What does Kevin Frazier think of my critique of Gavin Newsom's trip to Switzerland?

Who speaks in this episode?

• Stephen A. Smith (Host)
• Joe Frazier (Host)

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Joe Frazier, Stephen A. Smith, SiriusXM
2. 5:00 – 10:00: David Axelrod
3. 35:00 – 40:00: Michael B. Jordan, Tiana Taylor, Oscars, Ryan Coogler
4. 40:00 – 43:12: Tiana Taylor, SiriusXM, Oscars

Notable quotes from "What does Kevin Frazier think of my critique of Gavin Newsom's trip to Switzerland?"

• What's up everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. coming at you as I love to do usually every Wednesday night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

  about Stephen A. Smith · at 0:15

• And he and to his credit, he did not hesitate. and before I even go any further, hello, Kevin. How are you?

  about Joe Frazier · at 1:36

• Financed him to be over there. There's an agenda to all of this. You even had Democratic strategist David Axarrod calling it self-puffery b with this whole mentality. Why can't…

  about David Axelrod · at 6:06

• Thought that the 16 nominations were welld deserved by sinners and there is a magic when Ryan Cougler and Michael B.

  about Michael B. Jordan · at 37:25

• Supreme. Now, look, one battle after another, they are going to win some awards. And congratulations to Tiana Taylor for her nomination. But I think that's where I was going next.

  about Tiana Taylor · at 39:15

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Stephen A. Smith — Person · Host · 1 mention · first at 3:58
  Hosts the episode, frames the debate with Kevin Frazier, and drives the political and culture commentary before pivoting to Oscars talk.
• Joe Frazier — Person · Main guest / Co-host (episode partner) · 2 mentions · first at 1:41
  Co-owner of Straight Shooter Media and on-camera counterpart; challenges Stephen A.'s critique of Gavin Newsom and later discusses Oscar nominations.
• Michael B. Jordan — Person · Referenced entertainment figure (awards-season focus) · 3 mentions · first at 37:08
  Discussed as a major Oscar nominee and as part of a successful creative pairing with Ryan Coogler; used to anchor the Oscars segment.
• Tiana Taylor — Person · Referenced entertainment figure (awards-season focus) · 4 mentions · first at 39:19
  Highlighted for an Oscar nomination and framed as a strong contender; discussed in terms of momentum from Golden Globes vs Oscars voting dynamics.
• Ryan Coogler — Person · Referenced filmmaker (awards-season focus) · 1 mention · first at 37:13
  Discussed as the creative counterpart to Michael B. Jordan; their collaboration is presented as a proven formula (e.g., Fruitvale Station) and tied to Oscar success.
  Thought that the 16 nominations were welld deserved by sinners and there is a magic when Ryan Cougler and Michael B.
• David Axelrod — Person · Referenced expert / political strategist (supporting citation) · 1 mention · first at 6:06
  Cited to bolster Stephen A.'s critique of Newsom as self-promotional; used as an appeal to an established Democratic strategist's judgment.

Companies & orgs

• SiriusXM — Company · Broadcast platform · 2 mentions · first at 0:24
  The platform where the podcast 'Straight Shooter' is broadcasted.
  What's up everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. coming at you as I love to do usually every Wednesday night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Places & events

• Oscars — Event · Referenced event · 2 mentions · first at 37:03
  Mentioned in the context of discussing movie nominations and awards.
  I know the Oscars, the nominations came in.

Media & podcasts

• Fruitvale Station — Media · Referenced work · 3 mentions
  Mentioned as an early collaboration between Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan.
  And if you go all the way back to Fruit Veil Station, their very first movie together, which is a fantastic watch. If you haven't seen it, go back and watch it now. I think that the.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Straight shooter with Stephen A. What's up everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. coming at you as I love to do usually every Wednesday night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time over the airwaves of SiriusXM POS radio channel 124, but that's just on Wednesdays. Usually on Mondays or Fridays, assuming that I don't have other obligations that keep me out of studio that I have to fulfill. I usually add a couple of YouTube shows a week when I got something on my mind.

0:41 In this particular instance, it's a special edition because this is not what what it was about what was on my mind. This was this is about what's on the mind of my partner, you know, obviously Straight Shooter Media. That's the name of my production company. It is owned and it is co-owned by my man, the one and only Kevin Frasier for Entertainment Tonight. But um usually we are sympatico. We are aligned in our thinking. We we get along. We're not butdding heads. But this man had a problem with me over the last 48 hours or so, actually almost 48 hours. And rather than argue over text messages or the phone getting lectured by him, all right, I said, "I had enough. Get your ass on camera and say some of this stuff so everybody could know what you have to say, how you feel, and how you feel about what I've had to say." And so, as a result of that, I said, "Let's go."

1:36 And he and to his credit, he did not hesitate. Um, and before I even go any further, hello, Kevin. How are you? How's everything, sir? You good? You good,

1:45 dude? I'm so good. It's good to talk to you and I'm glad that we can show folks that we do when we disagree, we solve it. And we're going to solve it right now.

1:54 I don't know. We're going TO SOLVE IT. AND I'LL SAY IT. NO, WE'RE GOING TO SOLVE it when when it comes to this damn Gavin Newsome, the governor of California, your state. I mean, listen, I don't dislike the man. I actually like a few things about Gavin Newsome, but there are other things I don't like and I don't f over him like some other people that I won't name. Okay? I mean, it's just IT'S JUST RIDICULOUS. NOW, THE OTHER day when the president of the United States uh was in Davos, Switzerland speaking, I didn't watch any of the speech because I get tired of listening to him ramble and going all over the place and as half the time I don't even understand what the hell he's saying to be quite honest with you. He just jumps off prompt. I don't know what the hell he's saying, but I do know this. If you are the governor of a state in the United States of America, you have no business across the pond or

2:46 across the water, across the ocean, talking smack amongst foreign leaders about in-house business in the United States. DO THAT ON AMERICAN SOIL. You are not the commander-in-chief of this country. You are a governor of a state in the United States of America. And all I said about Gavin Newsome is I didn't say I didn't have an issue with anything he said about Trump. It was the forum in which he chose to say it. That was my issue with him. I know that wasn't supposed to give me something about climate change and I'll give the floor to you.

3:22 My point is you don't do that. It's America first. You don't do that on foreign soil talking to world leaders or trying to talk to world leaders on foreign soil denigrating the president of the United States. No matter who the hell he is, you do that here. But when you over there, you don't do that. That was my issue. You took issue with that, the floor is yours. So, first I want to say that, you know, I want people to know that we do text back and forth. We call each other back and forth. And if there's something that's done or said or that we don't agree with, one of the first people who will call me if I do something that he doesn't agree with is Stephen A. Smith. And he calls me as my brother and he says, "What the hell were you doing? What were you thinking? Why would you do that? Why would you say this?" So when you said those things about Gavin Newsome, I texted you and I said, "Bad take." I don't agree with

4:10 that take. And there's a couple of reasons why I don't agree with that take. Number one, let's start with why he's there. Gavin Newsome is there at the economic forum. Because California has the fourth largest GDP in the world. I didn't say in the United States, I said in the world. And so if you look at they're ahead of places like Japan, India, other countries. He was there pushing yes green initiatives, but also the California economy. He had every right to be there. Now, the other reason that he was commenting about Donald Trump is because quite often, like you just said, he'll go off script and he will tell half-truths and things that are not true. And I mentioned to you that the foreign press fact checked him.

4:52 France 24, DW News in Germany, the BBC, everyone was checking him, factchecking him on his speech about Greenland and the things he was saying about Greenland, which he confused with Iceland sometimes. But the point being is that Gavin Newsome was speaking in his rightful place in Switzerland talking about what was happening there. And here's the other thing that's being forgotten. If Gavin Newsome said something on his podcast, if he said something sitting in the state house of California, hell, if he said something standing in a bean field in Fresno, it's going to go worldwide because there's a thing called the internet that makes everything worldwide. So, it's not like sports when you say keep it in the locker room, y'all. I understand that.

5:38 We both understand that. But this is a big difference because what he said went worldwide because he was on the world stage, but it would have gone worldwide if he had been sitting in the capital in Sacramento.

5:49 That's my point. Thank you for making my argument. He didn't need to go to hell over to Switzerland. I'm getting ready to tell you. He didn't need to go to hellland. He was supposed to be in Switzerland.

6:01 Listen to me, Kev. First of all, let's not get over get let's not get into who financed him to be over there. There's an agenda to all of this. You even had Democratic strategist David Axarrod calling it self-puffery b with this whole mentality. Why can't all of you be courageous enough to BE LIKE ME? THAT was the attitude that he was doing. He wasn't just calling out Donald Trump. He was calling out other elected officials in the United States of America. He was calling out foreign leaders rather talk about this this this call it call it for knee pads and how they're bowing down to this man. You know the world that we're living in. You know that you could do a podcast. You know that you could do a YouTube show that would that that would be disseminated worldwide. You didn't have to go over there to do that.

6:46 There's a time and a place for this stuff. And for him to be acting the way that he is acting towards Trump, you're basically trying to position yourself to be the 2028 Democratic nominee. You got a lot of people saying that that's what he's going to pull off. And the number one reason they're saying that he's going to do that is because of the behavior and the rhetoric that he's willing to exercise in that somewhat mimics what he's accusing Donald Trump of doing. So, let me get this straight. This man, the president of the United States, I'm calling him a juvenile. I'm calling him classless. I'm calling him all of these things. So, let me show the world I can be just like him. All right?

7:22 in order to ingratiate myself with folks even more so. I don't think that's the wisest strategy to move forward. And most importantly, I'm like, wait a minute. Don't you have business in the state of California to be attending to? I mean, this is what this is what blows me away about you. You live you live in the state of California, number one in homelessness, number one in state income taxes. You know how expensive it is out here. The affordability issue fine. And to give you AND TO BE FAIR TO YOU, let me make sure because I made sure I looked this up. Okay. California leads the United States in economic output, technology, and populationdriven metrics, boasting the nation's largest GDP at over$4 trillion dollars, highest number of Fortune 500 companies, most active duty military personnel as well.

8:04 I'm just reading right here for online. So, I'm throwing all of that out to acknowledge what California brings to the table, but we're not talking about the state of California. We're talking about Gavin Newsome. We're talking about you covering the fires, the wildfires and the palisades and how stuff hasn't really been addressed when it comes to that. Not to mention affordability issue. Yes, exactly. Homes that haven't been rebuilt and all. DON'T GET ME STARTED. THERE'S A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN CALIFORNIA. YOU GOT A LOT OF NERVES GOING across the world somebody else. Go ahead.

8:35 Let me get let me get started because I was in the Palace Age during those fires. I covered them. I was there while the fires were still burning. As a matter of fact, yesterday I sat in the day before yesterday, I sat with Spencer Pratt, the reality star, in his empty vacant lot. His house burned down in that fire and he can't rebuild. He can't afford to rebuild right now. I have two co-workers who lost everything. They're home. My son's teammates, we were in we were in the store buying um basketball shorts and socks and t-shirts for one of his teammates when those fires are going on. I understand those fires better than most because I was there and I was in it and I've seen the destruction, but only all the other things that are going on in the past that are happening now in the future. People have forgotten about them. Here's what I say to you. All the people out there who pay California

9:23 taxes, are you willing for a portion of your tax money to go to help these people who can't rebuild their homes? The people in Altadena or the people in um the Pacific Palisades, are you willing to have some of your money go towards that? because everybody is bitching and screaming about the taxes and the other things while their neighbors are hurting right now. Their neighbors aren't able to rebuild. FEMA has been dismantled. So all these things that are there as safety nets, the insurance companies pulled out, they're not there now. So, are you willing to help your fellow man or are you more focused on well my taxes are high I got to worry about me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me because that's what this has become about that. That's where you and I get into it right there.

10:07 That that's where you and I get into it right here. Here's my problem, Kev. I get it. Our fellow men and women need to step up. I understand that. But let me ask you this. What's wrong with somebody saying, you know something? Homelessness number one in the nation. C California's mid-tier housing over $800,000, more than two times the typical US mid-tier home. Poverty, cost of living adjusted for 2024 data. Census supplemental poverty measure shows California at 17.7%, one of the highest in the nation. Electricity prices amongst the highest in the nation. Gas prices routinely top two in the country in cost and income tax rate. Highest top marginal rate in America. What is wrong with a Californian going like this? Damn, you taking a lot of our money already. What are you doing with it? I understand we could dig into our pockets and help.

11:04 I'm glad you brought that up. What are you doing? What are you What are you doing with the money? Don't you have billions of dollars in debt? Isn't that something that's that's that's pervasive in the state of California? What have you done to address that? Do these environmentalists, you've been at the mercy OF THEM. HAVE YOU DONE SOMETHING ABOUT THAT? WHAT ABOUT THOSE KIND OF QUESTIONS? YOU'RE ACTING LIKE CALIFORNIANS DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS. I SAY THEY DO.

11:29 I'm not saying that. No, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is is that if you take facts and you twist them up and you make them kind of facts, then you can you can ride with those and you ride with that stuff. And that's the problem right now that's happening. People are twisting the facts and they're using them for their benefit. Let's think about what's happening with our tax dollars. And but you know, look, we pay a lot of taxes in California. We pay a lot of taxes. Period. Where are my tax dollars going right now? Because I know that my tax dollars I don't want them to go to the people who are in Minnesota right now acting like they're they're using the Fugitive Slave Act, which they are. They're using the Fugitive Slave Act from 1850 to walk into houses right now and round people up. They're pulling children out of school and using them to lure their parents out under the guise that there are dangerous people on the

12:22 streets. And so hold wait. So we can talk about our tax dollars and all the things that are happening, but let's talk about what's happening in this country. And when the federal government when federal troops were sent to California to police this place that was lawless and out of control, which it wasn't, and we showed that it was a oneb block area where there were protests, but anyway, we had federal troops sent here. The Trump administration actually went to the courts and they used the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which was used to round up people like me and you.

12:59 If two citizens, and at the time in 1850, two citizens men, if two white men said that I was a runaway slave, then it didn't matter how free I was, they could take me off the streets. They could walk into my house and knock me in the head. They're using that again. That's what's happening again. that's happening now all across our country and in Minnesota, a place I know a lot about because I love it. I spent summers there. My wife is from Minnesota who happens to be a civil rights attorney and a member um and a deputy director with the ACLU. So, I understand how those things are all part of the picture. And so, we can yell at Gavin Newsome and say, "What's happening with the the the homelessness and the other things?" Those are issues that need to be addressed. But what really needs to be addressed right now is that tomorrow somebody can bust in your front door and they can grab you.

13:44 They can grab anybody they want and they can take them out. May I respond? First of all, I appreciate all those points. How cuz one of the things we're going to make clear we never argued about was that that was definitely a concern and that's something we are a lock step. We're marched. We agree on that part. There's something that is obviously something to be very very concerned about. Nobody like nobody should be in support of people being able to have their homes into and snatched out of there and and and cuffed. You think you like seeing a 5-year-old kid, you know, in in the possession of ICE in in custody with ICE, even though the Republicans had one interpretation of what transpired and saying that he was abandoned and they're not supposed to leave the 5-year-old kid on the street while others gave an entirely different perspective. It all depends on what you believe. I get that part and a nobody is advocating that.

14:30 Here's my problem with people like you, Kev. And by the way, we take a moment here to bow down to Mrs. Kevin Frasier. Yas herself, friend of mine, your wife, the queen. LET'S LET'S MAKE SURE JAZZ, I AIN'T DISAGREEING WITH NOTHING. I I don't want to get my feelings hurt. I ain't disagreeing with that woman. Not at all. You understand? Cuz she's smart as a whip. I'm not messing with her. But here's my point. Okay. What I'm saying to you is this. You're sitting there and you're complaining about that's all a legitimate complaint. This is what pisses me off because I'm a moderate, right? Registered independent. I lean right on fiscal issues, meaning taxes in California, New Jersey, and New York. It makes me sick to my stomach. Made me want to throw up having to pay those taxes. But I lean left on everything else. That's me. That's always been me all my life. I ain't changing. What ticks me off is that a a black community

15:20 that has religiously supported the Democratic party, especially since civil rights legislation of 1964 when you had Lyndon B. Johnson talking about we'll have the Negroes vote for us for the next 200 years. Okay. And he don't seem to be too damn far off, by the way. Okay. In the last election, these people are talking about stuff that's going to affect 1% of the population. Woke culture, cancer culture, and they were talking about that. And the black community and our concerns were not being voiced. They weren't being talked about. And matter of fact, it was being ignored. And I'm making the argument it's not towards the Democratic party as a whole. I want to be very very clear about that. I'm not talking about moderates. I'm not talking about the traditionalist in the Democratic party.

16:06 I'm talking about the strong progressive left and what they have been trying to do. Their concerns don't appear to be our community. So when we BRING THAT UP, YOU CAN talk to about the Republicans all you want to. Okay? You can talk about the GOP and one could legitimately make the argument, well, in terms of policies that we have seen implemented or we have seen ignored over the last several decades, definitely can indict them and that could be an argument against them. But they ain't the ones in our face talking about they got us. They looking out for us. You know what? We going to give YOU 80 90% OF our vote from our community. That's the Democrats. And what have you really really done for us? Same things that we've been complaining about for decades, we still complaining about. And we're gonna sit up here today and you're gonna bring up Davin Newsome and you're gonna say, "Shove all of that aside

16:56 because these concerns are going on." I'm not saying the concerns are not legit, Kev. What I'm saying is, is it possible that's what they want us to be concerned about so they could do whatever the hell they want to do on a strong progressive left regardless of what benefits us as a black community? When we going to have a discussion about that? This is why me and you talk about bringing both conservatives and liberals on this show and having these panel discussions because we got to stop letting either side of the aisle get away with this kind of stuff. But the strong progressive left, that's who's getting away with a lot of stuff as far as I'm concerned in terms of their negative to our community.

17:35 No, listen, that was beautiful. That was a beautiful saliloquy. And let me just back it up now. Let's back up for a second because you said all these things don't matter if your rights are taken away, the most basic of rights, if we ignore the Constitution, if the constitutional rights are removed from everything that's going on. And what's happening right now is that why go to Minnesota? Why send ICE to Minnesota? Because there's a Somali population. They're stopping people that are black and brown. Don't have to have ID.

18:06 They're just stopping people who are black and brown in these cities. Now, when you lose your right to walk on the street, when you could be arrested and you can show ID and still be taken away, then we're at a base. We've gone backwards. We've unraveled all the civil rights legislation and everything else that was here to gave us a base. We've lost the base. If we were concerned about crime in this country, federal troops and ICE would be in Tennessee Louisiana Alaska New Mexico. That's where they were. The push would be, not in Minnesota. I will say again that that is the base. We can't solve any problems when people are being snatched off the streets. We can't. And and also I just want to go back to the president in Davos and everything that was said in Davos. You know, why do we really want Greenland?

19:04 What's really going on? Because we've had a treaty in place that has allowed us to put any kind of base or anything we want. We need more troops in Greenland, we can put them there. There's no problem. No one's going to fight us on that. We can actually put them there. So, what we need and I I go to Ted Cruz who came on this show. Y'all had a great discussion. I think people should watch it. Um Ted Cruz said, "Well, let's not forget about Greenland is mineralrich and it it would be important to get control of some of those minerals.

19:41 And then you look at oil from Venezuela, minerals from Greenland, all these things that have nothing to do with America first. If we're solving American problems like homelessness and rising prices, we get rid of those tariffs. We help the farmers because California is an agricultural state. Also, we do the things that help America first. That was the promise. That was the campaign. We're going to help America first. So now we're helping a few first and not America. And many Americans are losing their most basic of freedoms.

20:23 Okay. My retort to that would be no problem. Can't argue with that right now. Very uncomfortable with what I'm seeing. I think all of us should be uncomfortable with what we're seeing to be quite honest with you. Fair enough. But there's a flip side to it. And you could say the same thing two different ways. Exactly what you said could be the reason I'm disgusted because what happens is Kevin, I don't want the other side to be able to use that as a tool to coax us into ignoring what they're not doing for us. You know what? They're trying to take away your rights. If they had their way, you'd have no right to do X, Y, and Z. So because of that, you should vote for us and then we don't get to look at them and what they're doing and what they're not doing in terms of holding folks accountable. That's where my concern lies. If you are a Trump populist with a view, you bring up Greenland and stuff like that. One could

21:21 easily argue the US shouldn't defer to global opinion. One could easily look at things and say the right believes alliances are transactional and US elites overvalue places like Davos, NATO, etc. You have those kind of arguments that they're having all the time. And some people on the left, centerleft, etc. Believe the same thing. Sovereignty view says that the world view needs America more than America needs the world because we're we're the world's largest consumer. So if you know that and you know you have this kind of prowess, that's where the tariffs will come from along with other things. You have you're in a position if you're Trump, if you're the right, you're thinking you're in a position to flex.

22:02 So let's flex. Now if you're flexing, but it's not to the benefit of the average American citizen, which is what most of the electorate makes up. There's a reason to be concerned. And obviously there's a reason to be concerned. I'm not saying is I didn't vote for him. I didn't want him in office. But the point is is THAT WHAT DID YOU give us? What did you give us? Did you focus on these issues when you would have left? No. You were focused on other stuff that pertain to one or two% of the population. All of this stuff is going on economically. All of this stuff is going on affordability.

22:33 You sat up there and looked IN THE CAMERAS, LOOKED US IN THE FACE, spitting in our face telling us it's raining, talking about there was no crisis at the border when clearly THERE WAS A CRISIS AT THE BORDER. WE OVER 15 million people cross the border illegally and you're acting like it's nothing when no other nation in the world allow that. We said nothing. We want to go at at Trump now. And you've got people talking about how incoherent he COMES ACROSS, HOW HE'S BABBLING AND HE'S THIS AND HE'S THAT. ALL LISTEN, I HAVEN'T BEEN IMPRESSED WITH HIS SPEECH. I CAN'T WATCH HIM talk most of the time. But you know something, Kevin, I noticed we didn't say that when it was going on with Biden. I noticed that these shows and these networks didn't say anything. My only point in bringing all of that up is this. You had an opportunity. You had the election in the palm of your hands.

23:21 If you're focused on the things you were supposed to be focused on, and if you're focused on the vast majority of American citizens instead of looking out for yourself, and when are black people going to stand up and go like this, THEY SOLD US OUT, MAN. THEY SOLD US OUT. I'M NOT talking about last election. I'm not talking about right now in the moment. And I'm not talking about the whole Democratic party because there's a lot of Democrats that I like. You know, I know Josh Shapiro. You know, I know Wes Moore. You know, Chuck Schumer. I'm not rooting against him. I know a whole bunch of Democrats that I would support in a heartbeat. I'm talking about what they allowed the extreme left to push at our expense. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HAVE A discussion as a community THAT THEY SOLD US OUT? THEY SAT UP THERE AND IGNORED US WHEN WE HAVE SUPPORTED THEM FOR OVER 50 YEARS. THEY SAT UP THERE AND GONNA look

24:08 and and the second we question it like Stephen A, he questions it. Oh my god, he's disrespectful. Oh my god, he's being misogynistic. Oh my god, he's not he's not for us. What the hell you talking about? I've been down for us. I've been vote for the Democratic party practically all my life. I only voted for one Republican in my entire life. That was Chris Christie. I'm sitting up there. How many times, Kevin, did you come back to me and you say, "Good point, man." I'm literally telling them that ain't going to work. This is what it takes to win. Don't do that. Don't do comma. Don't go in the view and say when you asked, "Hey, do you is there anything that you would disagree with Biden about?" Um, no. I I can't think of anything that I would do. What? What?

24:47 I'm I'm telling you what it's going to take to win. I'M JASMINE CROC IS RUNNING IN TEXAS. IT'S LIKE, YO, THAT'S A RED STATE. It's going to take a little bit SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO WIN THAT STATE FOR 31 MINUTES. ME TELLING YOU A STRATEGY THAT I THINK IS going to work is disrespectful is antithetical to black interest. Really?

25:09 This is what's going on. And you didn't say nothing about that. Kev, you said nothing about that.

25:13 I did say I started this by saying that we have gone back to 1850 when we weren't considered citizens. We weren't even considered a citizen. So that's where we started. And so to to unravel all those things that give us our basic rights, Stephen, our basic I'm talking about the basic right so we can be a citizen and and be a part of this democracy that's being unraveled right now. Do you see based on your color, your accent and all that thing that's being so we can't participate in the democracy when you can't you can't participate in this democracy when you are fearing for your when you go out on the streets and you have to carry your birth certificate and your passport to make sure you're okay. But that being said, I hear what you're saying. And look, we both know, we both know, and I will say this, you were the first person who said that Biden should not be running again. And some very highlevel

26:08 people reached out to you and said, "Please don't say that." Now, I know I'm not supposed to say it, but some very highlevel people reached out and they said, "Please don't say that."

26:19 Yeah. And then when the echoes came, none of them turned back around and said, "You know what? You did say this first. Okay, I got that. But what I'm saying is,

26:29 by the way, Kev, by the way, Kev, nor did they give me credit for keeping my mouth shut when they asked me when they asked me not to not to let anybody know. They said, they called me.

26:37 People don't know. And and I'm telling And I'm I'm telling everyone out there, it was some very highlevel people. But here's what I am saying. Here's what I am saying. That the alternative, remember the what have you got to lose speech? The alternative has been far worse. unemployment in the black community, especially among black women, is sky high. And there are they're they're unraveling every right now. The unemployment levels for black women especially are at their highest levels ever.

27:11 It's double what it is. It's double what it is in the white community, but that's always the case when black when white folks get more than ever. It was it's higher than when Biden was in office. It is higher now more than ever.

27:27 Oh yeah. Especially but the point is if if it's about if it's about us, we have to look at all the things that have been unraveled. The way that DEI has been criminalized, the way that people and both of us products of H.B.CU have seen how black history and other things have been attacked. the the Smithsonian

27:51 has been attacked. The Black Smithsonian has been attacked for some of the hold up for some of the things that they have in there. And what are the things that they have inside the Black Smithsonian or some some of the other great black museums we have across this country like the Dabo or the Legacy Museums down in Alabama or the International African-American Museum down in in Charleston, South Carolina? What South Carolina? What are some of the great things they have? They'd have stuff like the Fugitive Slave Act, a a a copy of it from 1850 to remind us to remind us of where we're coming from to remind me of who was out there defending us. Do you know the last time that troops were called into a city against US citizens before they came to Los Angeles?

28:38 It was when Dr. King was marching from Selma and those troops were called in to protect to help protect those marchers. The next time they were called in was Los Angeles. So I just think that our history is important and we need to understand what is being unraveled right now. And the things that are being unraveled are very dangerous and detrimental to us being a part of this democracy. See, we can't get involved in this if we don't have the rights. If our rights are taken away, if they're stopping people from voting, if there are jer if if districts are being gerrymandered, everything unravels.

29:19 And that's what's happening right now. Kev, I'mma do I'm I'mma throw a little monkey wrench in my normal broadcast because I'm going to I'm going to say this and then I'm going to give you the last word. I'm not going to take the last word. I'm going to give you the last word. You are a co-owner of Straight Shooter Media. I'm going to give you the last word.

29:36 Yes. Yes. After I say this, okay, come on. There's a flip side to that, let's discuss it. Last point we going to make and then we going to end this portion of the discussion. When you go and buy a house, you look in it first, you walk through, you investigate how much it's going to cost, you negotiate to see if you can get that price down, etc., etc. You do the same thing with a car. You test drive it, too. It could be clothes. It could be anything. You don't just buy it when you hear about it. You got to see it. Got to put it on. Got to feel it, etc.

30:15 I'm saying to you with what you just said, Kev, is catastrophic as we have every right to feel things are unfolding before our very eyes in the United States of America because of some of the, you know, the the cultural things that Trump is trying to institute in terms of a level elevating a level of control over like you brought up the Smithsonian and other things. It's ridiculous. It's utterly ridiculous. What I'm saying to you to a lesser degree, we heard the same thing about W. Bush. We heard the same thing about HW.

30:50 We're It was over the last 30 plus years, all we've been hearing is that, you know what, it it's a threat. Can't vote for them. Can't vote for them. Can't vote for them. Right? I am saying to you, rather than somebody telling me why there's no way in hell you should think about voting for that side of the aisle, I'm waiting for this party, especially with the progressive left, not the regular Democrats here. I'm talking about the extreme leftists, you know, the the the ALC's of the world and the Bernie Sanders of the world and you know, Mom Donnie in New York is the mayor and I'm talking about that. I'm saying rather than talk to me about why I shouldn't vote for the other side, I'm wondering when they gonna start talking to us again about why we should support them. What exactly is it that you going to do? And I'm saying to you, when you have the license, as right as we may be, to focus like you talk about on our

31:47 civil rights and our civil liberties, as right as you may be, the flip side to that is when that is the focus, ultimately we give the other side a pass because they don't have to go about the business of working for our vote. That is my concern. That is why I've been speaking up and speaking out because I don't believe Trump won the 2024 election. I believe Kamla AND THE DEMOCRATS BLEW IT. More so THEM THAN HER. THEY BLEW IT. THEY HAD IT IN THE PALM OF THEIR HANDS. Had it in the palm of their hands. And what their focus was woke and cancel culture and the border and all of that. They blew it. They blew it because they ignored those of us who were telling them, "Yo, you need to focus on something else." On more practical matters that affect the lives of everyday American citizens, particularly the black community. Here we here we are. We haven't deserted you.

32:45 WE HAVEN'T ABANDONED YOU. WHAT'S UP? They ignored us. And I don't think that's talked about enough. Kev, final is yours. Final word is yours. understand the misgivings and the problems that the people have with our government overall. George W. Bush, I have interviewed him on several occasions. And I think that he was a very different kind of president than our current president. But more importantly, when I talk about and I hear you talk about the Democratic Party, it makes me think of the people that I knew personally, like my grandfather, who was a black man who owned two houses in a business in Charleston, South Carolina during the Jim Crow era and worked his way up as a postman to be able to afford those things and put his daughters through college, paid cash, for their college educations. My great aunt, the great Septima Pointet Clark, who w along with Ella Baker helped form the Highlander

33:56 School where they educated people both black and white in Tennessee how to get around the voting restrictions and voting tricks that were being put in front of black folks and poor white folks in the Jim Crow South. and how I got to know one of my great aunt's greatest friends, a woman she helped train in nonviolent um in in nonviolent resistance, a woman named Rosa Parks. Now, Miss Parks and my great aunt, they were both gentle women. And when I was a small child, I didn't understand their part in changing this country. But what I knew and what I learned later is that these women stood up and they did something.

34:52 And even though they had a lot to lose, they stood up and they did something. Rosa Park sat on that bus at her own detriment. And it could have ended poorly for her, but she had her people in mind. And so what I'm saying to everyone out there is that these great people took action. They didn't sit and watch. And so when I say to people now and they complain and they say this and that and I hate this and that, well, what are you going to do?

35:23 Last word. Couldn't been couldn't been better than that. I ain't got nothing to add to that. I totally agree with you. Totally agree with you. What you going to do? Cuz I know what we doing and I know what we going to do. So, it's like there's more than one way to skin a cat and we got to bring the rain in different ways, but we got to hold both sides accountable. The only way we got a chance is is is to not flagrantly support one side over the other, allowing folks to get away with not being accountable to us. We've got to enforce a level of account.

35:51 Make sure we enforce on both sides, though. Both sides relevancy. Both sides, not just one. Both sides.

35:56 Yes, I agree. But the but but one side one side depends on our vote a hell of a lot more than the other. And so as a result I kind of feel oh like like Kev if if if if somebody giving you $20 a week right you know but I'm giving you a thousand I kind of think you owe a little more to me. Okay. So that's what I'm saying. Those are you know to whom much is given much is required. And even though I don't like a lot of things about what the Republican party does, the fact of the matter is is that the Democratic party have relied on our vote for many, many years in order to win elections. And we've delivered. How about remembering that as you ingratiate yourself with different communities, remember us. That's what I'm saying.

36:42 That's what I'm saying. I say I say remember us, too. And I say remember 1850 and the fugitive slave act because we're back there again. Oh,

36:50 we're back. You all right? No doubt. Okay. Okay. Ain't nobody fighting that. And that's a concern. And that's the biggest concern. I'm down for this. I'm down with that. Listen, man. Before I let you get on out of here, cuz I got to run and catch a flight. You know that. Yeah.

37:01 Um I know the Oscars, the nominations came in. Only thing I care about is I saw 16 nominations for Sinners. Michael B. Jordan. That's what I care about. That's not all I should care about, but I love me some Michael B. So, I'm very proud of him, very happy for him. And obviously Ryan Cougler and the whole bit and what he did. I mean I saw the 16 nominations. Your thoughts about the Oscar nominations bro?

37:25 Thought that the 16 nominations were welld deserved by sinners and there is a magic when Ryan Cougler and Michael B. Jordan get together. They make magic. And if you go all the way back to Fruit Veil Station, their very first movie together, um, which is a fantastic watch. If you haven't seen it, go back and watch it now. I think that the surprise for a lot of people was that Delroy Lindo was nominated for supporting actor and I am so happy for that man. When I saw him at the Golden Globes, I literally stopped what I was doing and went over and hugged him and said hello. I I think he is one of the truly great actors of our time and I'm glad that he is finally being recognized because he had a he played a great role in Sinners. But let's not forget West Indian Archie, The Five Bloods, all these movies that he has made over time and he has not been recognized. So I'm happy for that. Now people are saying

38:15 that he stole a spot from Paul Mecoll. I don't think he stole Paul Mell's spot, but I do think Paul Mecoll should have been nominated because I also think Hamnet is one of the best movies of the year. Hamnet is fantastic and I think if you haven't seen it, you should go see it. Take a tissue and be ready for it. Um, but it is a really good movie and I thought he deserved to be nominated also. And as far as the movies go, I think it's interesting that F1 snuck into the whole thing. And um, go see Sun song Blue. Another movie that is really good and underrated. Kate Hudson deserved to be nominated.

38:52 What about Leonardo DiCaprio? One battle after another. We can't forget him. That's something that's somebody Michael B's got to compete against uhh for the for the Oscar. Um, this is Leonardo DiCaprio, bro. We We can't ignore the possibility of him walking away with the Oscar.

39:06 Well, this is his eighth nomination, but you have to remember the guy to watch, keep your eye on besides Michael B and Leonardo is Timothy Shalamé and Marty Supreme. Now, look, one battle after another, they are going to win some awards. And congratulations to Tiana Taylor for her nomination. But I think that

39:24 that's where I was going next. Yep. I I I think you have to you have to congratulate Leo for this nomination. I don't think this is a night to win. I think it is between Timothy Shalomé and Michael B. Jordan. But everybody has to remember that um Vagner um oh my gosh um Vagner any anyway but that someone else won the Golden Globe and you have to keep your eye on that and the movie Secret Agent out of Brazil because that could also influence this race. Vagnamora who won the Golden Globe.

39:59 Going back to Tiana Taylor, one battle after another. That's what she's in. She's got to compete with what is it? WMI Mosaku from Centers. Uh she's got to compete against Amy Madigan and weapons El Ellie Fanning and Sentimental Value along with Eningga uh Lea Li Lilious I believe that's how you pronounce her name from Sentimental Value as well. Tiana Taylor, we got to keep our eyes on her. She's doing big things right now.

40:26 Yeah. I mean, she's on a heck of a run and she has more to come. I I think it's at the expense of her music cuz I love her music, too. But I think that this was a perfect role for her in one battle after another. And this is a movie that's getting so many accolades and um you know, it could it could win best director and it could win best picture. So, there are all those things that are on the table and of course Leo's nomination. But at the end of the day, at the end of the day, I do think that this is Tiana's award to win. And I think the Golden Globes started the train and she won't get off. But everybody has to keep this in mind. The Golden Globes are voted on by a majority of foreign press whereas you're getting back to American press when it comes to the Oscars and American movies. And so that is where that you you know you think about sentimental value and those other movies they will probably lose out

41:23 because they won't have the strong foreign press vote in this Oscar sample size.

41:30 I got to admit, Kevin, I mean I'm proud of you, bro. I mean, you're in front of the camera expressing your opinion. I mean, I know you're a 12-time Emmy award winner. I get that part, but I still didn't expect you uh to be so outspoken on camera. That's not usually what you do. I'm kind of proud of you, my brother. That seems like I'm wearing off on you a little bit. That seems like I'm wearing off.

41:47 People don't understand. These are our conversations where Steve will call me. He'll be like, "Well, why you going to say that? You going to say that?" And so, literally, I woke up this morning to a message that, "Will you say that on camera?" Cuz I text you all the Gavin Newsome stuff and you like, "We'll come and say it on the camera." Damn it. Say it on camera.

42:03 That's right. Here we are. I like these Fridays together. We should have more of them.

42:08 Yeah, we'll do it. Let's Absolutely. Absolutely. We don't make bad TV now. I mean, come on now. We know what we're doing. All right, bro.

42:14 No, no. I got to catch a flight to the cold weather. I'm in the warm weather. I got to fly into the cold blizzard.

42:20 But fly safe. Fly safe. And you know, congratulations on that. Huh? I'll holler later.

42:26 All right. Later. That's it for this edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. My man Kevin Frasier, my partner in crime. He wasn't my partner today. He was my adversary. But partners can be adversaries, too. No. As long as we got love and respect for each other, that's all that matters. Take notes, ladies and gentlemen. You can disagree without being disagreeable and still get along and show love for one another. I know that might be something strange for most of you. Take notes and learn. It'll do a lot for you in life. Till next time everybody, peace and love. Remember, next Wednesday night, SiriusXM PUS radio channel 124. Straight shooter with yours truly live over the SiriusXM PUS radio channel 124. Till next time, peace of love everybody.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "What does Kevin Frazier think of my critique of Gavin Newsom's trip to Switzerland?"?

Stephen A. Smith (Host), Joe Frazier (Host).

What is discussed in "What does Kevin Frazier think of my critique of Gavin Newsom's trip to Switzerland?"?

In order: 0:00 Joe Frazier, Stephen A. Smith, SiriusXM; 5:00 David Axelrod; 35:00 Michael B. Jordan, Tiana Taylor, Oscars, Ryan Coogler; 40:00 Tiana Taylor, SiriusXM, Oscars.

What is mentioned in this Stephen A. Smith episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Stephen A. Smith, Joe Frazier, Michael B. Jordan, SiriusXM, Tiana Taylor, Oscars. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "What does Kevin Frazier think of my critique of Gavin Newsom's trip to Switzerland?"?

The episode runs 43 min; the transcript is about 8,274 words in 77 timestamped sections.

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