Culture · REPORTING
Stephen A. Smith interviews Trump in the White House for his Straight Shooter show
SiriusXM says the interview was recorded in the Roosevelt Room and posted in full on YouTube. USA Today reported Trump telling Smith he plans to veto "a lot of things" after the midterms.
Published
Stephen A. Smith sat down with President Trump in the White House Roosevelt Room for an episode of his Straight Shooter show, SiriusXM says. The full interview is on YouTube.
USA Today dates the interview to November 12, after the midterms. It quotes Trump saying, "I'm going to be vetoing a lot of things that they're going to send me initially that are bad for the country."
Ten topics, one sitting
SiriusXM lists the ground covered: GOP losses in the midterms, the Iran conflict, gas and grocery prices, tariffs, Black voters, HBCU funding, criminal justice reform, border security, Jensen Huang's resignation from Nvidia, and a hypothetical matchup against Barack Obama.
That is a long list for one conversation. How deep any of it went is for the video to show. "No-holds-barred" is the show's own description.
Not a first meeting
USA Today notes the interview came less than a month after a dinner on October 15 with Smith, comedian Bill Maher and Kid Rock, which USA Today describes as "great" for the president.
Smith is quoted pressing him in the interview. USA Today has him saying Trump does not appear to be "budging one bit" and predicting "more chaos over the next two years." Trump answered that Democrats "may work with me."
Why a creator got this
My read, and it is only that: a president who wants a long, uninterrupted hour with a big audience now has more choices than the Sunday shows. Smith has a radio slot and a YouTube channel.
The Straight Shooter page describes the show as bipartisan and says it airs Wednesdays from 6 to 8pm ET on POTUS Politics, Channel 124. Neither source says who requested the interview.
The part to watch
A host who dined with the president in October and interviews him in November faces an obvious tension between access and challenge. Whether viewers see a sparring partner or a friendly stop is for them to judge from the tape.
The format is the story here: a creator-hosted show, released in full on YouTube, getting the Roosevelt Room. My prediction, and only that: other hosts will ask for the same room.