‘School Is In Session!’: Stephen A. Smith Raves About Trump Decision To Pardon Democrat

Sports and politics analyst Stephen A. Smith ripped into Democrats on Wednesday, saying that it was impossible not to give President Donald Trump credit for political savvy after he pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).

Smith gave his assessment on his Sirius XM show “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.,” saying that Trump was essentially “giving the Democratic Party lessons” in how to navigate the complicated political climate in the United States.

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????NEW: Stephen A. Smith says Trump “BRILLIANT” to pardon Dem Rep. Henry Cuellar????

“At some point in time, we just have to give the man credit. He’s shrewd as h*ll. He really is. I mean, he is giving the Democratic Party lessons! Lessons!”

“You can’t sit up there and talk about… pic.twitter.com/Um30i8zTEG

— Jason Cohen ???????? (@JasonJournoDC) December 4, 2025

“[H]ow do the Democrats look when they now try to attack Trump because they say he pays no attention to the facts? How do they look now when they say he doesn’t provide leadership?” Smith asked. “How do they sound now when they accuse him of lawlessness?”

“I mean, at some point in time, we just have to give the man credit,” Smith continued. “He’s shrewd as hell. He really is. I mean, he is giving the Democratic Party lessons! Lessons! I mean, school is in session on how to manipulate minds and coax folks into thinking along the lines of his way of thinking.”

Smith pivoted to address the situation with Cuellar directly, and noted, as Trump did, that Cuellar had been at odds with former President Joe Biden over his handling of the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border. Trump, along with a number of others, alleged that Biden’s Justice Department had targeted Cuellar largely because of that.

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“You can’t sit up there and talk about how everything is partisan when the man sits up there and lets you off the hook and you’re on the opposite party. Now granted, that same Representative Cuellar was the same guy that spoke out against the Biden administration when it came to immigration issues and our borders. So again, that falls in line with Trump and we get that part. But he’s still a Democrat,” Smith said.

Smith concluded by noting that he’d long been advising Democrats that they needed to move to the center if they ever wanted to win — and argued that Trump, by extending his pardon power across party lines, had beaten them to the punch.

“What have I been saying about the Democrats? Get away from the far Left. Move towards the center. And Trump beat them to it. He beat them to it. That’s what he’s doing! That’s what he’s doing! It’s brilliant! Absolutely, positively brilliant politics! Nothing compares!”