← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Interview Only: Candace Owens positions herself as a truth-teller, unafraid of backlash from political elites, media, or activist groups.
00:58:36
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- [00:00]
Stephen A. Smith
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- [00:40]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being Hella black, Hella queer and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast. From iHeartMedia to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [01:10]
Candace Owens
Your boy Stephen A. Smith one on one with Candace Owens Do I really need to say anything else? Stephen A. Smith show in the House. You know what time it is. What's up? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Coming at you as I love to do at the very least three times a week over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. As always, I'd like to pause to take a moment to thank my subscribers and followers for subscribers to continuing to support the show, the millions of downloads we received over the last few months courtesy of iHeartRadio. Not to mention though more than 1.24 million subscribers over the digital airwaves of YouTube, the show continues to grow and grow and grow. If it were not for your support, it wouldn't happen. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep the love coming and I'm going to keep on coming to continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell to get notified for all of our newest content and you too shall be considered the latest member of of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, please make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that would be straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Every now and then I do a show and I sit down and there's really not Much for me to say because the words coming out of somebody else's mouth is incredibly potent. Obviously controversial, definitely disagreeable in a lot of people's eyes, but nevertheless, you find yourself edified and intrigued all at the same time because you want to listen and you want to learn more. And it certainly encourages you to hear from the other side. And that's what today's show is about. You know, my guest today is a woman by the name of Candace Owens, married with four children, very, very popular conservative pundit. Has been for years. She's been incredibly controversial along the way in the eyes of a lot of people. She has spoken out against the MeToo movement. She has spoken out against Black Lives Matter. She has spoken out against some people within the conservative community. She definitely has made her voice heard about what she believes as it pertains to the Democratic Party. The list goes on and on. You've heard of Blexit, which she's created, which she created years ago. You've heard of other things that she has done. She's a best selling author as well. And she has a very popular podcast that's now eclipsed more than 4 million subscribers. But she's not a fan favorite in the eyes of a lot of people and in this particular day and age, certainly not anybody from the Jewish community. In light of her comments about Israel, specifically the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she has spoken out fervently and feverishly on many, many occasions. And with this sit down interview, without much prompting, she certainly didn't hesitate to do so this particular moment in time. And as I think about that, I think about all the things that I want to discuss with her. I think about the controversial issues and challenges that she has faced. I think about her views about Christianity, her views about politics, her thoughts on immigration, and how these views has led to her life being threatened. All of these are things that I was looking forward to talking to Candace Owens about. It's not the first time I've spoken to her. I sincerely doubt if it will be the last. Candace Owens with Stephen A. Smith up next. Trust me, you don't want to miss this. All right, folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up right now. You know, I love this time of year. The NBA Finals are in full effect and with all this action jumping off, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you take advantage of it all. That's why we partnered with Prize picks, the best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use. You know, just pick more or less on a few player stats and you can win up to 2000 times your cash on a single lineup. Best of all, prize picks will give you $50 when you play your first $5 lineup. Win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks for playing. So use promo code SAS and download the app now. Again, download the app and use code SAs to get $50 instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks hey, hey. Run your game. The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the series three to two against the Indiana Pacers, which will head back to Indiana for tomorrow night's Game six. So I'll be giving you my picks for Game six, so let's start right now. First up, will Shea Gilgis Alexander score more or less than 33.5 points? He's Shea Butter, as my colleague Malik Malika Andrews coined. Okay, Shea Butter. He's going to do his thing now. The Indiana Pace has shown an inability to stop this brother. He's averaging over 30 or 46% shooting, particularly over the last three games. I see more the same. I'm going to go with more on this one. Next up, will Jalen Williams score more or less than 23.5 points? Did you just see him drop 40? Did you just see him get to the lane at will? Did you just see the fact that he's unguardable by anybody on Indiana? Have you seen his jump shot of starting to flow now after coming into game five shooting 21% from three point range? I'm going to go with more on this one because I think Jay Williams is flowing right now, no doubt about it. Next up, will Pascal Siakam score more or less than 21 points? He has shown up. He has shown up for the Indiana Pacers, especially with Halliburton being out. You're going to have to use him as a focal point even more. He's got to be your number one offensive opportunity option. I think Rick Carlisle knows that as the coach of the Indiana Pacers. I think he'll get him the ball more and I think Pascal Siakam will answer the call on his home turf. He's going to score more than 21 points in Game 6. And finally, would Aaron Neesmith score more or less than 11 points? I'm going to go with more of this as well for the same reasons Halliburton being hampered. He's not going to be out, but he's got that cash train. MRI is showing us that. So bottom line is he's going to be hampered, to say the least. T.J. mcConnell is going to come in off the bench. He's going to be the little engine that could to do his thing. But in the end, if you're the Indiana Pacers, it's going to have to win by committee. That's what you're going to have to do. So Obie Toppin is going to have some say. Matheran Benedict. Matheran is going to have some say. All right, Nemhardt is going to have some say. But the top two scoring options for the Indiana Pacers should be Pascal Siakam and of course, Neesmith himself. So I'm going to go with more on this one. So the rehash, that's more for Shay Gilgeous Alexander, more for Jalen Williams, more for more for Pascal Siakam, and more for Aaron Neesmith. We love saying more on Prize picks because that's about more money in your pocket. And by the way, go to Prize Picks app and check out the Stephen A. Smith Show Community play. It's boosted 25%. You heard me.
- [08:22]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the you versus you podcast. I'm Lex Borrero and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. We go deep, exploring childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek.
- [08:53]
Candace Owens
I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to be like harder. But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
- [09:01]
Lex Borrero
Is it wrong to want more?
- [09:02]
Candace Owens
We migrated. Our family migrated here. I'm like second generation. Una trauma biniendo de un pais extranjeros unidos ingles.
- [09:12]
Lex Borrero
Listen to you versus you as part of Michael Tuda Podcast Network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [09:22]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get. No better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [09:54]
Candace Owens
I think what I've had to make.
- [09:55]
Stephen A. Smith
Peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by God and I love it.
- [10:00]
Joseph Reeves
Books that validated our identity.
- [10:02]
Candace Owens
The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off.
- [10:07]
Joseph Reeves
Of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [10:27]
Candace Owens
Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. My guest is known for her sharp wit, her candid opinions, as far as I'm concerned, highly intelligent positions. She hosts the popular YouTube show Candace. Please welcome back to the show, the one and only Candace Owens. How are you, Candace? How's everything?
- [10:44]
Stephen A. Smith
Everything is good, you know, new baby, so I'm barely sleeping, but it's of course a blessing.
- [10:49]
Candace Owens
Well, first of all, you don't look it. So compliment to you. That's number one. Number two, I mean, you're just getting back into action before I get into some of these questions. Cause I couldn't wait talk to you about this stuff. How long have you been out? How long have you, how much of a break did you take?
- [11:04]
Stephen A. Smith
I took six weeks and made a couple of appearances because some stories were just so big that I felt like I needed to respond to them. But other than that, I've just kind of been in baby world.
- [11:15]
Candace Owens
I got you. Well, listen, I'm glad to. I really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule because I definitely wanted to talk to you about a couple of things and of course yourself. But let's get right into it. I want to have you back on and get your perspective on some trending news headlines. You call it the escalation between Israel and Iran a propaganda war. We all know what's been going on between Israel and Iran. We know, we've heard President Trump speak about it. You've been on the record calling it a propaganda war. Explain that, Candace.
- [11:42]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, it was very obvious that this war was going to happen because the American foreign policy is dictated by Israel. And it was problematic that Bibi Netanyahu was increasing his rhetoric against Iran. And this is after they have effectively seized land in Syria. They were cheering what happened in Syria. We knew that it was going to end up wind up with Christians being mass murdered, which is what's happening right now and what's happening in the Middle East. For those who aren't clear on this is Israel is simply is expanding its borders, whether that be by carpet bombing women and children, which we have not had a person with power effectively state that this is morally wrong, of course. And now it seems they also want to annex the West Bank. What's happening in the west bank, which has nothing to do with Gaza, is the individuals that live there are being traumatized by the idf. And so if you're paying attention, it's very clear that they have become increasingly radical, and they are effectively, as they always do, using the American military to fulfill their foreign policy interests. Because they are a small nation, they don't have the bodies to be able to accomplish that. They need the might of the American military to accomplish their foreign Middle Eastern objectives. And so, yeah, it was very. I am on record saying this for the last two years, we're going to war with Iran one way or the other, because what Bibi Netanyahu wants is what Bibi Netanyahu gets.
- [13:05]
Candace Owens
How is that. How is that the case? Because, listen, I'm watching the Daily show the other day, and I'm watching Jon Stewart, who obviously is a supporter. He's Jewish, and he's a supporter of the Jewish community and Israel, of course, but he spoke out about how Netanyahu was saying the same thing recently that he said in 2018, that he said in 2015, that he said in 2011. And what's surprising to me is that this seems to be a community divided within the own Jewish community. You have some people who are about being isolationist, which is something we'll get into later and don't necessarily support this. And then you got guys like conservative pundit Mark Levin, who I know that you know a thing or two about. You know, I know him. I've known him for years, and he is fixated on this. He believes that America should be involved. He believes that Iran is evil and that they need to be wiped off the face of this earth. And. And essentially, the threats that they've made, not just to Israel, but death to America as well, justifies the kind of things that we have been seeing. Do you have, you know, do you take that into consideration when you're giving your thoughts?
- [14:10]
Stephen A. Smith
Absolutely. And I think one of the things that the public needs to recognize is this intentional conflation and it's completely wrong of Israel, the foreign nation, which is being led up by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Jewish people. That would be an absolute nonsense if I sat here and I said, well, you know, whatever happens in Nigeria, it means that if you critique the Nigerian government that you're somehow against black people in America, we would all say that's nonsense. But this is. They have been very successful in this idea that if you critique what is happening in the Middle east and what actions are being led by Bibi Netanyahu's government, radical government, then you're somehow anti Semitic. So it shouldn't surprise you to see that many Jewish people have taken to the streets. Not only Jewish people, by the way, Israelis, because as we know it in America, you can be an American and not support what the government is doing. I am not supporting right now the decisions that are being made by the Trump campaign as it pertains to Middle Eastern policy. But they have a disagreement. You have Israelis taking to the streets, boycotting, protesting Bibi Netanyahu. And similarly, you have Jewish people who recognize that there has been this wrong conflation, as if all Jewish people agree with the nonstop campaign of bombing in the Middle east, which has essentially been in effect since 1948, since the creation of Israel as a nation. And so I'm not conflicted or confused about what's happening. I find it to be as disingenuous as attaching, well, if you critique Black Lives Matter as an organization, this means that you're critiquing all black people. No, it doesn't. It doesn't mean that whatsoever. I'm critiquing the Israeli prime minister. I am critiquing their actions, really, their actions, which have began since 1948. The more that I become educated about the topic, it has always been this despicable. It has always been a campaign of burning, of carpet bombing and theft, stealing lands. And when people notice what they're doing, they say, well, you can't say that because of anti Semitism. That's ridiculous. Okay. You know how I feel about this, especially as someone who's been called an Uncle Tom and a coon for critiquing things that were happening within the black community. I am not going to respond to name calling. I'm going to respond to the facts. And the facts are what Bibi Netanyahu is doing in the Middle east is a terrorist campaign.
- [16:24]
Candace Owens
When you. I saw a recent episode, I forgot who you were talking to. Forgive me for not knowing his name, but you were showing highlights of Dave Portnoy for barstool and how he was going at one of the individuals that I think he employs, and he went ballistic because of a joke that was being aimed in his direction or what have you. And I don't remember the joke, so I apologize for that. But you highlighting his reaction because you were pointing out how he could joke about some things, but if you joke about anything at this particular moment in time, it's going to be labeled anti Semitic. Is that something that you feel fervently about, that you feel adamant about in terms of you just can't say anything is such a lopsided thing? Because when I think about the Jewish community, of course I'm looking at some of the things that are transpiring. I don't like it one bit. In the same breath, I'm thinking about October 7th from a couple of years ago when they were attacked and people were kidnapped, people were killed, et cetera, et cetera. And the retaliation on their part was predictable and in the eyes of a lot of people, understandable. That's where I come from with it. Where are you coming from with it? When I use a Portnoy example or others, as you allude to anti Semitism, which is obviously a grave concern for the Jewish community at this particular moment.
- [17:39]
Stephen A. Smith
In time, first and foremost, I can think of nothing more anti Semitic than two years of bombing the Palestinians, who are a Semitic people. That's another thing. They just decided they're the only Semitic people, which is absolutely absurd and it's erroneous. But first, further to your point, there was this, this. This media effort, and we've all seen over the last two years, there's been this increasing slur of anti Semitism everywhere. Like people who have been in the public space forever and have never been accused of being anti Semites are now being accused of being anti Semites, me being one of them. I worked for two Jewish organizations before I was suddenly being accused of being anti Semitic. So sometimes on its face, you have to ask yourself a question. And again, I will use the example of blm, where suddenly it seemed that everyone was being accused of racism to the point that it was becoming a parody. Like, someone would braid their hair and they'd be like, cancel this girl, because this is appropriation. When you start to see that increase and what people are actually trying to do is control speech, right? This guy said, I think it's okay if someone jokes at you and calls you Rabbi Dave Portnoy. You should be able to take a joke, right? Welcome to the Internet. Everyone's called different things. And he has a meltdown and asks him, Dave Portner says, how many Jews have to die before you stop joking? That's an emotional manipulation tactic, okay? Nobody dies from a joke, okay? Nobody dies if somebody tweets a Dave Portnoy, hey, you're Rabbi Dave Portnoy. Now, as they're critiquing you, and you only do that, you only start to come in on speech and to demand all these rules and these cancellations when you have something to hide, when you are wrong, okay? Because when you're winning on the basis of your ideas, when you're winning on the basis of the argument, you don't ask for more censorship. I want. I want the debate when I know I'm right about something, I'm not going censor the wrong guy. I'm like, platform the wrong guy. Get me across from him so I can embarrass him. So we knew this was coming on the basis of this increase of smearing people as anti Semites for asking rational questions. And so I'm not surprised that we've arrived at this point.
- [19:36]
Candace Owens
Well, I would push back on that. Candace, is. That's you. You're highly intellectual, very, very articulate, very researched, exceptional at defending your points, et cetera. And so that could give you the. I don't want to say the motivation, but the ability to be calm and collective in articulating a point of view to refute something somebody else is growing and throwing at you. But if you're a Dave Portnoy, just to use this example, and you're a Jewish individual who emphatically believes that there's anti Semitism raving through this country, if not this world, at this particular moment in time, you can't understand why he would react. And I'm not saying he should have gone as far as he did, but can you understand where he's coming from when he's passionate about it? Because to me, it's coupled with a fear that the Jewish community is feeling at this particular moment in time because of what they're doing, to use your words, because of the action of their own government in Israel, I can't understand.
- [20:35]
Stephen A. Smith
It, not even percent, okay? And nothing is more obnoxious. And having somebody as successful, a multimillionaire who probably doesn't even touch his own door handles, pretending that he's just so terrified and he can't go outside, that's a nonsense, okay? He is trying to hype up his victimhood because he does not have an argument to make. And that's what people do. They lean into victimhood when they cannot rebut an argument would have been very easy for him to calmly explain. This is the reason why this is wrong. And so. And so Died because of this joke. Someone fell over and died because someone tweeted rabbi dav, but that's nonsense. So he went with screaming. And then in this weird slave owner vibe, tells him, I own you and I pay you and I own you, which is just, quite frankly, despicable.
- [21:18]
Candace Owens
Gotcha. Gotcha. You know what? I got to keep, I've got to keep in mind, Candace, when I'm talking to you, I'm going to make sure I don't raise my voice or anything like that. Have you got me one? You got me wondering if I did the wrong things by raising my voice, talking sports, for crying out loud. Because that's a good. Out loud. Let me look at myself. Let me check myself just a little bit more in the future because Candace is bringing up some very valid points. I got it. I got it. Let me move on to Tucker Carlson while I have you here. And I want to get into you a little bit later because I want to talk about some things involving you directly. But right now, I wanted to touch on Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host, got into a fiery exchange on Tuesday, you know, with Senator Ted Cruz over his support for President Trump and his posturing towards Israel. At least that's what Tucker Carlson claims it to be. I want to show you this clip right now with Tucker Carlson getting into it with Ted Cruz. Take a look at this, Candace.
- [22:04]
Katherine Townsend
How many people live in Iran, by the way? I don't know the population at all. No, I don't know the population. You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple? How many people living around 92 million.
- [22:17]
Stephen A. Smith
Okay. Yeah.
- [22:19]
Katherine Townsend
How could you not know that? I, I don't sit around memorizing population tables. Well, it's kind of relevant because you're calling for the overthrow of the government. Why is it relevant whether it's 90 million or 80 million or 100 million?
- [22:31]
Candace Owens
Why?
- [22:31]
Katherine Townsend
Because if you don't know anything about the. I didn't say I don't know anything about. Okay. What's the ethnic mix of Iran? They are Persians and predominantly Shia. Okay, you don't know anything about Iran. So. Okay, I'm not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran. You're a senator who's calling the government. You're the one who knows anything about the country. No, you don't know anything about the country. You're the one who claims they're not trying to murder Donald Trump.
- [22:57]
Candace Owens
You're the one who.
- [22:57]
Katherine Townsend
I'm not saying that. Who can't figure out if it's a good idea to kill General Soleimani. And you said it was bad. They're trying to murder Trump. Yes, I do. Because you're not calling for military strikes against them in retaliation, carrying out military strikes today. You said Israel was right with our help. I'm said we. Israel is leading them, but we're supporting them. Well, this. You're breaking news here because the US Government last night denied, the National Security Council spokesman, Alex Pfeiffer denied on behalf of Trump, that we were acting on Israel's behalf in any offensive capacity. We're not bombing them. Israel's bombing them. You just said we were. We are supporting Israel. Senator, if you're saying the United States government is. We're with Iran right now, people are listening.
- [23:38]
Candace Owens
Candace, you saw that. What do you make about that face off right there? Your thoughts.
- [23:43]
Stephen A. Smith
So, first thing I want to say is I greatly respect both of these men. I very much like Ted Cruz as a person. I have had nothing but positive relations with him anytime that I've come across him. But in this clip, it. It really embodies everything that I think the American people are so frustrated with. Right. You have a person who is keen to go to war with Iran, and he is suggesting that it is, I guess, a form of trickery to ask him, what is the population of Iran, if you're going to make a vote that we should go to war with this nation on behalf of Israel. And it is a fact that Ted Cruz accepts a lot of money from aipac. So they lobby, and, you know, the Israel PAC lobbies. He's one of the senators that takes a lot of money from AIPAC every year. You would imagine that you made some estimation in your mind that, A, there is a imminent, perceivable threat to the American people if you are, in fact, America first and concerned about Americans, and B, that if we go to war with them, we can win. And so in going through that line of questioning in your head, can we win this? Like, is there a threat to the American people? You, of course, are going to assess the population size. Like, we're a nation of 300 million people. How big is our military? They're a nation of how many people? How big is their military? And he hasn't done that. He's admitting, like, hey, I actually don't even know the population size of Iran. I do expect you to know the population size of Iran. That'd be a pretty basic thing if you're going to vote yes to going to war. And the reality is, is he can't answer that question because like many people in Congress, left and right, they vote according to how they are lobbied. So if it's big Pharma, they're voting for everyone to have to take the COVID vaccine because I took X amount of dollars from big pharma, right? Or I took X amount of dollars from this pharmaceutical company. If it's big war and you're dealing with the nonstop war, there's always been a threat in the Middle east, right? And we've lost all of those wars, right? The Taliban has our weaponry. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Generation 911 has grown up. We are demanding that all of you be able to answer some basic questions and to explain why a threat which Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, eight weeks ago, sat down in a congressional hearing and testified that there was no nuclear threat. Eight weeks ago. Now suddenly, eight weeks later, there is one, right? When Israel decides that they want to bomb Iran. It's a nonsense. And I am tired of being gaslit by our politicians to pretend that we don't understand and can't perceive the threats. The threat, actually, frankly, is Israel, because we go to war and it only benefits them, you know.
- [26:16]
Candace Owens
Now you sound very, very disgusted. I'm wondering where the word fear comes into play. I believe I read or doing my research. I was told that you feel you needed security. Obviously, some of the things that you say are incredibly polarizing, particularly in this day and age right now. Whether it should be or not is for somebody else to conclude. I'm just telling you what they're saying. When you take that into consideration right now, as you look at your life, you just had on maternity leave, you got four kids, you're happily married, et cetera, how comfortable is life for Candace Owens right now? Or lack thereof there? I say.
- [27:03]
Stephen A. Smith
I want to be honest. I have tremendous fear of God. And that's why you have to tell the truth, right? If you declare Christ's kingship and you truly are a Christian, then your number one fear is of God, because this is not it. We get 80 years in this life, and then we're in the next. And so when you see these people who pretend to be Christians and they look at what Israel is doing, they look at the nonstop campaign of starvation. You can look at the videos of them bombing children, the children crying, shooting children as they try to run for food, and you pretend to declare Christ's kingship, and yet what you're actually fearful of is saying that that's wrong. Because you don't want to be canceled, because you don't want to lose your job, because you don't want people to call you an anti Semite. You know, I question your sincerity, is what I would say. I can't. I don't sit in the seat of judgment. But what I say to people is, you are going to one day meet your maker, so you better start doing the right thing, which is to tell the truth unapologetically. And I want, in terms of my family, I want my children to inherit that for me, you know, passionate to be passionate for the truth, which is to be passionate for Christ. Right. That that is what Christ is. Christ is the truth. You have to follow Christ at all times. And I've made my position very clear on this.
- [28:19]
Candace Owens
Who are you saying is pretending to be Christian? Just for clarification, because you alluded to.
- [28:22]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, the argument that has been made by people. And Tucker Carlson just released further parts of this interview with Ted Cruz. And he says, you know, why should we follow Israel? And he says, well, the Bible says that if I, you know, bless Israel, then I will be blessed. That's what Tucker. That is what Ted Cruz says to Tucker Carlson about why we should be following them into this war. And Tucker Carlson, who's a Christian, pushes back on that. He's like, well, let's get into the theology of this. You think that you are going to be blessed. And. And I'm filling in the blanks here, but essentially what Ted Cruz is offering is that you will be blessed if you allow this nation which was created in 1948, that Genesis is referring to this modern nation of Israel, right, to bomb, starve, kill, take land whenever they want, blackmail our politicians. Jeffrey Epstein, a lot of questions about who shot JFK and why we couldn't get those spots. You're gonna be blessed if you keep supporting this. And that is the reality, is that there was this incursion after the Scofield Bible. And this is what I really challenge people who believe this, this heresy to look into the history of the Scofield Bible, look into who funded that Bible to teach Christians how to view the nation of Israel. The Bible is not referring to the modern state of Israel in Bibi Netanyahu. God is not calling upon you to support the slaughter of women and children perpetually and is going to award you with heaven because kids are crying and starving and dying in the Middle East. I mean, you do have to have. If you don't have religious fervor or religious understanding, please just have A little bit of common sense. Okay. God does not support the nonstop murder of innocent lives. That's just like Christianity 101.
- [30:07]
Candace Owens
Back to you. Do you. Have you heightened your security? I asked you that question because I heard that you've spoken about that. I'm just asking. I don't know, interested in it. Have you?
- [30:19]
Stephen A. Smith
Let's be frank. I. I have not heightened my security to answer your question. And the reason for that is because I understand what kind of demons we're fighting, and I just have. I put my faith in the Lord. You know, my protection is prayer. And I try to live my life very honestly and let people know what's going on in the background. Obviously, I don't know if you saw this, but while I was on maternity leave, the FBI called me. There was a group chat with 40 Jews in. In New Jersey plotting my. I did not see that really happened. Yeah, a man was arrested. And by the way, the irony of this is we are told because he was upset that I'm speaking against the state of Israel. We are told that in Iran we have to invade because they're religious fanatics. Right. Well, look at what we're dealing with. People that believe that this state has the right. God has blessed them with the right to murder and kill people. And we also have their supporters now trying to kill Candace Owens. That's a fact. You can go look this up. The FBI, Candace Owens, the guy who's been arrested. And by the way, he pled guilty. This wasn't like he got caught up in some plot. He pled guilty to trying to murder Candace Owens. Yeah, I think that that really does say it all. We are in quite a paradox here.
- [31:32]
Candace Owens
Hold that thought, Candace. Hold that thought. I got more to ask you, but not before I pay these bills. Back with more in a minute. All right, everybody, listen up. With all the big time sports action that's happening each and every day, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of it all. That's why we partnered with Prize picks. The best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use to make a lineup. All you have to do is pick more or less on a few player stats. Choose from any of your favorite players. Tyrese Halliburton, Shay Gilgeous Alexander, Pascal Siakam, all in the same entry. Just sit back and watch. The list is really endless. You can play prospects in over 40 states, including California and Texas. Best of all, Prize Picks will give you 50 when you play your first five dollar lineup. Win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks so just use promo code SAS and download Prize picks now. Again, download the app and use code SAs to get 50 instantly after your first five dollar lineup prize picks. Hey hey. Run your game.
- [32:28]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the you versus you podcast. I'm Lex Ferrero and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff. The struggles, the doubts and the breakthroughs the made them who they are. We go deep exploring childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek.
- [32:58]
Candace Owens
I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to be like harder. But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
- [33:06]
Lex Borrero
Is it wrong to want more?
- [33:08]
Stephen A. Smith
More?
- [33:08]
Candace Owens
We migrated. Our family migrated here. I'm like second generation.
- [33:17]
Lex Borrero
Listen to you versus you as part of Michael Tuda Podcast Network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [33:28]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it could get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella black, Hella Queer and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer. Hello Christian. A fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [33:59]
Candace Owens
I think what I've had to make.
- [34:01]
Stephen A. Smith
Peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by God and I love it.
- [34:05]
Joseph Reeves
Books that validated our identity. The library now for me is a safe space.
- [34:10]
Candace Owens
As someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off of shelves.
- [34:13]
Joseph Reeves
And how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [34:32]
Candace Owens
I want to transition to MAGA because when we think about the maga, we thought about the maga right now. I watched you, I watched a video of you from years ago and your definition of maga and you were saying it's counter to what we're witnessing today. So on one side you might see a conservative commentator like a Mark Levin. You might see see a Ted Cruz, you might see folks like that. And you look at Donald Trump and some of the things the president is doing in this day and age, and you juxtapose that to Steve Bannon, a Tucker Carlson, even Marjorie Taylor Greene, she spoke about this as well. You seem to be on that side. And just to make sure that I'm clear with what I'm talking about, this is a quote. There's a tweet from Marjorie Taylor Greene on X. Tucker Carlson is one of my favorite people. He fiercely loves his wife, children, and our country. Since being fired by the neocon network Fox News, he has more popularity and viewers than ever before. He unapologetically believes the same things I do, that if we don't fight for our country and our own people, then we will no longer have a country for our children and our grandchildren. And foreign war intervention slash regime change put America last, kill innocent people are making us broke and will ultimately lead to our destruction. That's not kooky. That's what millions of Americans voted for. It's what we believe is America first. How do you feel about what Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted there on X? Do you completely agree with her? Is there anything that you disagree with?
- [36:03]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, let's be clear. Right now, the people applauding Donald Trump are Meghan McCain, Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz ran against Donald trump. And John McCain with his dying breath was a never Trumper with his dying breath. And I remember Meghan McCain standing at his funeral saying, this country was always great. It never needed to be made great again to take a stab at Trump, even as she was giving words for her father. Which is remarkable. Right? So if Trump is aligning himself with the people that didn't support him, and the people that did support him are saying what he's doing is wrong, that doesn't mean that MAGA betrayed Trump. That means that Trump is betraying maga. MAGA is a term make America great again. And it was because the American people felt like our country was in a steep decline while we were being told that we had to build up every other country with programs, we had to spread democracy in the Middle East. That's been a remarkable failure. And at the same time, our veterans are coming home and they're being treated like crap. We talked about the farmers, we talked about the ranchers. That was the vision that Donald Trump painted that made me get behind him. And I took a lot of bullets for that, a lot of bullets for that. Especially as a black person not allowed to vote Republican. And I don't regret voting for him in 2020 and voting for him and. And telling people to vote for him, because I truly believe he was the better candidate. And I still don't regret voting for him against Kamala Harris because I still believe he was a better candidate. But this is a betrayal, plain and simple. There's no other way to say that. And I believe what's motivating that is he took $100 million from Miriam Adelson. And these people you're talking about, Mark Levin, they are Israel first, okay? Meghan McCain, she is war machine first. How's that trust fund gonna get topped up? What did John McCain do? These people are neocons because they support nonstop war, because that is how they enrich themselves. And if that is what Trump is aligning with, if that's what he wants his legacy to be. I came in fighting neocons, and now I've aligned with him, then that's on him. That really is. I can't tell him what to think or what to say or who to support. I just won't support it.
- [38:10]
Candace Owens
That's fair. But does that surprise you? Because, listen, in fairness to you, like I said, I haven't spoken. I only spoke to Trump once since he's been president, and that's when I did the whole town hall thing on News Nation with Chris Cuomo and Bill O'Reilly and those guys. Prior to that, I'd never spoken to Trump since 2014. But before he ran for president, people in the sports community knew Donald Trump very, very well. We used to go to his fights at his, you know, the casinos and hotels and stuff like that. We used to see him at basketball games, talk to him all the time. And the Donald Trump we knew was what folks. Maybe not you specifically, I don't recall this, but most folks classified him as Candace. He was a deal maker. You know what? Whatever way, whatever it took to get what he wanted, he was cool with it. And so for me, this is not a surprise when you talk about him veering left in terms or veering right actually, when it comes to some of the things that he's elected to do. But most people with MAGA seem surprised, and they do feel like they are uttering words like betrayal. To me, it's more the same. It's who he is. He's going to lean towards getting what he wants, and it's just that simple.
- [39:21]
Stephen A. Smith
Okay, That's a fair assessment. I would say why we're surprised is because we had him in office for four years and he Wasn't a warmonger. He wasn't aligned with neocons. He was fighting them tooth and nail the first four years that he was in office. And it seemed to us that the. And I think anybody would agree the country was getting better. I mean, that. I think that's why he increased his margins in voting. If you look at the demographics, like, you know, more black men, more black women voted for him this second time around when he got into office, because the rhetoric fell on deaf ears and people were like, he's going to do this. He's going to bring us into war. We go. He didn't do that for the first four years. So, yeah, it has been a shift in how he behaves in the first four years of office. But to put two and two together, big money wasn't behind him the first time. Right. That was the whole thing. Nobody wanted him. It was the never Trump movement that was led by the McCain types. He can't get into office and so did he buck to them suddenly when he took that check from Miriam Adelson and then change his motivations? Perhaps we're having to do some internal soul searching for those of us who have voted for him second and third time to wonder what is the sea change? But I think you have to admit that there has been one. He wasn't putting us into wars from 2020, 2024.
- [40:34]
Candace Owens
Are you fearful at all that the Trump presidency, as in him, be. As in terms of him being the 47th President of the United States, that it could end up being worse than anything you ever imagined If Kamala Harris had won the election, is that possible?
- [40:48]
Stephen A. Smith
No, I think Kamala Harris, it was going to be similar to Joe Biden. The advisers and people that were around her were going to be running the show. I, we can disagree on this, but I've never thought that she had the cognitive capabilities to be running the office. If you just look at her record and how she really got into office, and I'm speaking about her Californian record, but with Trump, I do, I have a fear of World War Three. Yeah. That's why we're speaking up and saying this is unacceptable. Right. That's why we are saying what you are doing is wrong and letting him know that we feel betrayed. We went along with it and said this is fine. We just trust the process. Then I would probably be more fearful. But I think it's becoming clear that the base is fractured and hopefully he'll respond to that.
- [41:31]
Candace Owens
Candace, where do you go from here if he doesn't respond or he doesn't respond favorably to the kind of things that you are asserting and stating. Where do you go? Because we know how you feel about the Democratic Party. Okay. And now we're hearing how you feel about this betrayal that you think that he has exercised since he's become president again. Where do you go from here if that doesn't change as it pertains to him?
- [41:59]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, I think no matter what, I'm always going to support a candidate that I believe is telling the truth or that is going to do the most good for America. At the end of the day, my day is not motivated by politicians. I don't have faith in politicians. Right. I have faith in Jesus Christ. And so I'm not. This is not going to throw. I'm not going, oh, my God, I'm gonna become a Democrat tomorrow or I'm gonna become a. I'm no longer gonna vote for Republicans anymore. I think that if anything, if he really, truly continues to follow this and does what Bibi Netanyahu wants, then it's gonna bring both sides closer together because we're gonna recognize that everything is about keeping us warring for one another while the same people at the top are benefiting. The oligarchs, the war machine. And so I don't have plans to leave the Republican Party. Like I said, I don't regret voting for him. I regret what he's doing right now. And until I see who the candidates are, I won't be able in the future, I won't be able to remark on where I'm gonna go because I'm always gonna follow what I believe to be right.
- [42:56]
Candace Owens
Does any candidate stand out there in your mind? I mean, when I think about it, they've been talking about me as a presidential candidate. Candidates get that out their head. I'm not qualified. I don't know. I'm learning stuff from you and everybody else. I don't know any better. I don't know any better and dammit, I'm not interested. But I will tell you I am interested in highlighting those who deserve to be highlighted from both sides of the aisle to make sure we can do what we can to get this country steered in the right direction and see some figurative light at the end of the tunnel, per se. Is there anybody that's standing out in your mind that we should pay close attention to moving forward?
- [43:31]
Stephen A. Smith
Thomas Massie of Kentucky. He has been the most consistent America first person. He has earned the ire of Trump and the ire of AIPAC because he does not Accept their money. And he votes against every war and he will not send a single dollar overseas. He votes against every measure to send money overseas until the American people are taken care of first. And so yeah, he is the person that I peer pressure the most to run for president and I would get behind him. And I feel that he would never betray the American people because just you can look at his voting record and see where he stands on the issues.
- [44:05]
Candace Owens
Damn, Candace. Only one. I asked you, you had some names, you gave me one name. So I'm going like this. That's a bad state of affairs. As much as you know about politics, as much as you follow this stuff, if I ask you an open ended question like that and you only give me one name, I got a reason to be really, really nervous, Candace. Because that means you don't believe in any of them.
- [44:25]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah, I mean, I. When it comes to Israel, it's crazy to see how they vote. It's a nonsense. Ukraine as well. The way that they've just been sending our money into an effective laundromat. None of this is okay. And the American people should be upset that we've been promised, oh, we're going to stop this, we're not going to do this. And it's always the next emotional conditioning of why we have to send money overseas while the American people continue to suffer and our cities are in a state of decline. So no, I'm not impressed with politicians on the left or the right at the moment, at varying degrees. Some are. They betray us more than others. But there's no one that I find to be impressive right now. And maybe there's some people that I'm missing, and I'm sure I am, that are outside, that sit outside of D.C. but in terms of people that are in D.C. thomas Massie is the first name that comes to mind, I think.
- [45:12]
Candace Owens
Listen, it's not to me. I don't have a problem with America first. I do have a problem with America only because I don't want to be a nationalist to the point that I forget the global perspective because obviously we do business across the world. When I think about Israel, I'm saying to myself, that's supposed to be the lone democracy in the Middle East. You're looking at Ukraine. Okay. If you don't support them, then Russia gets more empowered. I get a bit concerned about that. Again, I don't know as much as people like yourself, but those are the kind of things from a distant perspective I look at and I say, okay, I don't Want to just be pouring money all over the place. But in the same breath, if these other nations need our assistance and they're allies of ours, I'm not opposed to that necessarily. Do you believe in having a global impact, having our footprint around the world, globally, to make sure that, you know, the world is a better place or a safer place to some degree? Do you believe in us playing that kind of role?
- [46:08]
Stephen A. Smith
First and foremost, I do not support Ukraine. I do not support Zelensky. I think he's a modern day Bolshevik who's sending Christians to slaughter in an unwinnable war. He's just mass murdering Christians. And so if you're telling me at least Putin is defending Christians at this single moment, and I don't pick Putin over Ukraine, but I know that Ukraine is more corrupt because we conducted a couple revolution and we installed someone in Ukraine back in 2014. John McCain was behind that. And this is what we do all over the world. We these fake protests and then we overthrow a duly elected leader. And that's what we did in Ukraine. Ukraine is a corrupt country and it's a laundromat of America. Israel is not a democracy by any stretch of the imagination. You cannot say it is a democracy and then listen to their absolute BS excuses as to why Gaza is treated in the way that it is and why Gaza doesn't have any voting rights. Oh, well, they, when they, when we gave them voting rights, why are you giving them anything? If you're sitting here saying that at that moment you accepted that they could run their own, they could run what they wanted to in Gaza at that time, but you have the power to turn off the light, shut off the electricity and shut off the water. This is an apartheid state. That's what this is, what Gaza is. And I'm glad you're showing images. They have been treating these people basically just above the poverty line, not allowing too much food into Gaza for a very long time. And Norm Finkelstein was the person who woke me up to really how Gaza is run. It's apartheid state, they don't have voting rights and no one should support it and keep allowing people to call it a democracy. It's absolutely foolish. And again, that's because they keep us ignorant in America with ridiculous biblical arguments that are actually heretical and it's not what the Bible is expressing at all. But all of that aside, going back to your question, yes, I am America first. I am not necessarily America only, but I am only going to be America first until we fix our issues and that is, again, common sense, right? You have a household. If you got to feed your kids. If I said, hey, Steven, actually don't feed your kids, and I'm going to need you to feed the neighbor's kids, I'm going to need you to feed my kids and people that you don't even know out in Utah first, while your kids are starving, you would go, that makes no sense. Doesn't make any sense. Of course I'm going to make sure my kids are fed first. This is America. Let's make sure that our people are taken care of first, that our people are able to live well, to have jobs and to feed their families before we go around trying to fix the world's problems. I mean, we send dollars for ridiculous things to establish, you know, trans rights in Pakistan. Like, what are we doing? That's just. That's just. That's a laundromat. That money is obviously not going there. It's being stolen from the American people.
- [48:49]
Candace Owens
But what about the issues that's going on right here in this country? When we're talking about the immigration issue in Los Angeles and how you've got the president sending 4,000 members of the National Guard, 700 Marines to the city of Los Angeles, Obviously it sparked a protest throughout this nation. No Kings protest. Because, you know, the left was going to be diametrically opposed to his position. It's not just stuff going on abroad. There's stuff going on right here in the streets of America. What do you say about that? Because like you said, fixing our own house obviously should be a priority in your eyes. I don't disagree with you there, but what do you have to say about that? What's been going on in la?
- [49:26]
Stephen A. Smith
Obviously it is the job of the federal government. When you have an incursion, as we did during, during Biden's administration, of millions of people coming across the border to get those people out of the country. Who does that hurt? It hurts us, obviously, when all of these people are unaccounted for in our country and playing a part in economy while they're not paying taxes. That's ridiculous. You got to go home. There was a legal way to get into this country. I know because I married an immigrant and it took us seven years, okay? Seven years for my husband to go through the process to become a legal American. So I am especially insulted when these people pretend that there's just no way to do this. It's a long process. It's a hard process, but you can do that. And you're not going to tell me that all of these people need to stay in a country that they've been in for less than four years, Especially the newcomers under Biden's, like, very open border policy. Americans suffer when people are in this country unaccounted for. Sorry. Adios, amigos. You gotta go home. I don't care at all. You gotta follow the rules. I'm not gonna feel bad for you because you broke the law and got away with it while there was a different president. And to the extent that you're going to have individual states saying, oh, no, we're going to allow people to break the law, and yet everyone in the entire Tennessee, whether you're in Texas, Tennessee, we all have to pay for it. That's ridiculous. That's absolutely. We are going to all have to pay for it. Why should I have to go to work to pay for people that broke into this country? So I don't understand it. But going back to your question, of course this should be addressed first, right? These are uprisings that are taking place in America. These are issues and debates that need to be had and won in America. And that is another reason why we should not be having discussions about what Israel is doing. They're always doing the same thing. They're bombing innocent people and claiming that they have a right to do it.
- [51:08]
Candace Owens
Please don't tell me your feelings about what you just described going on in la. In terms of the immigration issue. You don't feel that way about the children, do you? Children?
- [51:16]
Stephen A. Smith
I mean, it doesn't matter if it's to use the. To say that the argument is that a child is allowed to break the law. Let me tell you why that's really wrong. They say this is like the separation argument. You're going to separate them from their parents. No, first off, everyone should go home together. You should take your child and you should go back to Mexico. The second thing I want to say about how ridiculous that is, is we would never have the argument that if. Let's use an example of a black man, a black man commits a crime in America. You know, let's say he shot someone and now he's got to go to prison. We wouldn't say, Please tell me that you've considered, judge that, yeah, he shot someone. Yeah, he broke the law, but he has a child. So please don't imprison him. Please allow him to be released back onto the streets. No, no, no. You break the law whether you're black, white, Hispanic, coming from another country. There has to be a consequence for that. And we understand on a molecular level, of course, you're going to be separated from your child and go to prison if you break the law. It's the exact same thing here. Your children and you, you should not be separated, should all have to go home when your parent breaks the law. Unfortunately, the children have to suffer the consequences of that. Sometimes daddy has to go to jail. Sometimes daddy has to go back to Mexico.
- [52:23]
Candace Owens
You're very, very popular. You don't need my help in being even more popular. But you're going to get it anyway because anybody that I from now on that has in opposition to anything you said, I'm going to play your clips, Candace. I'm going to play your clips for them to see. I'm going to say, hey, did you see what she said? What's your response? I'm just letting you know in advance. I'm just letting you know in advance. I'm going to be like, look, did you hear what she said? Just so you know, because I want you to know there's folks out there that think like this, they feel this way and they're making very valid points. I just want you all to know that. But listen, before I let you get on out of here and I really appreciate your time, I know I got to let you go. I had to get back to Tucker Carson because of the War Room podcast. He had told host Steve Bannon this about his former employer, FOX News. Check this out, Candace.
- [53:06]
Katherine Townsend
That's not by popular acclaim. It's not like their viewer surveys. Like, you know, we need a lot more Mark Levin, less Jesse Waters, more Mark Levin. Mark Levin. What they're doing is what they always do, which is just turning up the propaganda hose to full blast and just trying to, you know, knock elderly Fox viewers off their feet and make them submit.
- [53:29]
Candace Owens
This is, this is where the, here's my problem with Tucker Carlson on this one, Candace. I heard none of that when he was at Fox News. Not a vet not event. Now I'm hearing this from him now. That's my only issue. You, what do you have to say.
- [53:43]
Stephen A. Smith
About you weren't watching Tucker before he got fired. There's a reason he got fired. Tucker was standing up to the war machine. He was standing up to Ukraine. That is the literal reason why FOX News got rid of Tucker. He was anti war and he has, by the way, admitted and we are all subject to changing our opinions in the past when he was on cnn, actually, I think he was very pro Iraq war and how wrong he was on the Iraq war and he believed in the weapons of mass destruction. Was that provided a turning point for him to be anti war when he realized is that actually this is a machine. And so while he was at Fox News, he's covered a ton of things. But when it came down to a new war, Tucker was bringing in people online to talk about why we absolutely should not be going to war with Ukraine. And it became problematic for the execs because just like what he's saying, you know, they appealed to a market of people who believe that there's a threat around the corner. Elderly people who need to believe that they're going to be nukes are going to be dropped on them because they grew up in a generation where there was a nuclear threat with Cuba and Tucker Carlson was not serving them. So he had to go.
- [54:46]
Candace Owens
Last question to you, and again, thank you for your time. I know you got to go. I got to ask you this question. I was watching a video of you. I don't know whether it was from weeks ago or so. I'm trying to remember the date, but you was talking about, you know, watching what you say because you're going to be banned, but you don't care. This is how it is. You absolutely don't mind, et cetera, because you're going to keep on going. What are your expectations for you? What are your expectations for those who are as outspoken as you on these very, very sensitive issues moving forward? Considering the landscape that we're living in? YouTube shows, podcasting, et cetera, linear television and the fourth estate and the politics that invaded from time to time are ever present. We all know this. What are your expectations for yourself moving forward? What are you looking forward to? What do you fear, if anything at all?
- [55:40]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, I think last year was really kind of the test for me where I chose truth. And I was severely caricature and attacked in the media, you know, lost my job. And on the other side of that, for sticking to truth, the reward has been actually my platform has gotten even bigger and more people are listening to me than ever before. And so I hope what people learn from that is while telling the truth is hard because lies spread quicker, a lie is quicker. It's the race of the tortoise and the hare. At the end of the day, when the truth gets around to it, it always wins. It's more powerful it just because you only have to hear the truth once to know that it's true, whereas lies have to be told repeatedly to try to convince you the other way. And so I'm gonna keep telling the truth and see where the chips land, because I know where they're gonna land. It's going to land inevitably on the side of justice and reality and truth. So that's where I'll be.
- [56:35]
Candace Owens
Candace, I appreciate you. You know that. I love having you on the show. I love listening to you. Some of the stuff is scary as hell. Candace, I ain't gonna lie to you now, you know, as you edify yourself and you learn, you hear your truth is actually the truth in a lot of circumstances. Okay? At the end of the day, it still gets a bit scary, but like you said, it calls for bravery from time to time. There's no question about that. And all of us need to stand up and have it. So I'm certainly not going to engage in condemnation like a lot of people. And me, I'm an independent, but I've always been appalled at the black community in terms of how we've acted towards black conservatives. My attitude is, is hear what folks has to say, decipher what's true and what's false, and attack them based on that as opposed to thinking they're supposed to think a certain way. And if they don't, how dare you. I love the fact that you're contrarian in that regard, that you stand up, that you're fearless in that regard. And I really, really appreciate it. I don't always agree with you, girl. I really don't. But I do appreciate where you're coming from and I appreciate you edifying a lot of folks about what we need to be edified about. Thank you. And I'm looking forward to having you on the show in the future. And I must confess, I am waiting for an invite myself. I haven't gotten that from Candace Owen. I haven't gotten.
- [57:48]
Stephen A. Smith
Oh, you're always welcome. You come down Tennessee, I'll have you on the pod. It'll be so fun.
- [57:52]
Candace Owens
That's right. Nashville. Nashville. Is that what it is?
- [57:55]
Stephen A. Smith
Nashville?
- [57:56]
Candace Owens
All right. All right. I'll take you up on that. Thanks so much. You take care. All right.
- [58:00]
Stephen A. Smith
Thank you for having me.
- [58:01]
Candace Owens
My thanks to Candace Owens. You can watch her Show Candace on YouTube. Over four plus million followers, by the way. She ain't lying about that. It was was over 2 million last year. It's over 4 million now. She's doing her thing. People are listening. Make no mistake about that. Coming up, I'll share my thoughts on that conversation you just heard with yours truly and the one and only Candace Owens. Stick around. More to Stephen A Smith show. More me specifically to close out the show in a minute. Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. I My closing thoughts on this conversation that I just had with the one and only Candace Owens is very, very simple. I'm not going to stop with her. She said a lot of things, obviously things that some would deem incendiary, particularly if you're a member of the Jewish community and you're a supporter of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing as it pertains to Israel and its situation with Iran, not to mention other things that she did not, you know, she didn't, she didn't avoid what's happening in Gaza, how folks are being displaced, how folks are being killed, et cetera. You threw out the you heard me throw out how. You know what? We saw what happened October 7th. We saw people kidnapped, killed. There's still hostages held by Hamas. We saw all of that. But you heard her response on this particular show. It's apropos from the standpoint that she has a lot to say. It's consistent with what she said on her own platform and various others on numerous occasions spanning the last couple of years. But we're not gonna stop there for the purposes of this show. That's one opinion. That's hers. We'll have opposite points of view, opposite opinions. We're not here to support or denigrate anybody. When I'm sitting down and I'm interviewing somebody, I'm listening to what they have to say and I'm putting it out there for the people to hear their true, authentic thoughts. And I think it was important in this particular instance because she's so vehemently speaking against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel at this particular moment in time, whether it's Mark Levin or somebody else who's considered a war hawk that is vehemently and adamantly pro Israel, they'll be on this show, too. We'll have Democrats, we'll have Republicans, we'll have folks that support Ukraine. We'll have people that might be against funding Ukraine. The list goes on and on. That's what we do here in the Stephen A. Smith Show. And keep in mind, come first week in September, I'm going to have my own show on the POTUS channel on Sirius XM once a week. So these kind of issues are the kind of issues we'll discuss and get into there as well. It's not going to interfere with my sports show, which is going to be five days a week on Mad Dog Sports Radio from 1 to 3pm Eastern Standard Time every weekday. Re airing at 6 to 8pm Eastern Standard Time. That show on POTUS will be separate, but it's just going to show you I'm not running from anything or any issues and I'm certainly not going to run from talking to anybody. We want to hear what people have to say. Then we want to research and edify our minds and our thoughts to make sure that what they're saying is accurate or inaccurate. And from there we propel forward, trying to enlighten folks along with ourselves and doing what we can to contribute to making this country and this world a much, much better place. So I know that some of you out there may not have wanted to hear a damn thing that Candace Owens had to say. But four plus million people subscribe to listen to her every chance they get. And not everybody in America or this world for that matter, can say that what she says matters. And a lot more often than not, she seems to know what the hell she's talking about. About. It's very rare you hear somebody says she's clueless. She don't know what she's saying. You don't hear that about her. You want to refute what she has to say and defy her positions, you better know what the hell you're talking about because she certainly does. Usually, if not always. That's why I had her on the show and that's why I can't wait to to have folks with opposing views to what she proclaimed on this show as well. Hearing all sides enlightens us all. Makes me better. Makes you better Keep that in mind when you're thinking about the Stephen A. Smith Show. You never know what I'm going to hit you with. You never know where it's coming from. But I'm gonna always do my best to keep it as real as we possibly can keep it. That's what this show aspires to be about. And I hope today was a step toward doing that even more so, especially steps in the future that might be antithetical to anything that came out of her mouth. We shall see. We shall see. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. I hope y' all enjoyed it, the conversation with myself and Candace Owens. Feel free to tune in to the Stephen A. Smith show at least three times a week over the digital airwaves with YouTube. Okay? And until next time, I'll see you got an NBA Finals to cover here in Indianapolis. Peace and love, everybody. Talk to you in a couple of days.
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Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer, and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast. From iheartmedia to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the Ice, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [64:16]
Stephen A. Smith
Over the years of making my true crime podcast Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community. I was calling about the murder of my husband.
- [64:31]
Katherine Townsend
The murder is still out there.
- [64:33]
Stephen A. Smith
Each week I investigate a new case. If there is a case we should Hear about, call 678-744. Listen to Helen Gone Murderline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.