Politics
WATCH: Joy Behar Gets Schooled By Stephen A. Smith On ‘The View’
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is known for his bold takes, but even The View’s Joy Behar wasn’t ready for this one. During a heated discussion on Monday’s episode, Smith shut down Behar’s attempt to downplay President Donald Trump’s decisive 2024 election win—on her own show, no less.
Behar opened the segment by ridiculing Trump’s claim of a “landslide” victory, saying, “He won the popular vote by 1.5%, one of the smallest ever,” and questioning whether he really had a mandate. That’s when Smith stepped in.
“I’m no supporter of Trump. I’m a supporter of truth and the facts. And here’s the facts: The man won every swing state,” Smith said. He went on to break down the numbers, pointing out that Trump expanded his support among black, Latino, and young voters compared to 2020. He also noted that “89% of counties shifted to the right.”
Behar looked visibly uncomfortable as Smith continued, dismantling the Democratic Party’s talking points in real time. “In 2020, Trump didn’t win the popular vote, he didn’t win the Electoral College,” Smith explained.
“Matter of fact, Republicans hadn’t won the popular vote since 2004. But they did this year. So 20 years after they last won a popular vote, they won the popular vote, they won the Electoral College, the man won every swing state,” Stephen. A explained.
The studio audience fell silent as Behar, clearly unprepared for the pushback, struggled to counter Smith’s argument.
His final point hit the hardest: “If you’re the Democratic Party and you lost 49.8% to 48.3% and you’re looking at that 1.5% difference, that’s an excuse for you to say, ‘what we did really wasn’t that bad.’ No, don’t continue to do that. Find a new strategy.”
WATCH:
Smith, a longtime critic of both political parties, made it clear he wasn’t defending Trump personally—just the reality of the numbers. But for Behar and her audience, it was a rare moment when The View’s liberal echo chamber got shattered by a dose of facts.
In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Trump secured both the popular vote and the Electoral College, marking the first time a Republican candidate has won the popular vote since 2004. Trump received approximately 77.3 million votes (49.9%), surpassing Kamala Harris’s 75 million votes (48.4%).
Trump’s victory was bolstered by increased support across various demographics, including notable gains among Black and Latino voters, particularly younger Black men. His campaign’s strategic focus on economic and immigration issues resonated with many voters, contributing to his improved performance in both urban and suburban areas of key battleground states.
While acknowledging without evidence that some Trump voters may regret their decision in time, Smith later said the real issue was that many Americans felt abandoned by Democrats. He argued that voters weren’t necessarily voting for Trump but against the policies Democrats had been pushing.
“It wasn’t about Trump. They were voting against what the Democrats were throwing in their direction,” Smith said. His message to Democrats was clear: they need to rethink their approach, find a new leader, and develop a strategy that appeals to the voters they lost.
