Stephen A Smith urges Dems to prioritize ‘affordability and safety’ in clash with Whoopi Goldberg

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Stephen A Smith and 'The View' host Whoopi Goldberg got into a heated discussion over the key issues the Democratic Party needs to look after.

He called out the party, saying their obsession with President Donald Trump instead of real policy is hurting them at the polls. “I know that most candidates within the Democratic Party, I know they think about the desolate and the disenfranchised," he said, stressing that "affordability and safety" should be the focus. 

Stephen A Smith pushes Democrats to focus on what’s going to win

Goldberg said, "I know that you have very strong feelings about Democrats, but I do have this to say to you. It was important, I think, for Democrats to show that they stood with the LGBT community, that they stood with Black women and women in general. Because once you let us go, once you let women and poor people go, what do you have?"

She added that while Democrats’ strategy didn’t always work, they acted in the way they thought was best.

"And so I've listened to lots of people say, you know, that you didn't follow what was necessary. They did it the way they thought they could. It didn't work for them; they got it," Goldberg remarked. 

Smith didn’t hold back. He said, “Respectfully, I don't like that... What I’m saying is, is that during the campaign, were you doing what it takes to win?” He argued that Democrats wasted time attacking Trump.

“You had too many people going after him for stuff that wasn’t going to stick. It wasn’t going to influence his voters," he added. “So what I would say to you, Whoopi, and what I would say to anybody that doesn’t want JD Vance or Marco Rubio or somebody like that to succeed him, focus on what’s going to win!”

Stephen A Smith says Democrats should show 'willingness to cross the aisle'

Smith explained that his sports mindset shapes how he sees political strategy, saying, “That’s where my sports background comes in. Tell me what’s going to win!” He also made it clear that acknowledging important issues isn’t enough if you can’t win elections.

“I don’t want to hear about... I understand the LGBTQ community is important. I understand that the desolate and disenfranchised, somebody we should be looking out for, I understand the economy, and I understand immigration, I get all of that,” he expressed. 

For Smith, the bigger point is strategy. “But the point is, I’m trying to win to make sure that I’m in office and you’re not. What is it going to take?” He said Democrats failed to do that in the last cycle. “The Democrats did not do that last time, and that’s what happened,” he noted.

When Sunny Hostin asked him what the "winning issue" is now, Smith didn’t hesitate. He said, “Affordability and safety. Period.”

He stressed that it requires “a willingness to cross the aisle and show that you're willing to work with people to get stuff done so we don't have this chaos just because we disagree.”

This isn’t the first time Smith has pushed back on Democrats. He recently hung up on a caller on 'Straight Shooter with Stephen A' after they claimed every Republican is racist.