Stephen A. Smith responded to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after she warned her social media followers that the TikTok ban “is 21st century fascism” on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration.
The leftist congresswoman took to her Instagram Story on Sunday to discuss the nationwide ban on TikTok — and its subsequent restoration — with her followers the day before the former president was sworn in at the White House for the second time.
But he also explained what he thinks the ban — and the Republican Party — really means for the future of America.
“Well, we are on the eve of an authoritarian administration,” he said. “This is what 21st century fascism is starting to look like.
“The Republicans are really based on Orban's Hungary, so you can look at how Viktor Orban runs Hungary to get an idea of how they will try to govern and control the media and businesses in the United States.”
ESPN star Smith, who has become increasingly vocal about politics since Trump's election victory in November, responded to AOC and said her comments are exactly why Democrats lost.
Stephen A. Smith responded to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's latest criticism of Donald Trump
AOC Said TikTok Ban 'Is 21st Century Fascism' Ahead of Trump Inauguration
Smith replayed AOC's comments on her YouTube show and explained, “As we look to see what Trump does, we already know what the left has done and that's why we've grown tired of hearing things like this from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
'Did you say control the media AOC? By the way, I appreciate your work and what you do for your constituents in the Bronx. But you talked about controlling the media?
'So the left has had no control, eh? So the left hasn't engaged in intimidation tactics, so “woke” culture didn't exist?
'Where people had to make sure they repeated the correct pronoun to maintain their job security. When you had to sit down and, God forbid, literally challenge someone about transgender issues, you were considered transphobic.
“At one point we were asked to protect young women in our society and then that was thrown out the window, at the time when a man was transitioning to a woman and wanted to participate in women's sports and suddenly there was no no coherence with what had been said beforehand and finally implemented.
“So now we have to worry about the Republicans?” But don't you? All of you would never do such a thing. Oh my god. It would never be you. That would never happen. Actually?
'This is exactly why Trump is in office. Racist, fascist and all those other names. That's what you do when you're leftist. Without paying attention to the fact that the vast majority of the American people are tired of it.
'When are you going to tell us a message that we want to hear? Trump did not win the election. You all lost. You put it out there and let me get really raw about it. Things got so bad with Biden in office that racism was pushed aside.
'Transgender people do not represent one percent of this population. Blacks make up nearly 40 percent of this population, and it appears that for the vast majority of recent years that issue has been more important than Black issues. That's simply the truth.'
Trump and his wife Melania dance together at the Commander in Chief's Ball in Washington, DC
AOC has been a polarizing figure since she defeated powerful Democrat Joe Crowley in the 2018 primary, winning a House seat at just 29 years old.
In November, the congresswoman fueled speculation that she plans to embark on a presidential bid in 2028 after Trump's term.
Trump on Monday signed an executive order seeking to delay the TikTok ban by 75 days.
In signing the order, Trump suggested that the US government should own half of TikTok's US business in exchange for keeping the app alive and warned that he could impose tariffs on China if Beijing did not approve a US deal with TikTok. .
The executive order ended 48 hours of legal maneuvering and political intrigue that left millions of American TikTokkers fighting for answers about the fate of their app.
Trump also pardoned nearly all of his supporters who rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and issued a series of executive orders from the Oval Office.
He signed orders to increase border security, designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, limit birthright citizenship, freeze new regulations and establish a task force to reduce the size of the federal government.
He also rescinded dozens of directives issued by Biden, including those related to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.