ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is no fan of President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to protect the sanctity of the Army-Navy game, the annual college football contest between the two service academies.
“Who the hell does this man think he is?” Smith raved during his Friday afternoon SiriusXM show.
Trump signed the order “Preserving America’s Game” during the Midshipmen’s White House visit on Friday, where they were honored for winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy after beating the Cadets 17-16 to cap off an 11-2 season in 2025. The order looks to keep the contest as a standalone game with no other contests on the slate.
Trump: I have much more power in my second term. I said I’m going to sign an executive order to ensure that the second Saturday in December, is preserved exclusively, nobody is playing football. Not Ohio state against Notre Dame. Not LSU against Alabama. Nobody is going to play… pic.twitter.com/ZDFefu6kSF
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 20, 2026
“I’m going to sign an executive order to ensure that the second Saturday in December is preserved exclusively. Nobody’s playing football – not Ohio State against Notre Dame, not LSU against Alabama – nobody’s going to play football for four hours during that very special time of the year in December. It’s preserved forever for the Army-Navy game,” Trump declared.
The commander in chief’s order triggered the opinionated Democrat motormouth, who went off on the president during a rant on the Mad Dog Sports Radio show.
“It’s stuff like this from the president of the United States that pisses me off,” he said, according to Awful Announcing. “And he’s sticking his nose in places that I don’t believe the president of the United States should be sticking their nose in.”
“Who the hell does this man think he is?” Smith continued. “Every single time I try to be fair and fair-minded to this president, he pulls some BS like this. It really pisses me off. It really pisses me off! Who the hell does he think he is?” Smith raged.
“If the Army-Navy game is on NBC, Fox and CBS should be excluded from having its own content on its networks? Because the president issued some executive order that he doesn’t want anything competing with Army-Navy, that he wants the focus of the sports world on Army-Navy. Well, what if they don’t want that? What if they don’t want to watch Army-Navy?” added Smith, who some have speculated could throw his hat into the political ring as a dark horse 2028 candidate.
The ESPN personality continued to air his grievances with Trump over the weekend, jabbing the president’s Truth Social send-off to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who passed away.
See……this is the B.S. I’m talking about. This is a disgusting thing coming from our Commander In Chief — especially about a VETERAN and PURPLE HEART recipient. #DamnShameful! pic.twitter.com/nWPNhHme0b
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 21, 2026
“See……this is the B.S. I’m talking about. This is a disgusting thing coming from our Commander In Chief — especially about a VETERAN and PURPLE HEART recipient. #DamnShameful!” Smith wrote of Trump’s spiking the ball over Mueller taking the dirt nap, a fond farewell to a man who was the figurehead of the sweeping Russiagate witch hunt that undermined his first term.
The annual contest between the two service academies has been an American tradition since 1890, with bragging rights between the military branches on the line.
“It’s just an honor to do because it’s such an important tradition of our country,” the president continued. “It’s beyond football, actually. It’s a tradition of our country,” Trump said.
🚨 @POTUS signs an Executive Order preserving the traditional timeslot on the second Saturday of December exclusively for the @ArmyNavyGame.
Here is the text of the Order:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of… pic.twitter.com/wbG0DcBm1d
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 20, 2026
The executive order, which is posted on the White House website, states: “For over a century, the Army-Navy Game, known as ‘America’s Game,’ has stood as a symbol of excellence and the American spirit. Now, the recent and potentially ongoing expansion of the College Football Playoffs (CFP) and other postseason college football games threatens to encroach upon the second Saturday in December — a date traditionally reserved exclusively for “America’s Game.”
“Such scheduling conflicts weaken the national focus on our Military Service Academies and detract from a morale-building event of vital interest to the Department of War. Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that no college football game, specifically college football’s CFP or other postseason games, be broadcast in a manner that directly conflicts with the Army‑Navy Game,” the order reads.
“Who the hell does he think he is? It’s that kinda BS that’s got our country in a tizzy right now. That right there. Because you overstepping your damn bounds. Don’t you got enough things to be focused on? Now you trying to tell us what damn football games we should watch?! Who the hell does he think he is?” Smith ranted.
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