ‘I think it’s sick and wrong for any employer to force an employee to do something to their bodies that they don’t want to.’ Pretty simple. I said, ‘But I love my job, and I need my job.’ And here we are,” she tells Stuckey.

“And that was the beginning of the end,” she adds.

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