Will Cain Country - Stephen A. Smith Debates Donald Trump & DEI

Episode Date: January 15, 2024

Story #1: The mission of The Will Cain Show. Story #2: The Dallas Cowboys, Donald Trump, and Iowa, and DEI with the Host of First Take on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith. Story #3: Calls from you, the listener.   Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing [e-mail] Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For a limited time at McDonald's, enjoy the tasty breakfast trio. Your choice of chicken or sausage McMuffin or McGrittles with a hash brown and a small iced coffee for $5.5 plus tax. Available until 11 a.m. at participating McDonald's restaurants. Price excludes flavored iced coffee and delivery. One, the Will Kane Show Mission. Two, DEI, the Iowa Caucus and the Dallas Cowboys with ESPN Stephen A. Smith. Three, you, the listener and the viewer of the Will Cain Show. It is the Will Cain Show streaming live at Fox News.com, YouTube slash Fox News, and at Fox News Facebook.

On demand, on video at YouTube slash the Will Cain Show, and on podcast wherever you get your audio. entertainment at Apple, Spotify, or at Fox News Podcasts. I feel a little bit like I'm getting jumped into a gang. Maybe the crypts, probably the bloods. I've never fully understood why the color affiliations of political ideology somehow both assign red to the right and its arch rival, its nemesis ideologically, the communist. So I don't know. maybe the red, maybe Crips, maybe the blue, although blue has let me down as of recently,

and the reasons why I love blue, as recently as Sunday night. But either way, I feel a little bit like I'm getting jumped into a gang. I'm excited. I'm excited to be part of the crew. But on my first day, I have to survive a beatdown. after the choke job of historical proportions by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, we will today face America's number one cowboy hater, ESPN's host of first take, and the Stephen A Smith show on YouTube, Stephen A. Smith.

And we will hear from you at 855-369-8255. the listeners and viewers of the Will Cain Show, we will hear from you today. But yeah, here we go. Story number one. The Will Cain Show Mission. I'm excited to be launching this show on YouTube and on demand, streaming live at foxnews.com, and available always at the Will Cain Show on YouTube. I'm excited to create an environment where we can connect.

I'm excited to happily pursue the truth. This project is not for the gratification of my ego. It's not to have my name on a show. I'm very happy at Fox and Friends Weekend. I have what I think is the best chemistry on television. I know it's the best chemistry with Rachel Campos Duffy and Pete Hegset that I've ever had in my career. And when you have chemistry, you can be very full. fulfilled in this career. You can show up to work, in my case for four hours, happy in the way that

you spend your time. But the launch of the Will Kane show is about creating a place that is unique, where we together can connect and pursue the truth. We live in a world where the truth is not just difficult to find, but I think it is actively hid. We live in a world full of accusations of misinformation and disinformation. We live in a world full of censorship, perhaps on some of the platforms where we find ourselves connecting here together today on the Will Kane Show. We find ourselves in a world where it's almost impossible to find the truth. And if I gave you the mission here of why there is a Will Kane show, I would start with, number one, the happy pursuit of the truth. And we will only do that. We will only accomplish the truth.

By number two, authenticity. Look, I'm not going to sit here on this program day after day and hour after hour pretending the perfection of some blow-dried anchor man. I'll wear t-shirts. I will sometimes wear makeup. I will make mistakes. The crew here together, two at eight, Patrick, James, myself, we will make technological mistakes, and I will make mistakes on my way to arriving at the truth. I don't believe in the pretense of objectivity. I believe that objectivity is an aspiration. I need to be honest with you about my biases, because if I pretend to have no biases, I've broken the initial cardinal rule of our relationship. You can't trust me if I tell you, don't worry. I'm perfectly objective. No, I will aspire, acknowledging my biases to arrive at the

truth. And the truth is today, my mind is pretty much exclusively on whether or I want to hire Jim Harbaugh or Bill Belichick as the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. My mind today is almost exclusively asking the question of whether or not in 1992 Jerry Jones sold his soul to the devil in exchange for a 90s dynasty that ever since then not only he but all of us have been praying the price and living in hell i'll make mistakes i'll be real and together we will find the truth which leads me to the third leg of the will cane show the arena i firmly believe although there used to be a joke at some of my private employers. I firmly believe that I do not have a monopoly on the truth.

And the only way that I can arrive there is through steel, sharpening steel, that this arena will embrace debate, will embrace honest discussions, that the opinions and points of view that I hold very passionately and dear, that I will subject to those who tell me that I am wrong. I'm not going to pretend fake kumbaya that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I'm not going to concede, and for the sake of politeness or manners, offer up that I was wrong. But I will go into these conversations with open ears. I will go into them with goodwill.

I will go into them with the idea that I have something more to learn, that I don't have a monopoly on the truth. And this here, the Will Cain Show, will be that arena. And if we can arrive at accomplishing those three legs, we will have a stool to stand on. We will somewhere be able from that stool to be able to look through the various apparatus is trying to hide the truth and see together the truth. today Iowa will get together to caucus to pick the next leader of the United States of America and I don't normally invest myself very deeply in the horse race of politics but I understand that we're not just picking a leader we're picking a direction we're picking an ideology we're picking the future of the United States of America and when there is a political party

and a surrounding infrastructure of media that tells you that democracy is on the ballot, that you must vote to save democracy. I have to stand here today with the truth that do not believe democracy is at stake if it requires that you sacrifice our republic. The United States of America is not a democracy. We are a constitutional republic.

I don't believe that that conversation is simply driven out of, of semantics or ignorance. I believe it is purposeful that you are to be convinced that we run by majority rule, that we run by the ballot box. We are a constitutional republic, with certain rights inalienable as granted by our creator, and protected by the genius vision of our founders in the Constitution, with various checks and balances between a and a Senate, between a judiciary and an executive, between an executive and a legislative, to protect those individual rights, all of those, checks and balances designed to protect the

rights of the individual, to protect the minority, the minority in the true sense of the term, so that we do not live under majority rule, so that we not live under majority rule. pure democracy. But one political party and its media apparatus would have you believe that you should sacrifice not just our republic, but the underlying foundations of democracy in order to save democracy. We will censor and sacrifice free speech. We will remove candidates from the ballot and therefore remove the voice of the people. We will engage in lawfare to circumvent the legislative process. We will divide the people based upon whatever lines are necessary, racial, gender, sexuality, in order to accumulate power. We have a political party and we have an immediate

apparatus that will sacrifice democracy in the name of saving democracy and couldn't care less about our constitutional republic. Now, I would not normally engage in this existential hyperbole I would not normally engage in the idea that politics is zero-sum game. Well, you're a threat to democracy. Well, you're a threat to the republic. I would not normally engage in that because I truly believe that the United States of America is about something more than our politics and about something more than our leaders. I believe there is a deep well of culture that has set us aside from the rest of the world. A work ethic.

a risk tolerance, a faith that has made this country unique that is embodied not in Washington, D.C., but is embodied in small-town America and embodied in each and every one of you. But the reason that again today I have to stand on that stool and peer out at the truth and understand the importance of horse race politics in Iowa is I believe that too is under attack. our culture we are pitted against each other as I said based upon race based upon gender based upon any potential societal line in order to look at ourselves as oppressor and oppressed

so that we'll regress to our tribal boundaries and look out with weapons raised at whoever we're told is our oppressor we're told there's no such thing is right or wrong. We're told there's no such thing as morality. We're told that discipline and judgment are sins. We're told to work hard is to live from a life of privilege.

We're told that every single fundamental foundation, not just of our republic, but of our culture, has in fact been the sin of America. And because of all of that, I have to step back and say, we have to care about horse race politics. We have to care about the future direction of the country. We have to care about the future leader of the country. And therefore, we have to care about the caucuses taking place tonight in Iowa. Look, while I believe there is one political party and a media apparatus and governmental infrastructure around dividing us based upon our culture and the name of saving our democracy, destroying our republic, I don't believe

that you will effectively point our compass towards a bright future by embracing leaders of small differences. An R and a D is not enough to distinguish The two polar different directions were offered up for this country. Red and blue are not enough to describe the two polar visions for the future of this country. We can't have a Republican that simply embraces war under a different banner. We can't have a Republican that just promises to censor for the good guys. We can't have a Republican that buys in to group things. and goes with the flow.

We can't have Nikki Haley. We also have to be realists. And while I think both of these men are true leaders, but philosophically and as executives, it does not appear as though that leader will be Vivek Ramoswamy or Ron DeSantis. The polling is at historical proportions. if the polling holds to be true in Iowa for Donald Trump. And that offers us a vision that is both real and polar the opposite of a party in an ideology

that would drag us into tribal division. Now, if Iowa selects Donald Trump, we have not even yet begin to see the links at which they will attack our republic however we have to be ready for that fight we have to be ready for that fight for the future of america and that i think is the truth let's find out where i may have gotten it wrong coming up the host of the stephen a smith show on YouTube, the host of First Take, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, coming up right here on the Wilcane show. It is time to take the quiz.

It's five questions in less than five minutes. We ask people on the streets of New York City to play along. Let's see how you do. Take the quiz every day at the quiz. Then come back here to see how you did. Thank you for taking the quiz. Following Fox's initial donation to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund, our generous viewers, have answered the call to action across all Fox platforms and have helped raise $7 million.

Visit go.com. forward slash TX flood relief to support relief and rebuilding efforts. Normally you see him in an appropriate black cowboy hat signifying the villain. Sometimes with a cigar in his mouth, rarely with a smile, but it's almost like a holiday for Stephen A. Smith. Because what can go wrong went wrong. I introduce you to the host of the Stephen A. Smith show on YouTube and the host of First Take on ESPN, Stephen, my old friend, and friend of me, Stephen A. Smith. What's up, man? Man, I'm sitting there like this. I'm like, what is going on here?

I see the Will Cain show in the background. I see the microphone. I say, you know, what the hell would he? If you were the last person on earth that I expected the phone call from saying, come on to the show after. of the debacle that took place yesterday. I said, they talk about the gift that keeps on giving. The man is bringing me on the show the day after the Cowboys got shellacked. Who would have done?

But here I am. What's up, Big Time? How are you, man? Well, let's be honest. I'm good, buddy. Well, let's be honest, I did reach out to you before the outcome of that game. I did reach out to you last week. So it's a little bit like going to Vegas and going to the roulette table.

It was black or red. And I was betting on a Cowboys win, man. And I would be the one gloating in your face today, but it wasn't a 50-50 proposition because this has been the same story for 28 years. You had the appropriate bet. I made fun of you. I made fun of you. I made fun.

I would never cancel. I would never cancel. I will always face the music. I made fun of you for a take that I thought was the easiest take statistically in the history of sports. What can go wrong will go wrong, meaning at some point the Cowboys will lose. but I got to give it to you, man. You've been right.

Yes, I have. I mean, do you realize I look up some statistics, man, and I pointed it out on my show first take this morning? Do you realize, Will Kane, that the last time your Cowboys won a Super Bowl, 10% of U.S. households had the Internet. That's it. And Google didn't exist.

I mean, you just can't make this up, man. You really, really can't make this up. I mean, I said, what? I could believe it. I had to double check it. Google did not exist the last time the Dallas Cowboys win the NFC championship game or Super Bowl. And oh, by the way, it was the, y'all lost yesterday.

It was to the day, the 28-year anniversary of the last time y'all win the NFC championship game. And y'all got Shalak, you're saying, it's very bad. I mean, it's just very bad. I feel bad for my guy, Jerry Jones. That's my buddy right there. I feel bad for him. I feel bad for some of the players. But do I feel bad for Cowboy fans such as yourself?

Absolutely not. Not even a little bit. You know, coming up here in just a moment with Stephen A. Smith, we're going to talk about Iowa caucuses and the DEI. But we now, we need to face accountability. We need to address the Dallas Cowboys. Let's talk about your buddy, Jerry Jones. Stephen A, here's why I thought your take, you know, that what can go wrong, will go wrong, was so inevitably stupid because it's a winner for all but one team every year, that take. Had the Cowboys lost at any moment, you got to Crow victory.

But after you've got to Crow victory, theoretically and symbolically for 28 years, and I saw a statistic that since the Houston Texans have joined the NFL, they have more playoff victories, 2002 than the Dallas Cowboys. I'm starting to wonder what's really going on, Stephen A. And I'm only being a little facetious. We've changed quarterbacks. We've changed coaches. We've changed offensive coordinators. We've changed defensive coordinators. And I'm beginning to wonder if the problem isn't your friend, Jerry Jones.

And I'm only being a little facetious when I say, he might have sold his soul to the devil in the 90s for that dynasty. And we've all been paying the price in hell ever since. Well, you can look at it that way. I think years ago, you could have blamed Jerry Jones easily. But I think when you see the Dallas Cowboys teams that have been assembled over the last several years, they've had a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl championship. They've had the talent.

And so when you look at that from that perspective, then now you have to take into consideration who's your coach. And if you want to point the finger at Jerry Jones for anything, it's the coach that he picked. Now, Mike McCarthy is a Super Bowl champion coach, one with Green Bay in 2010, and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a perennial playoff contender. We know this. He had Aaron Rogers as his quarterback. But when he was let go by Green Bay,

he was thought to be a bit archaic, outdated, and maybe we should go in a different direction. But when Jerry Jones hired him, he had the resume that said, okay, let's see what happens. They've had three consecutive 12 win seasons. They've been in four playoff games. They're one and three in those playoff games.

They're one and out. three of those on three of those occasions. Yesterday, they looked so inept, so lost. Now it's time to look at Jerry Jones and says, you have to move in a different direction because the clock is ticking. He's 81 years of age. He's frequently pointed to his own mortality and how he doesn't believe he has much time left. And when you have that level of urgency that's being felt by him, it trickles on down. And to answer your question, directly as it pertains to Cowboy fans. And we talked about the take and what can't go wrong, will go wrong.

The reason I brought that up, and I tried to explain this to you in the past, but you were stubborn and you didn't want to listen and maybe you don't want to listen. Now, the Cowboy fans blow V8. That's why I say be patient. Because would anybody else get to the playoffs, get to an AFC on NFC championship game, a Super Bowl appearance or whatever, but not winning it would be acceptable. But Cowboy fans are the one fan base that walk around every year like their champion. already. You can go three and 14. You can go

two and 15. You can go four and 13 or whatever. You'll literally go like, you know, we go with the Super Bowl next year, right? This is how you at. It never, ever, ever stops. And so my point is, okay, since you want to act like that, and you never said, we, them boy, you got songs talking about we them boys and all of this other stuff. And you're living off of that, right?

I said, okay, well, let's see what's going to happen when all is said and done. Let's see who will be the last one standing because it won't be y'all. It'll be y'all on headlines. It'll be y'all in national televised games. It will be y'all in terms of marketing because you're worth $9 billion when the average NFL franchises worth over $5 billion. It'll be all of those things that makes y'all believe y'all are champions except for where it really counts. And that's what I think this one really dented. I think this one did it, Stephen A. I actually think this one might have really dented our confidence in our ego. I saw a post by Emmett Smith and Michael Irvin. I've seen

everything today. Yes. And I don't think there's much swagger left. And you know what? If there's not much swagger left, I don't know what that'll translate into television viewership or season ticket sales. But Jerry better pay attention because this thing, it's starting to erode the ego of the cowboy fan. And that might be the last, that might be the Alamo in Texas. That might be the last wall standing for the Dallas Cowboys. Real quick, before we move on, will Jerry hire Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh? I think he should hire Bill Belichick, personally. I think that Jim Harbaugh being the reigning national champion

at the University of Michigan after beating Washington last week, I think that's a situation where you go to the charges if you're him, because the charges have just been absent from the equation. They're trying to build a fan base in the city of Los Angeles, the second largest market in the United States, coming from San Diego, because they used to be San Diego charges, of course. And I think that you have to have somebody in play that exude, that level of confidence, but also

somebody that you have the ability to see control to, and it's justified. Because of what has transpired in New England in the aftermath of Tom Brady's departure, you can't do that with Bill Belichick. You know, you can sit up there and look at him and say he's a six-time champion as a head coach. We know he

knows what he's doing as a coach, but his crime is his evaluation of talent, meaning picking the personnel for the squad. He was the man in New England. And over the last decade, Will, he's picked two all pro players. One was a punter.

One was a kicker. That's it. And so when you look at it from that standpoint, you can't possibly see control to him in terms of making player personnel decisions.

You have to leave that to somebody else and then he goes out there and he coaches what you give him. Bill Belichick is a genius on a football field. And because of that, he can certainly do that for you.

As McCordy, one of his players who works for NBC on their pregame show pointed out yesterday in the aftermath of that Dallas Tobacco, he said if Bill Belichick was coaching that team, that wouldn't have happened. He said, I'm not saying when you won't a loss, but you wouldn't have looked like that where wide receivers are wide open and the camera has to zoom out just to show that there's an actual defender in the vicinity because that's how

wide open these players were. Something like that doesn't happen on Bill Belichick's watch. The attention to detail is too elite and you know that there would be a significant upgrade in the coaching, on the coaching sidelines. That's what I believe the Dallas Cowboys need more than anything else, and that's why I think they should go and give Bill Belichick. Despite what many people saw on television for the years that you and I spent together at ESPN, they saw fireworks, perhaps hostility, they saw vigorous debate. Despite what they saw, all of which was real and authentic, you and I got along very well. I introduced you as a buddy, as a friend. I do believe that about our relationship. And whenever we had a serious,

disagreement and a serious debate. We almost, almost inevitably, at the end of that, looked at each other and basically dapped up. We basically said, you good, I'm good. Because we understood that A, men can disagree, and we understood that B, relationships have to be built on more than agreement. So I always appreciated, you know, my relationship with you, Stephen A. And that's one of the reasons I actually wanted to have you on today. You're a smart guy. You care about politics. You certainly have strong points of view on culture. And many of them are diametrically, not all, but many of them are diametrically opposed to my point of view. And I always want to be able to have here on this forum a place where people of disagreement can come together as men, where we can

come together and have that vigorous disagreement. And at the end, say, you good? I'm good. So I wanted to talk to you today and say, hey, man, what do you think about Iowa? Here we go. The country is going to begin the process of electing its next leader. What do you think about Iowa? Well, for me personally, I mean, you know, Trump obviously is ahead and you thought about DeSantis once upon a time. But now Nikki Haley has gained traction and according to some polls has taken a lead over Governor DeSantis from Florida. Last time I checked, I believe she was up to 20%. He had dipped to 16%.

I think he's made some errors along the way, picked fights with the wrong folks and, you know, diverted his attention away from what it was. should have been aimed. And as a result, that was something that Trump has been able to take advantage of. I don't see anybody being a threat to Trump on the GOP side. I think that the Democrats knew that. And as a result, I think that's why they've been full throttle in terms of aiming to take him down to prevent him from potentially running for reelection or being allowed back in office. My position has always been clear about Trump. I don't, you know, I, I, Politically speaking, you and I have talked on many, many occasions. I consider myself a fiscal conservative, but a social liberal.

I've always considered myself that I get tired of these damn taxes of some of these states. I mean, I'm thinking about Florida and Texas. Every chance I get along with every state with no state income taxes, it's very, very appealing to me. And I'm unapologetic about that. This is a capitalistic society that we live in, and I don't think there's any question that Trump did a damn good job with the economy. My issue with Trump, when he was in offices that he was so divisive that I thought I was of the mindset that this is not an individual that's interested in bringing the country together. And I think that the divisiveness that he causes is dangerous to our republic in my estimation. Of course, you and I have disagreed with that to some degree along with Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and others.

And everybody knows where I stand on that. Me personally, I would vote for Nikki Haley. I would have voted for Chris Christie and people like that. I don't have any qualms about voting for a Republican. And on many occasions, I've actually pointed a finger at the Republican side from this perspective. If you have, and I'm certainly, I'm not bringing up to talk about it, whether it's Liz Cheney or Ted Cruz or Nikki Haley or DeSantis or anybody else, I have sat completely flummoxed at the right from the perspective of why this guy, of all the people that they would vote practically lockstep with him.

What's the fixation on him being a guy that has to sit in that chair, that has to be in the White House, as opposed to the others? And so that's the only disagreement that I've had with folks. I don't vibe with folks on the left where, and I've never been that way. You know me personally. You know that I've been this way. I've never been one. Oh, you're a Republican, so that means you're racist. You're a Republican, so that means you can't stand black folks.

You're Republicans. I've never been that guy. I never think that way. Right. I'm a registered independent. But when it comes to him, I have marveled at the negative and the visip impact he's had on our society and looking at folks on the right that don't see. seem to care at all. It has to be him when you have so many candidates who would vote in

lockstep alongside him or would invoke policies similar to his. So let me, let me answer your question and then I'll respond with a question. So the answer, I think, to why so much of the Republican base has zero interest in a Liz Cheney, less interest in a Nikki Haley, is, and more interest in a Donald Trump is that what has been described as divisive, it in, in application has turned out to be unifying. And what has been described as acceptable has in so many ways turned out to be divisive. Here's what I mean. The Republican Party, and the names that you mention, I would describe as acceptability Republicans. It's all dressed up in the manner of politeness of saying the right things. But the policies underneath, A, I,

I would acknowledge, for much of its, you know, 20, 30 years, advantaged corporate America, did not pay enough attention to the middle class and did not have any interest in any type of populist connection to America. And B, launched at will, and one could say frivolously or way too eagerly into war, which is, I think, the ultimate division. And meanwhile, Donald Trump, while perhaps unpolished, crude, certainly somebody who lashes back at anyone who attacks him, has re-engineered Republican politics in many ways to reconnect to unifying values like restricting, you know, unfair free trade that hurt middle class American workers, paying attention to illegal immigration, which disadvantages black, white, all Americans on lower economic strata. And so his policies,

perhaps dressed up in what is seen as divisive language have actually been unifying. And so that's my answer. And my question to you would be this, Stephen A, I don't pretend that Donald Trump is perfect. I think he is an, I think we all have to recognize reality and say he's a very talented communicator. But part of that talent is his bravado, is his maybe crudeness, is what you have described as divisive. But some of it also, I think that you, for example, because I'm going to use, use you a little bit as a placeholder. Have internalized as divisive is also false, meaning it's been portrayed in the mainstream media as though he said one thing when in actuality he said

another. Now, I'm not here to apologize for every single thing he said or say every time he said something that it was completely virtuous. But just as an example, you know, the Charlottesville very fine people statement is a horribly clipped and taken out a context moment that makes it seem as though he's embracing white supremacist when he was very much not saying that when you listen to him in full. So what I'm curious to you is, you know, that's just an example. Russia collusion, a whole host of issues. Mercionaries on American soldiers, biracial. I always thought that. I always thought that. So that was my question. Does any of that break through to you? Meaning like, some of that was just, some of that was described as divisive was actually just

false? Well, you can highlight incidences where certain things were peeled and it was misrepresented by the other side. I certainly won't refute that. And remember that I'm one of the people that feel like, yes, I did think that his language, his verbiage wasn't constructive or conducive with the interruption on January 6th, but I also have been on the record saying, you know what, going after him for that, I found that the Democrats to be embarrassing from the standpoint, go and beat him.

You're looking for an excuse to help somebody to help you beat him. You go beat him. Make sure that your policies are better. Make sure that your delivery is better. Make sure your presentation is better. Make sure the way that you ingratiate yourself with constituents out there and the voters out there is better than what he's doing. Stop looking for something like that to beat him because at the end of the day, those folks that stormed the U.S. Capitol grown adults that made their own decision. And even though I thought that his language was not

constructive, was not conducive, it didn't help it anyway. The bottom line is, is that for us to be here more than three years later, still going after him, it's a clear objective to prevent him from gaining office because what you're saying is Democrats is that that's the only way we can beat them. You can't beat him any other way. And I have found that to be appalling because it's the year 2024. And the Democrats literally have basically implored American citizens to rely on an 82-year-old man who will turn 82 this year to run for re-election. Think about that. That's just disgraceful. So for me, I get where you're coming from, but it doesn't absolve him from the level of the courtroom and statesmanship. I believe that position demands. And so you can, you can,

can bring up Charlottesville, and in defense of what you're saying, I haven't listened to the entire, you know, statement that he made about Charlotteville. You are absolutely right. There are sound bites that are taken from that. That can be manipulated. Fair enough. But on countless occasions, whether it's that or something else, the words that come out of his mouth, even though he's not a quote-unquote polished politician, you do find yourself questioning whether or not he cares. And on far too many occasions, he appears to be so incredibly narcissistic that everything is about Trump. I remember I'll tell you something that I said to a whole bunch of liberals that I know. Folks will come to me and they'd say he's racist.

I'd be like this. That's not what I get from Donald Trump. That implies that he doesn't care about black folks. He cares about no one but Trump. That's what I've said about him. I said, you know, okay, by anybody, but he turns about Trump, first, almost, and always, all things Trump. Because I knew him before he ran for office. I had no issues with him when I would see him at sporting events, whether it's a boxing match.

He was throwing again in Atlantic City or New York Knick Games or anything. One time he introduced me to Bill O'Reilly for crying out loud. I mean, I didn't have any issues with them. So a lot of the things that I see him doing, knowing how fixated and addicted he is, to winning and getting his way, I think Donald Trump is the kind of person that caters to whatever he thinks will work for a constituency to get what he wants, as opposed to being vile or venomous toward something else. But nevertheless, if it comes across as vile venomous, you have to be accountable for that.

First of all, I appreciate what you said about the context thing. You're in the public eye. I know there's things that you've said that have been taken out of context. I know that's happened with me. I think we all know. And that's part of what I believe is my job in my pursuit of the truth, which you accused me of thinking I have a monopoly on the truth once. But part of my pursuit is of the truth is to try to understand the entirety of the picture. Right. So, you know, I once said on ESPN on a desk sitting with you and Max Kellerman that I said, I said something very similar to what you just said, that Donald Trump was about himself. But what I have evolved over time and being honest with the audience

about is that I'm no longer interested in manners and I'm no longer interested in motivations. I'm interested in outcomes. I can't ever peer into the soul of another man and decide exactly what it is that is driving his motivation. But I can look at the product of his actions. And I do believe that the product of his actions has created a place that I think we need to be for the United States of America. But we only have a few minutes still together today. And you know, you know, I haven't talked about. I always loved our conversations on race. I already appreciate the places you've begun to go on it. And so I wanted to get your opinion on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

And we can use specifically the DEI debate at Harvard. Claudia and Gay resigned after some pitiful performance in front of Congress, but then it was revealed that she plagiarized and was apparently not very well qualified originally to arrive at the position of president of Harvard. And that has led to a greater debate about DEI. Stephen A. What is your outlook on DEI? I think it's necessary. I think that it needs to include addressing anti-senatism as well, which is what some folks in the Jewish community have spoken about.

I'm certainly not an efficient. I don't want the subject, but I will tell you that, you know, from a societal perspective, whether it's in academia, it's in business, politics, or what have you, the reality is that diversity is always a good thing. Inclusion is always a good thing. And I think at any time, people think that that's not necessary. That's not an opinion that I vibe with. I think that it needs, when we say diversity, equity, and inclusion, it doesn't need to just be about the underprivilege and a disenfranchised.

The word otherrepresented resonates with me as well. Because if you're from any community and you feel like you're being underrepresented, particularly as it pertains to your community and some of the issues that are most important to you, then that needs to fall under that category as well. And so, you know, when I think about it from that perspective, I think that as a society, we're a better place when we show a willingness to be more receptive to the concerns that people who may be minorities, who may feel like they're underrepresented, where the numbers may show that they're underrepresented, and some of the issues are being addressed.

It's not something that I'm averse to. I think that it gets misused from time to time, which I think sparks the ire of those who feel victimized by DEI. But nevertheless, that's inevitable because our society for a vast majority of this nation's history has been unfair and tilted towards white, particularly white male individuals. I think that's a fact. I don't think that anybody that knows anything about history would deny that. and that's fostered, you know, the addition of some of these programs. But in the end, I do understand how folks can go overboard with it. They can use it to the advantage and that could serve to alienate those who once supported it.

And I get where all the noises come in? Well, so, you know, I got into this debate, Stephen A, with Mark Cuban, the now front-facing basketball operations, governor of the Dallas Mavericks, about this. And he defined those terms, diversity. and inclusion, sort of subjectively, meaning whatever they meant to him. He took his own personal liberties in defining those words. And when you do that, you can, I think, say what you said, which is it's a virtue and we should all pursue diversity, for example, and inclusion. And I think as a person, as an individual that you go throughout the world, I understand what you and maybe Mark Cuban mean. But organizationally, as an institutional structure, and DEI is

institutional structure. It's manifested in college curriculum and present and corporate HR departments. It's something very different. And quite honestly, I think it's anti-white. And I think what it is, you know, you and I used to have these debates. And I think a lot of times when we have these racial debates, what happens is there's a position and someone takes a position. And for example, say you take a position, and you've said this to me, like, I'm pro-black, right? But if I, if I say, well, I'm not pro-black, that's internalized as, well, I'm anti-black, but that's not the same thing. You see, I'm not pro-white. I'm not pro-black. I'm not anti-white. I'm not anti-black. I'm pro-individual. And I believe that you have to look at people as individuals with their character, their merit, and that's the only just way to arrive. And your analysis of the history of the United States is correct. There was an institutional structure that did advantage white people. But I I don't think the answer today is to create an institutional structure that disadvantages white people or advantages. And by the way, it started as pro-black, but it isn't anymore, Stephen A. Now, like, DEI started as

pro-black. And I don't think the answer is to do what you said. Well, let's add anti-Semitism to the groups that we need to, you know, to the groups that we need to advantage. The answer is to tear down all these advantages, white, black, anti, all of it. Tear down the disadvantages, tear down the advantage because you end up real quick, Stephen A, with stories like we saw this weekend at Fox News and at New York Post where the FAA is looking at psychiatric and intellectual disabilities in selecting their air traffic controllers under DEI because they're underrepresented. No, no, no, no more, no intellectual disability, no more black, no more white, no more Asian, no more anti-Semitic, no preferences, just look at people as individuals.

Well, when you say that and you put it that way, and this is where you and I, have conversations and, you know, like you said, I'm pro-black, but I also say I'm never anti-white. I'm not anti-anything. But let me say this to you and enlighten the audience as the kind of discussions that we have had that go this route, but that are never volatile when we talk about this. We've actually been volatile about sports and social issues more so than we've been about issues like this. Okay. But here's the thing that I think I would ask you and your audience to understand. Okay.

No, you're absolutely right. We should, on its face, if you break it down the way you break it down in an ideal utopia, well, hey, get rid of it all. Fine. My point to you is why was it necessary? I cover sports. The Rooney rule is in place, inserted in 2003, where you have to interview minorities to become head coach in the National Football League.

on its face, is that fair to white folks if you don't take history into account? Of course, it's not fair. But the reason it came to be was because of history. And because history kept repeating itself. And people kept doing the things that were beneficial to white males, but ostracized everybody else or diminished or pigeonhole others. That provoked the implementation of the Rooney Rule. The same could be said about.

DEI and various other things that you just alluded to. It's not that you're anti-white. It's that you're saying the white male community specifically, for the most part, from an historical perspective, was unfair. And because it wasn't fair, it gave them all the advantages and minimize the advantages that others could potentially have. So how do you even a plan scale? To simplify it, crystallize it in a way that condenses the argument.

If I'm starting a race with you and you give me a 50-yard head start and neither of us are allowed to go at a different speed, I'll never catch you. Equity will never be captured. But Stephen A, you did. I got a 50-yard head start. And I'm going at the same speed. I'm sorry. Yes, but my point is, but you did, Stephen A. Who's the bigger star?

You were me. who makes more money you or me who's got the bigger platform you or me you wouldn't want someone sitting here today and say Stephen A which he was not I've read a straight shooter

it's now available on paperback Stephen A was advantaged at any point because of his race your talent and your merit you as a man and me as a man has risen and lifted you Stephen A to the top anyone that is familiar with sports

and ratings knows Stephen A your importance to that four-letter network you're sitting inside of right now ESPN you are a success not because of your superficial characteristics I'm not gratuitously complimenting you I'm describing reality you are a success because of you your talent and your ability and historical historical head starts about the group at mass okay I mean you can't punish to an individual today or take away from the success of an individual today because of history towards groups. We are individuals.

And my man, you caught me, you know, in this analogy. But let me say this. But let me say this. You are older, though. You are older. Give me some time. That's right. I am older.

There's many that I'm one of the few disproportionate, you know, proportionate to my community. I mean, it is, I'm a rarity. That's number two. Number three, I got news for you, my brother. Yes, I did it. I could not have achieved what I've achieved without the help of black and white people who extended a helping hand to me. Obviously, my mom, my family, mentors who happen to be black, the list goes on and on. What about Joe Goodman at the Winston-Salem Journal?

What about Robert Rosenthal at the Philadelphia Inquirer? What about Jimmy Patero and John Skipper before him at ESPN and Bob Iger at Disney? I've had an abundance of people, both white and black, who helped me get here through the kindness of their heart, their vision, and their willingness to extend a helping hand. I've been blessed and fortunate to achieve the things that I've achieved. Most folks from my community don't have that privilege. They never received that privilege. And far more often than not, we've been in a system and under a system where we've had white individuals in positions to help obviously black folks, but far more white folks as well. And so you have to take that into consideration as well.

I'm not dismissing what you're saying. And I don't want that to be taking that way. And I'm not saying that your points, many of your points are not very, very valid. But there's another side to it. I am not normal. I'm the aberration. I'm the exception. We're talking about the rule,

and the rule usually dictates that most people from the streets of Hollis, Queens, in New York City don't get to achieve what I've achieved. It's not, don't choose me to say, well, you made it, why can't everybody else? Because that's ignoring the plight of the community that I come from and the roadblocks and the obstacles that were placed in the path

of minorities in this country. You can't do that well. You can't go that far. Yeah, and I want to be clear, and it's always something that my wife used to tell me before I went on first take, Stephen A, you need to say the things that you believe, that people don't assume you believe. I mean, I do not think racism has been retired as a problem in America, and I don't believe there are not things that disadvantage certain communities in America over other communities in America. I just don't think the way to prosperity or utopia is to select people based upon our superficial characteristics. Otherwise, we're going to end up with FAA controllers with intellectual disabilities. And I don't think anybody else wants to fly on that plane.

That's right. I agree with that. There's no dispute here. There's no dispute at all. But the point is to make sure that you extend yourself and give an effort to find those qualified individuals as opposed to assuming they wouldn't be in that direction. They must be over here. Look everywhere.

Because when you bring up DEI, to me, what I care about most is equity. I care about equity, equality. I care about that. That's my least favorite letter of the three. That's my least favorite concept of the three. Well, I'm bringing that I don't mean equity is what I'm talking about equality. That's what I'm thinking about. There we go.

Two very different things. Two very different things. That's fair. I didn't mean it that way. I was talking about equality as opposed to equity. But I'm saying that's what matters most to me, meaning equal chance, equal opportunity. Let's see what happens. And then to the victor goes to spoils.

That, to me, is what America is supposed to be about. He's got a show right here on YouTube. It's the Stephen A. Smith show. Click over there and subscribe to the Stephen A. Smith show on YouTube. You can catch him at any time on first take on ESPN. And his book, Straight Shooter, is out in paperback right now. And I appreciate you for coming on the first episode, my friend, Stephen A. Smith. Proud of you, man. Keep it up, man.

I'll see you down the road. We'll catch up. All right. Take care. There he goes. Stephen A. Smith. You know, I want to say Stephen A. Smith has been in a somewhat viral argument with other people about, you know, various parts of his book, Straight Shooter and what's real and what's not real. And I'm going to be real with you. That wasn't going to be part of our conversation here today. Stephen A, coming on my program and two networks, allowing two people from very different corporate environments is something that is a rare opportunity. And I have many other. the things that I want to talk to Stephen A. about. And anything that you would like to hear about that, you can go check out the latest episode of Stephen A's podcast from Friday.

Hey, before we go to a quick break and take your calls at 855-369-8255. I want to show you one of the costs of, I think, the DEI structure, that it not only advantages you inappropriately to into the spotlight, but it becomes a shield when someone hopes to take away the spotlight. This is Fulton County District Attorney in Georgia, Fannie Willis, who is now accused of corruption and in a romantic affair, who is leading up the corruption case against Donald Trump. Her potential corruption kickbacks on money and having a romantic affair with a special prosecutor in charge of prosecuting Trump. It could undermine the entire thing, but also expose that she's a hypocrite.

And here's what she would say to this new, not just allegation, but investigation. You cannot expect black women to be perfect and save the world. The Lord is completing us. We are not perfect. We need your prayers. We need to be allowed to stumble. We need grace. There you go.

It also becomes a shield in protecting you from your own. own corruption. That's Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis. All right, coming up, you, the listener of the Will Kane Show. Why just survive back to school when you can thrive by creating a space that does it all for you, no matter the size. Whether you're taking over your parents' basement or moving to campus, IKEA has hundreds of design ideas and affordable options to complement any budget. After all, you're in your small space era. It's time to own it. Shop now at IKEA.ca. Welcome back to the Will Cain Show.

As promised, I want to make this an interactive arena. We're not due. I just hear from Friends of the Program about the places that I may or may not be wrong, but I also hear from you, the viewer, the listener of the Will Kane Show. And we have, on that note, Reed in Virginia.

What's up, Reed? Hey, Will. Thank you very much. for taking my call. A quick question. I was just wondering, do you think that there's anything at this point that could stop Trump from being the nominee? And off of that, what do you think the future looks like for guys like Femke and DeSantis moving forward? Oh, thanks. Thanks, Reed. Is there anything at all that could stop Trump? Well, everything and anything is being thrown at the wall. I don't think there's anything electorally that can

stop Trump. I don't think there's anything in the democratic process. Today, people are making a point about whether or not Trump gets 50% in Iowa. What's it matter if it's 50 or 48? If Nikki Haley gets 18 or 20. The largest margin of victory in the history of Iowa is just under 13 points. It was Bob Dole in the 90s. And Donald Trump, if the polling is correct, promises to blow those numbers out of the water, whether or not it's 48 or 50. I don't see anything in the democratic process. I'm beginning to think there's nothing in the lawfare, in the judicial system, all the criminal investigations into Donald Trump that will stop Donald Trump

from becoming the Republican nominee for president. So I think that as those two realities set in, I think, as I alluded to at the top of the show in my monologue, I think that we will see increasing efforts that three, I think the foundations of our republic to stop Donald Trump. I mean, Donald Trump has been described as a threat to democracy. He's been analogized to Hitler as recently as a week and a half ago by Joe Biden. And if you walked around in the world and you truly did feel that we were on the edge of authoritarianism, if you truly did think that Donald Trump represented America's Hitler, what wouldn't you do to stop Donald Trump?

So when I consider that broad playing field of possibilities, I have to say, yeah, there are some things that could be done to stop Donald Trump. Vivek and Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis is an amazing governor, has been an amazing governor. My doubts about Ron DeSantis have revolved now around his ability to campaign for president. Specifically, his ability to sell himself and his vision. It's just, it's different than the executive function. mean he wouldn't be a great president, but there's a reason that every business has a sales department and a manufacturing department. The manufacturing department for Ron DeSantis is turning out

great products. The sales department is failing at its job. It just so happens that he's one in the same, both departments. And so I have some doubts about the future of Ron DeSantis, regardless of the year as President of the United States. And look, I'm just telling you what I think is the truth. I'm happy to be proven wrong. And I don't think that it should be the way. I mean, I don't I think that, you know, it's necessarily the best way to pick a president because you want the person who's best at manufacturing, actually doing the job, being an executive. But acknowledging reality, you need someone who can operate in the sales department and win an election.

Vivek really quickly is fascinating on so many levels because he is incredibly talented, philosophically, rhetorically. I don't know what his goal is. We should get him on the program here soon. We'll have an in-depth conversation with Vivek Ramoswamy. Like when and if he's out of this race, what is his goal? Is it to run for president again? I don't know.

Because his prospects have never been incredibly high in the polling. So it's made me wonder from time to time what is the long-term goal for Vivek. But I do know that he is an incredibly important voice, I think, in guiding a virtuous future for the Republican Party. Hey, yesterday on Fox and Friends, I have to give credit where credit is due. My co-host, Racheal Campos Duffy, who is not a sports fan, took a few minutes before Cowboys Packers to flex her muscles, to be a sports fan for a day. And what a great day it was for Rachel Campos Duffy. Are you looking at the field and going, I can't wait for this game to start, where you're going to lose to the Packers? No, I'm ready. I'm ready.

You know that the Cowboys. Yeah, there's a Sunday night game. Rams Lions. Rams Lions tonight. Corrected. Live on air. The Cowboys are just like Pete's Vikings. In the end, they're just chokers. And you know that, well. You know that.

It's like she's been taking lessons from the first guest of the Will Kane show, which launches tomorrow. As you know, the Will Kane podcast has been three times a week. I'm going five days a week, four days a week, streaming live at foxnews.com and on Fox News's YouTube, there's a list of who's coming up this week. And as I mentioned, that first guest for Monday is going to be there, rain or shine, to gloat or to have to face me after a Dallas Cowboys win or loss. He's made his career on it, and I see Rachel is ready to blaze that same path. Yeah, well, you know, I just don't trust Dak.

It's just too many interceptions. Did you look down at your notes before you said that? you look down at your notes and then turned to me and goes you she went like this she looked at her notepad and goes I just don't trust that too many she did her homework she did her homework let me see that no card what else she got there that can go wrong will go wrong what did Sean Duffy ever say oh it's not it's not oh no I went to a higher source I'll reveal the source But Mike McCartsey struggles with clock management. Late in the game.

He struggles with late game clock management. You know that. That came from Sean Dokey. I did not. No, I might have come from Clay Travis. It feels like you came from a Green Bay Packer fan, which it's true. I will reveal who I've been philosophizing on football with later in the game. Late game clock management.

But actually, it resonates with me because, you know, Dack has too many interceptions. No, he doesn't. That's not true. Late in the game. He's prone to throwing picks. He struggles with... He's got less than 10.

He leads the league, I believe, in few... What is... His touchdown to interception ratio is like 36 to 9. He seems so defensive of Dack. He's so invested in Dack. He's got a lot invested in... This is a weird segment that it feels pre-produced in a way that I... It's an ambush.

Okay, I'm just going to reveal that Bobby Brack is helping me. Okay. All right. Somebody who knows sports. I tried. I tried. I'm telling you. I looked at these so many times, but it's like Chinese to me that I couldn't even get it. You had to memorize it and then look down and read your notes.

All right. Well, good job. Well, done. Pre-prepared that segment. There was Rachel Campos Duffy yesterday with her pre-prepared talking points that she could not memorize that she had to look down at her notes. So credit where. credit is due. You get to gloat, Rachel. Now, Rachel's not with us here today on the Will Kane show, but I would say, and I understand you've only been a sports fan for a day, you need to

tread lightly in your gloating. Yesterday during the Cowboys Packers game, everyone texted me. Everyone had a good laugh at my expense. But Rachel texted me a dozen times. Like every interception deck through, there was a text. Every bad play, there was a text. It was so far over the line. It was very bad form. And I could feel the other dudes, Pete Hegseth, Sean Duffy, Bobby Burrack of Outkick, pull back. She didn't know what she was getting into. She didn't know the sensitivity she was pressing. This is a bad moment for anyone invested in sports. And when it gets so bad, like it was yesterday, dudes stop giving each other a hard time. They dial it back because they understand he's on the floor.

You don't have to kick him anymore. But Rachel, and I swear I have to give her grace, she'd only been a sports fan for one day. Didn't understand that and continued to stomp my body. I came into today telling you I got jumped into a gang, okay? This accountability bowl was part of the beatdown. and I needed to accept in order to be part of this new project. But Rachel was the last gangster kick in my limp body. Rachel was texting me in very bad form over and over,

and it almost ended our relationship. But I extended some grace because, again, she'd only been a Green Bay Packer fan or a sports fan at large for about 8 to 10 hours. Somebody who has been a Packers fan for a long time and gets the final word here in this gang beat down. that is the first episode of the Will Kane show is Two a Days. It's one of our producers here, Dan Overstock, who is sitting behind the board right now and is a Green Bay Packer fan.

Two a days? Yes, I wasn't going to be too hard on you today when I first came in, but, you know, I just got to say, go, Pac, go. I mean, I'm with Rachel. I didn't trust in Dak, but, you know, I'm wearing some green today, and I just didn't want to lay it on too thick because I knew everyone else would. So I'm just going to say I'm excited to what the team's doing. Jordan Love coming out of the gate looking great in a playoff game so it's very exciting

this team Dan I thought you were very excited about this team here at the Will King's show Yes by the way I'm very excited to be here That's right Well I hope you are because You're going to be one of those guys on the front porch with your buddies asking how you got fired on your first day

If you keep this up Who gets fired on their first day Was it in Friday they said who gets fired on their day off You might get fired on your first day Congratulations to your Packers. I want to be a good sport, and I am incredibly impressed with Jordan Love. I hope you've been somewhat impressed with the past hour plus here of the Will Cain Show, streaming live at foxnews.com or on YouTube at Fox News.

This show will be on demand, in video form, on YouTube at the Will Cain Show, and it will be on podcast wherever you get your audio entertainment, Apple, Spotify, or at Fox News podcast. I appreciate you hanging out with us. for the past hour. Coming up this week, Jordan Peterson, Pete Hegsett, a debate between Tommy Laren and Ben Dominich. We will be the place where we connect and pursue the truth. I'll see you next time on The Will Kane Show. Listen to ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcast and Amazon Prime members. You can listen to this show, ad-free on the Amazon Music app. It is time to take the quiz.

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