Stephen A. Smith, an ESPN analyst considered by many to be the most respected voice in sports media, told Newsmax on Monday that he has moderated his political stances because the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left.

“You know, so many people talked about the MAGA right,” Smith told “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” “I was like, what about the progressive left? What are we doing here? What are we paying attention to? Are we not paying attention to the type of stuff that’s going on? Are folks talking about the economy? No. Are they looking at the border and seeing 12-plus million people cross the border illegally and bringing that up? No, there’s no problem at the border whatsoever. Everything was great.

“This is what we heard for 3 1/2 years. When you look at those kind of things and then you’re seeing people get suspended or lose jobs for, you know, echoing the wrong pronoun and us having conversations about gender, bathroom use, and all of this other stuff. I’m like, it got a bit extreme and a bit ridiculous.”

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