During Friday’s ESPN2 broadcast of “First Take,” co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman weighed in on New York Giants fullback Nikita Whitlock’s burglarized house that had “Trump” and racial messages written on the walls, agreeing that the president-elect should be “more active” in denouncing racist acts done in his name.
“The fact of the matter is that Donald Trump was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan. That’s a fact. I’m not making that up. And that there was an appeal to white nationalists. How else can you say these things?” Kellerman began.
He continued, “This is not the first time that something like this has happened since the election and some reference to Trump was made, Trump country, Trump’s America, and to Donald Trump’s credit, he did, in a nationally televised broadcast at one point say it should stop, that’s terrible. But couple things need to happen. Either he needs to do that every time something like this becomes public information, or if the idea is this is happening so much that he couldn’t possibility [denounce it every time], then he needs to address that, too. Doesn’t he?”
Smith added that Trump should be “more active” in denouncing these type of acts “not just with his words, but with his actions.”
“Just coming out and giving strong language is not enough,” Smith said. “He needs to be more active, you know, not just with his words, but with his actions in denouncing such stuff because what the president-elect needs to really, really embrace and to understand that his presidency, you know, doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell at being successful if he doesn’t address this matter. Those ignorant, racist few out there very well may not epitomize everybody that vote for Trump.”
What the “First Take” hosts said echoes what ESPN’s Jemele Hill said Thursay on ESPN2’s “His & Hers.”
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