In a discussion about New York Giants fullback Nikita Whitlock’s vandalized home that had “Trump” and “KKK” scrawled on the walls, ESPN2 “First Take” co-host Max Kellerman said that many Donald Trump supporters were “susceptible to low-quality information” during the election.
Smith said a lot of non-racists voted for Trump for various reasons, and it would be “irresponsible” to label every Trump supporter as a racist.
“We can’t sit up there and be as irresponsible as those hate mongers, as those racists in saying that anybody who voted for him, they must be like those people,” Smith stated. “There are a lot of people that don’t feel the way those racists feel, and they voted for Trump for a whole different reason. And if we don’t respect where they’re coming from and be willing to engage in dialogue and debate based on that level, then we’re no better than the racists that we’re decrying right now. We have a responsibility to be that way.”
“No, that’s not true. We are still better than the racists. But you’re right. It is a lowering of kind of decent standards because many of the voters were also just people susceptible to low-quality information,” Kellerman replied.
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