Stephen A. Smith Challenges Trump, Vance, and Hegseth to Debate DEI Cuts: ‘Try to Defend This!’

Stephen A. Smith wants to debate President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over their recent cuts to DEI initiatives.

On Thursday’s episode of First Take, Smith reacted to the news that Hegseth’s Department of Defense had removed an article honoring baseball great Jackie Robinson’s military service. The move was part of a larger operation to remove all content promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The Trump administration believes DEI initiatives prioritize diversity over merit.

After hours of outrage, the article was eventually restored. Smith believed it was no accident.

“Similar to civil rights legislation in 1964, similar to things like affirmative action, similar to things like the Rooney Rule in the National Football League, etcetera, how dare you try to get away with highlighting why it needed to exist in the first place?” Smith said. “It was because of the iniquities of folks in the United States of America — primarily the White power structure that exists. It is a fact. It is known throughout history that it is a fact. They want to gloss over and erase the need for those things to take place to begin with.”

At the end of his seven-minute-plus rant, Smith challenged them to a debate.

“President Trump, I’m happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir,” Smith continued. “I’d love for you to try to defend it. Vice President Vance, you too. Pete Hegseth, you too. Stephen A. Smith is calling you out on national television. I’d love for you to sit down with the cameras rolling and try to defend this. It’s ridiculous.”

Watch above via ESPN.