Stephen Smith tells The View that yes, Trump did have a mandate from American voters

ESPN host Stephen Smith issued a strong critique of the Democratic Party for failing to accept responsibility for Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election. Smith told Joy Behar, a co-host of ABC's The View, that Trump, in fact, did have a mandate, the American people elected Trump because they were voting against Democratic policies, and it would be wise for Democrats to change course.
 

Behar attempted to downplay Trump's victory by asserting that he "won the popular vote by 1.5 percent, one of the smallest ever, and he won the general election by less than 50 percent. So what kind of mandate is this really?" However, Smith, a Democrat considering a presidential run in 2028, failed to take a liking to the host's comments and shared his thoughts.

"It is a mandate and I'm going to explain why. I don't mind the question, but let me be very clear, I'm no supporter of Trump. I'm a supporter of the truth and the facts. The man won every swing state," said Smith. "He increased in terms of his voter turnout in his favor from the standpoint of blacks, Latinos, and young voters. He increased his numbers from 2020. 89 percent of the counties shifted to the right. That's a mandate. We can sit up there and play around all we want to. In 2020, they didn't - Trump didn't win the popular vote. He didn't win the electoral college vote."

Behar interrupted, "It's a different definition of mandate, I guess."

Smith continued, "The problem is that if you're the Democratic Party and you lost 49.8 percent and 48.3 percent and you're looking at that 1.5 percent different, that's an excuse to say, 'What we did really wasn't that bad. We should continue to do that.' No, don't continue to do that. Find a new strategy. In the end, what it comes down to is this, the American people, in their eyes, it wasn't about him. They were voting against what the Democrats were throwing in their direction."

In November, Trump won the popular vote, 312 electoral votes, and secured all seven swing states. The Democratic party has only lost the popular vote twice since 2001, the most recent being the last election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris only beat her predecessor, former President Joe Biden, in 58 counties.