‘Stick to Sports’: Stephen A. Smith Faces Backlash for Saying Donald Trump Prosecutions Were ‘Clearly Politicized’ While Bashing Joe Biden for Hunter Biden Pardon

Stephen A. Smith, the ubiquitous ESPN analyst, continued to curry favor with Donald Trump by parroting one of the president-elect’s favorite talking points in an interview Monday with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation. Smith, a daily presence on radio, television, YouTube and just about every other means of mass communication, has increasingly added politics to his menu of hot takes. And it’s hard not to notice that many of those takes have been sympathetic to the once-and-future president — especially since Trump scored a decisive victory over Kamala Harris in last month’s election. Appearing with Cuomo, Smith took issue with President Joe Biden’s rationale for pardoning his son, Hunter, on federal gun and tax charges. Stephen A. Smith speaks onstage during Day 3 of the 2024 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 25, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden said in a& statement& announcing the pardon. “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half...