Ron DeSantis Has 'Lost His D*** Mind' After Banning DEI Initiatives at Florida Universities, Stephen A. Smith Says
May 23 2023, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
Sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith took aim at Governor Ron DeSantis and claimed the Republican presidential candidate has "lost his d*** mind" after he signed legislation to ban diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at Florida universities, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Smith's scathing review of DeSantis' policies followed an official announcement from the controversial governor's presidential campaign, which confirmed he would announce his candidacy on Twitter this Wednesday.
Smith addressed DeSantis and a recent travel advisory warning issued by the NAACP to Black Americans on visiting the Sunshine State.
On Tuesday's episode of his podcast, Know Mercy with Stephen A. Smith, the sports commentator acknowledged that while he was not an "aficionado on this subject" of DEI programs, he believed "it’s perfectly within my right to say when someone looks like a d*** fool."
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"In the case of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, at this pace, he might go down as one of the stupidest people I’ve ever seen," Smith said of the Republican lawmaker. "And we know he’s not stupid. We know how smart he is."
Smith argued that while DeSantis wasn't unintelligent, his leadership choices came "across as a dude that has lost his d*** mind."
The sportscaster listed numerous voter groups who were "alienated" under DeSantis' increasingly far-right agenda.
"If you’re DeSantis, it’s bad enough you’ve alienated the Latino community, it’s bad enough, you’ve alienated tens of millions of women because I assure you, even though you have an abundance of women against abortion, most would like the right to make the choice for themselves as opposed to having male politicians dictate those choices for them," Smith said.
"Now we get to this latest stuff and this is where it hits home for me cause I’m a Black man and we’re talking about the NAACP," Smith added.
The NAACP's Florida travel advisory warning considered the state "hostile," — and accused DeSantis of spearheading legislation in "aggressive attempts to erase Black history."
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Smith questioned what DeSantis' end goal was over pushing divisive policies.
"Respectfully to the governor, Ron DeSantis, who obviously has offended Latinos, Blacks, women. Have you lost your mind or do you just want to throw away the election?" Smith asked. "Is that what you’re trying to do?"
In addition to targeting DEI programs in higher education, DeSantis has waged war on immigrants, teachers, LGBT+ youth and even Disney.
