ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith used a Thursday appearance on “Hannity” to unpack his White House interview with President Donald Trump. The conversation with Fox News host Sean Hannity focused on Republican midterm losses, Trump’s response, and the challenge Smith believes Democrats face from the party’s progressive left, as reported by The New York Post.

Smith said his interview with Trump lasted 40 minutes and covered a broad range of issues. He characterized the GOP’s midterm showing as devastating, then described a president unwilling to accept personal responsibility for what happened.

“We talked about the devastating losses in the midterms and how the GOP essentially got slaughtered,” Smith told Hannity. “I asked him, is he willing to point the finger at himself, and he was dogged… he was immovable in that regard,” he added.

Trump repeatedly urged Americans during the midterm campaign to vote as though he were on the ballot. Smith said the president distanced himself from that message during their White House conversation by pointing out that he was not actually a candidate.

Smith challenged that distinction and asked whether voters may have followed Trump’s instruction. He also raised the possibility that associating the ballot with the president could have contributed to the Republican losses.

Smith said Trump refused to accept that possibility and instead blamed the quality of the candidates. “His attitude is that the candidates were not that great. If it were him that was running, this would not have happened. That’s his mentality.”

The ESPN commentator offered a sharply different interpretation of the outcome. He argued that Americans were expressing dissatisfaction with Trump’s presidency, particularly a perception that the president had lost focus and appeared detached.

“I think that he is somebody that is convinced his way is what it is. I just don’t agree with him,” Smith said. He maintained that voters were responding to what they believed they were seeing from Trump rather than merely judging the Republican candidates.

Their disagreement extended beyond candidate quality and presidential accountability. Smith told Fox News that Trump pushed back when the discussion turned to the impact of the Iran War and tariffs on voter sentiment and the economy.

Smith also addressed speculation that Trump offered him the White House press secretary position. “That was absolutely hilarious,” Smith said.

“Evidently, they don’t know about the life that I live and the kind of affluence that ESPN and Disney have blessed me with.” He added, “I wouldn’t take that pay cut for almost anything but the presidency.”

After criticizing Trump’s interpretation of the midterms, Smith shifted his attention to Democrats. The commentator, who has criticized both Democrats and Republicans, said the party faces an internal problem because many people view it as divided.

“I definitely think that right now, the Democrats have a challenge on their hands because clearly there’s a lot of people out there that view the Democratic Party as a divided party,” he said. “Now they will tell you they’re a very big tent, and there’s room for everybody, but I think that the progressive left has shown you there isn’t room for everybody.”

Smith then sharpened that warning with a criticism of ideological demands. “If you’re not willing to capitulate to their desires, their wishes and their ideological beliefs 100%, then they got a problem with you,” he added.

He also called out Democrats who have declined interviews, contrasting their conduct with Trump’s decision to participate. Although Smith disagreed with the president on responsibility for the GOP losses, he expressed appreciation that Trump sat down and responded to his questions.

Smith described Trump as rigid in his conviction that unsuccessful candidates were responsible for the results and that the losses were not about him. Still, Smith gave Trump credit for engaging, saying, “I asked a question, and he answered, and he didn’t run from anything.”

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