Van Lathan calls out Stephen A. Smith for suggesting all Black people should vote for Republicans.
Appearing on the “Press Box” podcast, Lathan spoke of the GOP’s potential candidates saying that Smith’s political prospects are much brighter within the GOP.
“He should run as a Republican. He’s clearly a Republican,” Lathan told host Bryan Curtis. “I think the reason why I’m so sure that he’s a Republican is because of something that I explore with my therapist … about identity. The reason why people defend things so robustly when they’re attacked, even if they’re not directly a part of them, is because they see themselves as that and they feel that attack. They personalize that attack. You identify with that; that is your identity.”
“The reason why Stephen A. Smith would take the side of Donald Trump in a back-and-forth with Jasmine Crockett, when Jasmine Crockett is being called dumb, a Black woman being called dumb by the president, and he’s telling her how she should respond. And not telling Trump the way he should be talking to that black lady is because he’s one,” Lathan said.
Lathan then said that the ESPN commentator would be “very successful” as a Republican.
appearance on Cam Newton’s “Funky Friday” podcast. When discussing his foray into politics, Smith mentioned a speech he gave at Vanderbilt University about the power of the Black vote.
“I wish for one election that every black person would vote Republican,” Smith recalled. “ And I said, it’s simple. Since 1964, Black people have been giving our vote to the Democratic Party at an exorbitant rate.”
Therefore, they know they got our vote. And they don’t have to cater to us as much as we need them to,” Smith continued. “The Republicans know they’ll never get our vote, so they don’t give a damn about us. And as a result, we’re the only community in America devoid of representation, which is why we’re considered disenfranchised.”