Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith's remarks on immigration resurface with months to go before election

Longtime sports commentator and television host Stephen A Smith was joined by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkely during a late February edition of his podcast, "The Stephen A. Smith Show."

Smith and Barkley discussed a variety of sports-related topics during their hour-long conversation, including Barkley's well-known dislike of the city of San Antonio. 

"We all know which city hates you the most right? … That San Antonio," Smith quipped.

But the conversation later pivoted to politics. Smith brought up Barkley's CNN program with Gayle King.

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Stephen A. Smith before a game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets during Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals June 1, 2023, at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colo. (Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Barkley said, although he was not particularly interested in adding to his workload, he believed it was important to do the show, and he was happy to work with King, whom he holds in high regard.

"I didn't want to work to be honest with you, and Gayle didn't want to work more, but we wanted to work together because I (have) a lot of love and respect for Gayle," Barkley noted.

Barkley spends several months a year living and working in Atlanta, which is where TNT's studios for the popular "Inside the NBA" are located.

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King primarily lives in New York City and co-hosts CBS' flagship morning program, "CBS Mornings," five days a week. "King Charles" is filmed in New York City, and Barkley commutes to the northeastern hub for the weekly show.

Charles Barkley speaks onstage as Fall Out Boy takes the stage at Hammerstein Ballroom broadcast live on TNT to tip off NBA All-Star 2015, Feb. 12, 2015, in New York City.  (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for American Express)

About 30 minutes into the conversation, Barkley began discussing some of the issues he noticed that the city was facing at the time.

"You know I've been coming up here to New York to do this show for like the last couple of months," Barkley began.

"And you see the streets, you see the streets in New York," Smith interjected.

"First of all, the border is a joke. The border is a joke. They have these migrants bussed up to New York. They have them on camera kicking and beating cops. They beat up these two cops," Barkley said. "They were out of jail in 24 hours and the next day."

"Actually, it was the same day, Charles. It was the same day," Smith noted.

"Two days later, they caught them robbing Macy's. They beat up cops. How are you out of jail in 24 hours?" Barkely added.

TV personality Stephen A. Smith is seen leaving Fox 29's "Good Day" at FOX 29 Studios after promoting his book, "Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes" Jan. 19, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Smith then asked which presidential candidate he would lean toward given the nation's history as it relates to inequality, while also taking the country's current state of affairs into consideration.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

"Who do you side with considering our inequities' history, what's going on today and who the candidates are today in terms of (President Biden) and (Donald Trump) in all likelihood, running for office. What do you do, Charles? Who do you vote for?" Smith asked.

"We need law and order, Stephen A.," Barkley said. "Trying to fix inequalities has nothing to do with letting people go in stores and rob people."

"I agree. I'm with you," Smith noted.

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Smith's podcast airs three times a week on YouTube. The show's "about" section describes the podcast as a platform where Smith shares his "unfiltered opinions."

"Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics," the show's YouTube page states. 

Smith played basketball in college and is an author, actor, NBA analyst and longtime host of ESPN’s "First Take." He also makes frequent appearances on a variety of ESPN programs. Barkley is an 11-time All-Star and was named NBA MVP in 1993.

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