DEBATE: Anton Daniels Vs Theron Johnson: Who Failed Black America? REACTION

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Yeah, I got I got to address the stupid stupid asses real quick. You about to watch a reaction to a debate. So, I'm going to be pausing. I'm going to give my take and I'm going to stop and give my opinion on what I'm hearing. If you want to go watch the regular debate, then go watch the regular debate. But you about to watch a reaction to a debate. And if you also don't know the way YouTube algorithm works because it scans every single video, you can't sit there and let a video play for too long or you can get a copyright strike while you're on live stream. They can take your video down. It's happened before. So when I pause, that means you clicked on a reaction video for me to pause. So if you don't want to watch somebody pause and react, then don't click on a reaction video. You stupid ass. For the people that's in the live, I appreciate y'all for being here. I'm not talking to y'all. I love y'all. I'm talking about these dumb who be in the comments. Why you keep pausing? Because you clicked on the reaction video, you stupid ass.

But outside of that though, let's get right into it. You already know how I give it up. Let's go do it. Let's lock in. Got two great guests for this particular discussion. And I'm going to start off by introducing reintroducing the audience to Anton Daniels who came on the show a little over a month ago and was absolutely fantastic. Um, he didn't wait for a seat at the table in Detroit. He built his own. College dropout who spent his 20 years grinding 16-hour shifts in a steel plant. Taught himself software engineering and used that corporate money to build a real estate and media empire. Today, he's a titan in the digital space. There's no way around it. Over two million subscribers and a billion views. He's built a brand on a simple, often polarizing premise, personal responsibility over everything. He tells the hard truths that many are afraid to say, and he's faced the fire for it. And he, >> this ain't got nothing to do with my personal opinion about Anton, but he always got this like feminine, sassy type of look to his face every single time I see him. Um, I disagree with with with a lot of his takes and stuff, but for whatever reason, I just I don't know. This this the way his lips like his lips is puckered. I don't know. It's just not a he doesn't have a like a masculine type of like presentation. You know what I mean? It's It's always like he got his lips puckered like he doing like a kissy face emoji. I don't know what it is, but something about Anton Daniels, I don't know why he does that every single time. I don't think he gay, but I don't understand why he always doing that. Let's keep going though. >> Hasn't given a damn. Whether you call him a visionary or a provocator, you can't ignore him. It's just that simple. That's Anton Daniels that I'm talking about. Uh, welcome to Welcome back to the show, my brother. >> Happy to be back, Stephen. Is that shirt pink or is it white? I don't know. I ain't even trying to go there though. I'm just saying I'm just, you know, >> happy to be happy to have you. And Theren Johnson, I couldn't wait to to have him on the show as well. He spent much of his career inside the rooms where political decisions get made. Longtime Democratic strategist based in Atlanta. He's helped elect mayors, advised governors, worked on presidential campaigns, and he's become one of the most recognizable political voices in Georgia. From Barack Obama's historic 2008 campaign, advising Atlanta Mayor Cassim Reed, Theren built his reputation as a sharp political operator with deep ties to the Democratic party. Today, millions know him as a television commentator who regularly defends Democratic policies while offering insider analysis on everything from elections and race relations to the future of American politics. Whether you agree with him or not, Darren brings the perspective of someone who spent decades shaping campaigns, building coalitions, and helping Democrats win. For the very first time, welcome to the show, the one and only Darren Johnson. What's going on, man? How you doing? Welcome to >> I don't understand why Stephen A. Smith just don't go bald. All right, just go bald, man. You see two baldies right there. Just go bald. Just just go ball. Let it go, Stephen A. He need to just let it go. >> The show I'm doing great, Stephen A. Thank you so much for inviting me, man. And congratulations to your Knicks. Let's just get this this off the Yeah. Right away, man. Your Knicks did it. Um I saw your interviews. I saw you celebrating. So, congratulations, my brother. >> That's Well, listen. I just want to say for the listeners out there, the viewers out there. We won't be talking about the Knicks 'cause I pride myself in trying to be kind to my listener, to my guest, and we all know what what what we did to the Hawks, and we know what we would have done to the Detroit Pistons, Anton's Detroit Pistons, but we didn't get a chance to do. But I'm NOT GOING TO RUB IT IN. I'M GOING TO BE CLASSY HERE. I'm not going to rub it in, guys. Let let me let me get right to it because obviously Darren, you're a liberal. Anton's unapologetically conservative. Both y'all have stated the state of black America right now in the United States. What would you say it is right now? I'll start with you, Darren. I think the state of black America right now, Stephen A, is um one that's fluid in in your words, but it's something that we need to all be focused on because as we sit here right now in the United States of America, we know that black unemployment is high and we care about a lot of the issues that white, Hispanic, and Asian people care about and here they are and in this order. Number one, we want to be able to be safe. Um we have allowed the Republicans and others to say that we don't believe in law and order. And I'm here to tell you that that's not true. Number two is that we want our children to have an opportunity, particularly our black children, to have an opportunity to go to schools, whether it's private schools or public schools. But then when you get into health care, and we know the alarming rates of people, uh, with diabetes, people who have heart conditions, uh, and even mental illness in black people right now, the studies has shown that young black people right now are committing suicides at a higher rate than we've ever seen before. So, I think the state of a black America right now is struggling. Uh, I think that some of us are prosperous, but some of us are actually not bringing enough people along with us. And then lastly, I think that we have to make sure that for those of us that have been blessed to have an opportunity to have a good paying job, to have a family structure, there's a lot of folks out here, particularly kids, depending on what zip code you're born in, will determine your actual pathway to success. Um, a lot of folks in Atlanta and places around the country being born below the poverty line. And if you don't have that family structure in place, access to quality paying jobs, and also health care, um, we as black Americans, we got to do better.

>> Darren, before I get to Anton, who do you hold most culpable for the state of affairs involving black America at this point in time? I think it's a combination of a lot of different things, but it's a confluence of the lack of leadership on the federal level, starting with President Trump. And then I think the second >> Okay, that's where I'm I'mma stop right there to say that the the the the issue with black America starts with Donald Trump is some of the most just he sounds like a politician with everything that he just said. He sound like a politician. So he said that he'd be in these political rooms. Y'all, I'm not a Trump supporter. I don't give a about Trump. But to sit to say that the the issues with black America starts with Donald Trump and the lack of leadership. No, no, no, no. The issues with black America and everything about black America is not negative and bad issues. But if you want to talk about specifically the negative issues about black America, when you say leadership, the leadership to be the men in these mother households, not Donald Trump. Donald Trump don't move the needle when it come to me. I don't have any children. me being a man, taking care of my woman and taking care of my kids. So, the true leadership need to be the men stepping up and stop letting the women run the show. Stop letting the women in the black community be a mother matriarchy and the men stepping up and saying, "I'm going to be the one that's going to take lead of my family." Not for the whole community. It don't you everybody don't have to be a community leader. But what you can do is you can step up and you can say, "I'm going to take care of my woman and I'm going to take care of my family and my children." And let's just say that you know the situation don't work out between you and your woman. You at least need to be there for your ch your children. So for a man to be this compromised to say that the issue with black America starts with Donald Trump is almost as if like Donald Trump is 300 400 years old. Donald Trump became the president in what 2016 or whatever it was. I don't even care. I feel like he been president for 50 damn years. But Donald Trump is not the issue with black America. The issue of black America is a systematic issue that's been going on for a long time. And we people like myself are the the we I am basically the the the the construct of well not the construct but I'm basically the the I'm me myself and other people we have dealt with to an extent not everybody got the same level of it but the generational curses of systematic things that have happened in our community specifically with the Democratic party. But again he's a Democrat so he's not going to ever call it the Democratic party. And no, I'm not a Republican, but I call out the Democratic Party because the majority of black Americans are always going to be on the support side of the Democratic party. You know what I'm saying? But the the the issue with black America don't start with Donald Trump. That that's he's not even in the top 25 things that got to do with black America. It's so many other issues that happened well before Donald Trump. Donald Trump is just a byproduct of white supremacy. That's all he is. So you can miss me with that.

Let's keep going. Part of it is is that we've got to be more emboldened to hold the elected officials accountable. Um you can't >> coming from a Democrat, you should be the one that be saying that more than everything. The Democrats don't y'all don't hold none of these officials accountable. Long as they black or they some foreign person, y'all be in support of them. Y'all don't give a damn what their policies is. as long as they not white or if they are white, if they gonna even if they supporting stuff that got to do with, you know, de deconstruction of the black family, which is supporting LGBTQ, supporting us relying on benefits that don't do nothing but keep us in the same position that we in. And not the things that's going to refix the black family structure, then y'all in support of it. So, you can miss me with that whole, you know, uh uh holding politicians accountable. Y'all don't hold politicians accountable at all. Shout out to Audrey with the $20 donation. She says, "Too happy to finally catch her YouTube live." Thank you, Audrey, for joining uh the the YouTube live. I appreciate. Shout out to my Tik Tok people who came over from the Tik Tok stream. Uh but but thank you for the $20 donation on PayPal. I appreciate that. Audrey, much love to Audrey. >> Be more emboldened to hold the elected officials accountable. Um you can't just come in our communities and tell us things that we want to hear. We got to make sure >> Karen Bass do >> that when we elect you, >> mom. Dami in New York City do every other black person that come as a Democrat or if they come as a Republican, but usually as a Democrat, whatever they say, oh, they a Democrat, they black, we going to vote for them. Y'all don't give a damn about holding these people up to any type of accountability. Y'all don't give a damn about that. So, this is another just Democrat lion, >> particularly black women who is the backbone of the Democratic party, >> which is a problem. It's not even the fact that they backbone of the Democratic party. They're a backbone of the the black community in general because men like him are defeated. They're lost. They're delusional. They're weak. They're effeminite. They are so lost into thinking that a man and a woman is equal. They they are they are compromised. So men like him are are are the issues because they speak like this. >> We got to make sure that we hold them accountable. >> So maybe the women wouldn't have to step up if we didn't have so many weak ass men like this who scared to say what I'm saying. I'm seen as the bad guy. >> Not just Democrats. We got to get into those rooms with Republicans, too, and don't let them off the hook. So, I think it's a confluent of a lack of leadership on a federal and state level, but also making sure we hold our black leaders more accountable to make sure that they deliver on what they promised us.

>> Anton, when um I would ask you the same question. What do you >> shout out to uh DN with the $5 donation here from Tik Tok and I'll be getting the real ant. I'm the real ant everywhere I go, sweetie. Thank you for the $5 donation. No, much love to you. I appreciate that $5 donation. you believe the state of black America to be at this particular moment in time. Who do you hold most culpable for it? >> I'm I'm not sure exactly what he means by fluid. Um, and I'm assuming that he defined that based off of the different parameters by which he spoke about the black community. However, I think I agree with him except for I would describe it as in shambles. Worse off than we've ever been, freer than we've ever been. and the fact that we're willing to blame Trump. Although we've had decades of opportunities, black cities, you look at some of the blackest cities in the United States of America, uh Memphis, for example, is in shambles and they needed Trump's help. Um and I think that there's a lack of accountability and victimhood. And as long as we continue to promote that is somebody else's fault, you know, I was looking at uh Juneteenth in Chicago, right? And >> well, I'm going speak to that point real quick about opportunities. 'cause I noticed he mentioned opportunities. Black cities, black people have always tried to create opportunities for ourselves. But see, the issue with the conservatives and the Republicans is they like to speak about this. I can I don't need I'm not under any type of oppression. Nothing ever happened. But they they it's like they act like people started being black last week. Like people have been going living in America and being black for 400 plus years. So when you start speaking about the history of these so-called opportunity and cities where black people were supposed to just come up, well, use that logic with Tulsa, Oklahoma. Use that logic with all the other black cities and uh black communities where black people tried to prosper and they tried to come up and it was de-industrialized or it was destroyed or it was the the resources were taken away from that community. So when you don't understand your history, you start to speak about black people as if we have been on the same level playing field as all the other people in this country, whether that be immigrants or they just be, you know, the Anglo whites who've been here since day one. And we they talk as if like it's been an equal playing field. It haven't. You know, there was a time where black people weren't allowed to own patents. They weren't even allowed to own patents. They like to use this point of black people didn't create anything because look at this years where there were no people that could create anything. Black people were not allowed to own patents. you weren't allowed to say that this was was owned by you. There was a time where black people weren't allowed to to to own homes. I talk about it all the time. I talk about redlining all the time and the Jim Crow laws that systematically took away from the foundation to build generational wealth with black people. So the problem with the conservatives and the Republicans is that's how they like to talk. It's either you got to be fully fully fully uh on one side or fully fully fully on the other side. And that's where you losing me at because you can't be fully on either side. There's truth and there's delusion on both sides. And the problem with somebody that classifies themselves as a Republican or a Democrat is you no different from the other side. You're just on the other side. You know what I'm saying? So Anton is not talking about the history that these black cities as far as the opportunity they try to create for themselves, they were not able to because certain laws and policies that have systematically uh deprived black people from building generational wealth. And it's not just to Oklahoma. It's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of cities that just didn't become as popular as what to Tulsa was popularized as 'cause it was known as Black Wall Street. But it's so many other cities that's just like Tulsa Oklahoma that they just don't get they just don't be talked about. They just not as popular. Some of the people in the chat, some of y'all got parents or grandparents. Some of y'all were are direct reflection of that time. Let's keep going.

>> You know, I was looking at uh Juneteenth in Chicago, right? and you had over seven people killed and 36 people shot. And while we were focusing on whether or not Asians and white people, whether it's Carmelo Anthony or Osiris Carmarmac is responsible and if if they should go to jail or not, uh in every city across America, especially where predominantly black people live, you don't have to kill each other. But there's drive-bys and there were over 113 shell casings where 12 people were shot on Juneteenth itself. And so when I look at the state of the black community, it has nothing to do with the political landscape. Um it has everything to do with self accountability regardless of whether or not you picking the right curriculum if you want to go to college or you want to go to >> again. That's where you lose me at. So one thing I can say is he's correct. You don't have to do anything. And I'm never I'm y'all already know me. I've spoken about it before. If I was a dictator, I'd be tough on crime. Tough as hell on crime. But I do understand that there's a historical context to it. People, first of all, when you say black-on-black crime, black people are unall alive for black people. People unel alive each other due to proximity. Black people live in majority black neighborhoods. Not to mention black people that live in these majority black neighborhoods a lot of times are living in poverty. They tend to be poor. So people tend to commit crime based out of survival. That does not take away from the fact that you did the crime because it's gonna be some stupid when I post this video that's going to say, "Sir, you trying to say that it shouldn't matter?" No, you dumb. I didn't say that it shouldn't matter or we should not call those people out or they should not be held accountable. I'm one of the first I'm one of the main proponents in my own generation that call out my own generation for this yin culture that is that is talked about that is that is uh uh you know pushed and that becomes the norm for what people think is cool. I always talk about that. Go look at my videos and do your [ __ ] research. I speak about all the time. But even though I can call out this behavior, even though I consider that this young dumb y hood gang street culture as stupid as I still understand where it came from. People that live in poverty tend to commit crime because they're committing crime out of survival. If anything somebody I mean the one thing I can agree with the you know what the what the what the Democrat dude said was he spoke about your area code and it's to an extent it's true based on you usually are going to live the life that your parents lived and your parents usually are going to live the life that their parents lived and their parents lived. That's what generational trauma and the generational curse is. So Anton Daniels is making his point exuding all of these other factors. Now he is correct. We do need to call that out and those people need to be held accountable. There is a subset of black culture that acts like that is cool and it's good and it's good. But it's usually the younger generation. Now that younger generation who created that younger generation, the older generation who dropped the ball on a lot of their children, but again when we even when we speak about the fatherless black households, we would have to talk about the systematic thing that set it up. I talk about it all the time. De-industrialization that started in the late 60s, early 70s that took the black man out of the household or made the black man black the black woman rely on the government. The black man that went to the war, you know, the the factory, the factory jobs being, you know, taken out of city, Anton Daniels, you're from Detroit. It was called Motor City for a reason. It was one of the most booming cities in the Midwest. But it's not they don't I mean they still call it Motor City but it ain't really Motor City no more because during that time your own city Anton Daniels was was de-industrialized. Meaning that I say all the time like if you graduate from high school and it was one of the main cities I should say that I was in de-industrialized back in the 50s 60s early 70s. You was able to graduate from high school and be able to get a certificate and whatever you needed to get a certificate in. Usually stuff that have to work with your hands blue collar work. and you was able to completely come out of high school 18-year-old and go work and be able to make enough money to provide for yourself, your woman, and your children. But that's not the norm that we live in no more. That society is now gone. You know what I'm saying? So that plays a big factor into the stuff that my generation deals with now. But you have to call out and add both sides to it. The problem is people like him and the other Democrat dude, they don't like to do that because they have to stick to I'm a Republican. I'm a Democrat. No, you [ __ ] areers. That's what you are. But let's keep going though.

>> Community college. Um health care. I don't think that we're concerned about it. Uh self-care. I don't think that we're concerned about it. And more importantly, I think that we're more concerned about self-care with regard to promoting ourselves and the culture that's the worst for us versus taking accountability for the state that we have ourselves in. We don't have to have children out of wedlock. We don't have to put ourselves at a disadvantage. And we don't have to have children in poverty. And we have more technological advantages as far as research and understanding of the past than we've ever had before. But for some reason, we're still worse off when we continue to vote the same way while requesting nothing from politicians and letting women lead us to the polls. And that is the direct result. You're seeing it transpire inside of the black community.

>> Sure. >> One of the things that I got to ask you about, Anton, is that, you know, so many times we see things from a historical perspective. We see the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We see the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We see policy that has been implemented to address the unfairness and the inequity that exists within our system. I do understand when people look at it in this day and age and say, "Look, we're a lot better off than we were before. Let's stop acting like that." But there are I think one of the things that concerns me about folks on a cons with the conservative tilt is that there's this notion is sometimes people act like it never existed. there was never a problem. These things never needed to be addressed. It's basically just about pulling yourself by your own bootstraps and going from there without really addressing the fact that the inequity that that exists in our system. It's always been something that the black community has had to battle against. And sometimes you hear conservatives talk and it's and some of them sound like, "Yo, that's not true at all." What do you say to that? >> I don't see any inequities. I was born in the blackest large city in the United States of America. Everybody knows that Detroit, Michigan, still here, born and raised, contributes to my community. And >> okay, I don't see is not a logical response to that because something doesn't exist around you. That's a low IQ talking point. Um, that's like saying, well, I don't see that people are poor because the way I grew up, I grew up in wealth. That doesn't make any sense. That's a five-mile radius mindset. Well, since I don't see it in my immediate everyday life because I didn't grow up like that or because I didn't see it or because people that I know don't talk about it or they don't live it, then that means said thing just must not exist. That's a stupid low IQ talking point.

>> And there's just some very basic fundamentals that we lack that has nothing to do with the history of this country. Right? We're in 2026 and there's people that come over here with absolutely nothing. just Africans, right? illegal and legal immigrants that have come into this country and made done exceptionally well, right? And so when I start to have this >> I'm glad you brought that up, Anton Dan, because I love when people use this low IQ talking point. So let's break this whole not even just Africans. It ain't even got nothing to do with just Africans. I It's funny because he specifically said Africans. He didn't say immigrants in general. He's just solely called out Africans to, you know, you know, you know, they try to ruffle some stuff up. But let's get down to the to the facts. And I've broke this down before, but we going to break it down again for the people who don't know. This whole notion that these immigrants come over to America and do better than us, that's an illogical it's an illogical point and it's a low IQ point. Let's break this [ __ ] down fully all the way. When you are coming from another country, whether you come from Africa, whether you come from the Caribbean, whether you come from the Middle East, whether you come from wherever, most of the time these countries, they these people come from third world countries. India, they come from most of the time third world countries. So what happens is when they come from these countries, they are usually in the top 10% of their countries. I'm I'mma say it again so y'all can understand what I'm saying. These people are usually in the top 10% of their countries. So when they come over to America, they're not the average African walking around in a tribe eating the bottom of a monkey's back. That's not the average African that comes over to America. The average person or African or whatever country they come from that comes over to America is a part of the top percentile of his country, his countrymen or his ethnic group. So they're already coming over here with some type of education, some type of finances. They don't this whole lie. They come over here with a with a pocket of land. Well, how did you get a flight to come over here then? You know how expensive it is to get a flight from Ethiopia or Somali over here to America. If you don't believe me, go take your phone, go to Google, type in how much does a flight cost from Nigeria to New York City or to Maryland or to Florida. It costs a lot of money. The the flight is not free. So, they're already in the top percentile. Not to mention when these when when an American goes through their their selection process of bringing people over here legally. Guess what? They have a selection process. Everybody is not allowed to come over here. The people who do come over here are what America will feel is going to be better for the economy. So when they bring somebody over here to America, they're bringing somebody over here who was probably well educated already in his respective right in his own homeland or has some type of financial capital or has some type of job or some type of skill. Whether they be engineer, whether they be a doctor, whatever it is, they come over here already a part of the top 10% of the country. So if you don't understand the logic, I'll put it in an easier form for you. That's like taking the top that that's like taking a a a an above average black American because most black Americans can't afford to go travel overseas. So we would have to be talking about an above average black American who can afford to go travel overseas. That's like taking an above average black American, putting him in Nigeria, and then saying, "Hey, you over here doing better than these Nigerians." That's not a logical point because you would have to compare them to their to their contemporary. So to use the logic, the better argument would be, well, you would have to compare the average black American to the average Nigerian since she used Africa in their own respective homelands. And if you compare those like and like, black Americans are doing way better than these people in their own respective homelands because we have more wealth and capital over here. So, and again, even when they use the argument, they only use an argument from the perspective of the people that are over here. It's not that many immigrants over here in America from Africa. It's not that many. It's enough. It's a lot, but it's not that many comparative to black Americans. So what you doing is you making your argument to say the top 10% of an af of Africans who come over to here to America to the entire ethnic group of black Americans in America. That includes the poor, the middle class, and the upper class. Well, the upper class is never going to be the majority. And middle class even in the black community is not even it's not even the majority or I guess some people could say it's the majority depending on where you live, depending on the income or whatever it is. But most people are going to either be poor or middle class. That's the majority of people. Most people are not a part of the upper class. So when you take the upper class of a community that's not from here, bring them over here so they already have access to certain resources. Even when it come to going to school, these people get housing vouchers. They get access to using uh uh uh government government uh um government handouts. They have housing vouchers. They on food stamps. They on welfare while not even legally supposed to even be on it. Some of them know how to finesse their way through. They got fake scam degrees and all this type of [ __ ] fake scam paperwork. The how you how the they know that they got real paperwork over there know they doing America don't know unless it's somebody over there but even still they don't know it's a third world country they don't document all that you know what I'm saying so they just going to go for the fake paperwork that they give so you not making a a logical claim when you trying to argue the fact that these people so-called come over here and do better than us. No they don't. They get international uh uh scholarships. I don't I ain't get no international scholarship when I was in college. They give me They got foreign exchange students. Some of these universities get paid more money when they have international students that go to their school. So they get an incentive when they get over here. They get a boost. They have scholarships and and and grants and specifically for people that's of immigrant descent that's not American. You don't get none of that. They don't got none of that [ __ ] us. So this whole notion that like that that like they just come over here and they're in the evil plan. No, they're not. They're already a part of the respective 10% of the of the countries they come from. So you can miss me with that dumb [ __ ] Anton Daniels, you lying. I don't do that. I don't do that. Compare us equal. We doing way better than these people. And this ain't to disparage them. This ain't to talk down on them. It's to just add context to what he's saying. and he's making a a big framed point, but not adding a context that makes that point make sense. If you speak in a in a headline, yeah, it's going to look like, "Oh, that's crazy. This headline is wild, but why did that headline exist? Let's talk about the the the nuance that they don't want to talk about online. Come on, man. Let's keep going.

>> conversation. There's really two different types of black people, right? And I'm not going to use the word to describe the other type of black people, but there's people that continue >> trying to say to hold on to the victim Olympics. I've never experienced slavery in my 44 years on this earth. And so my the >> none of us have experienced slavery, Anton Daniels. It's the it's the the the things the generational traumas and curses that come from slavery. The reason why Anton Daniels black people live in the cities that they live is because of redlining that started in the in the late 1920s, early 1930s. That's literally systematic racism. That's literally a generational uh gap, a generational curse that is still prevalent today. Most black people who live in inner cities live in cities that are right outside of downtown. White flight happened and the white people that were in these areas, most of the hoods were used to be white areas, they moved away because the black people live in there and it made the black people stay there. I don't understand how you from Detroit and you don't know that.

>> Expectation for my father was I had a greater calling for my life and that's what I leaned into. I leaned into my my u religious beliefs. I leaned into my community. I leaned into my schoolwork. I leaned into taking accountability. I leaned into working hard 16 hours a day, seven days a week. And as long as you are doing what you're supposed to do, there are no limits. And so I don't see the inequity. Right? That is a word that is used in order to make an excuse for why you're not doing what you're supposed to do. We don't have any excuse for why we going to prison. We don't have any excuse for why we continue to commit crimes. And we don't have any excuse for why we continue to not enroll in the curriculums that's going to pay us the most money. Every time you go into a college, it's >> not an excuse. It's it's bringing up the point as to why. It's not an excuse to say it should not be taken care of or shouldn't be held accountable. Nobody is. At least I'm not saying that. I'm not saying people should not be held accountable for their bad decisions. I'm just saying that you have to add context as to why people are put in that position. But I'm still No. Hey, off with his head. I'm not a person that's going to take away from the fact that they still did what they did.

>> We continue to not enroll in the curriculums that's going to pay us the most money. Every time you go into a college campus, everybody is in business, marketing, and communications. Nobody is going in any STEM fields. And every time I see a woman go into anything school related, it's always to be a nurse. I don't understand. I I really genuinely don't understand. We're the most educate. We're the most enrolled. Not even the most educated. We're the most enrolled, but we're the most in debt. And so, we have insight and information. >> He's true there with a lot of these H.B.C.U. A lot of people think they're educated because they're enrolled in school. This, you know, this this lie that they like to put out there, black women are the most educated. Black women are not the most educated. Black women are the f and we're not the most enrolled either. That's a lie. Anti Daniels don't know how to look at statistics. Black women or black people are not the most enrolled. We black women uh I think for a couple years, it could still could be till now are the fastest enrolled. Meaning the the at the rate that people were enrolling into school, black women shot up. So their rate of being enrolled into school are the fastest. And with that being the case, they have a higher form of debt than black men. So, but a lot of times he is correct when it comes to the to the to the you know degrees that a lot of women or people in general go for, but women go for women usually go work with things that have to do with people and children. That's why you'll see a lot more women going to nursing or they're going to things like, you know, going to be a uh, you know, a therapist or they're try to go get into child development. I mean, you got people that go to H.B.C.U and they get into African-American studies. Why would you everinging do that? You're not about to make no money unless you want to be an African a so-called African scholar. Like why are you going to that? Do you want to be a historic scholar? No. Then why are you going to school to be African-American? You ain't even gonna get real history anyway. H.B.C.U ain't it's still funded by the government. So you still gonna have the same you still going to get the same education you would have got at a PWI 'cause they still control the educational system that's there. But um so yeah, I mean he's correct on that. A lot of the the when it come to black people and going to college, a lot of pe a lot of these and it's somebody that's been to three different universities, man. People people are lost. So I I'll give him that for sure. We're the most enrolled, but we're the most in debt. And so, we have insight and information on how we can make better decisions, but we lack the discipline and we lack the the wherewithal to actually make those decisions and be conscious enough to see it through. And so, I don't believe in that. And I believe the fact that people continue to try to make it seem like we're behind the eightball is enabling us to continue to go further down this drain. And and the minute that we start holding ourselves accountable, holding ourselves, we don't need Trump, you don't need Barack Obama. I seen them making their speech about hope again and I respect you therein for the work that you did with the Obama campaign in the south but we don't need anybody to sell us anything or to give us anything. We can take everything that we want if we really want it.

>> Um the I mean listen you served as a regional uh political director for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Obviously you were senior advisor former Atlanta Mayor Cassin Reed and helped shape policy and political strategy during Reed's administration. you hear Anton say what he just said, break down what he just break down. Give your initial reaction to all of that. How do you feel about what he just said? >> I think what you just heard from Anton is a sort of a a certain demographic, a certain population of black people in this country. I mean, what you heard there, Stephen A, is much like my story. He's born in Detroit. I was born in Atlanta. I grew up in Athens. I had a mother who never finished high school. didn't meet my father until later on in life after I graduated from college. But I had a structure around me where my mom understood the importance of education. Then I had to understand after graduating from Clark University, played football, hey, not going to the NFL, what am I going to do with my life? And so I think the one thing that I would tell Anton that I know that he was a direct recipient of is that there were some black people, maybe some white people, Asian, Hispanic folks that took a a a time to really invest in him, right? And so I think that you know we have a lot of folks who are born in poverty and and you look around the country is that and I and I said this earlier in my opening statement kids who are born in certain zip codes that the structure is not there with the family structure because what the family does Stephen A they can teach you how to behave in school then it's left up to our teachers whether it's public schools or private schools to basically be able to teach you how to learn. And remember what I said not everyone has the luxury of going to private schools. That's why I believe that we need to do more to invest in our public schools. Now, once you get out, here we go. And this is where I think I benefit with Anton is that you then have to figure out, okay, how am I going to utilize the system in its current form? You mentioned Barack Obama, you mentioned Cassin Reed, we got Andre, Kesha Lance Bottoms, all these people, the late great Congressman John Lewis, Stephen. These are all people who I work for and I'm very close to. The difference was is that with having someone that was black in these positions of power,

It gave them a level of understanding when they were in the room and decisions were being made about jobs, um, education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, where we were going to allocate resources to certain communities, you had that person in the room.

What's also like, and he makes a good point, >> okay, that that's that's that's like still getting stuck on this. As long as they black, that's enough. That is exactly uh uh like ironic from the person who initially started speaking and he said, "We need to start holding these politicians accountable." Y'all don't hold Democratic politicians accountable because all y'all care about is them being black or so-called a person of color, which is some other nuance BS to uh lessen the the importance of black American specific history and things being specific for our own ethnic group. So you can miss me with that whole skin focus skin color. I don't give a damn if they African. I don't give a damn if they Caribbean. I don't give a damn if they black American. Your skin color don't mean nothing to me at this point. I'm over this whole skin color thing when it comes to politicians and [ __ ]. That doesn't mean anything to me.

Some of the most blackest, so-called blackest folks done been done the most BS to us. And every time they do put somebody that's black in there, what do they do? They prioritize the LGBTQ. They prioritize feminism. They prioritize everything that got to do with deconstructing the black nuclear family unit, which is me personally, in my opinion, I think is the biggest thing that destroys our community. I just dropped a video about it. Y'all should go watch it. I dropped it yesterday. It's the fact that there's no structure in these households because again, these politicians, like I said, it's the LGBTQ, it's feminism, it's well, what about the Latinos? What about the Asians? What about the people of color? What about this rainbow coalition BS that don't actually help the people who it should be helping because all these other people that come over here are from other countries. This is not their homeland. So why, if it's somebody coming from another country, do they get the same level of access of the so-called not being having this distribution of resources that we would when we are the only people who have historically gone through systematic trauma in this country. Miss me with that dumb. Well, all these black people, they black, man. Get the [ __ ] out of here. That ain't got nothing to do with us. Cuz I don't give a [ __ ] about them being black. What do they do when they in that mother [ __ ]? Obama ain't did in eight mother years. He ain't did a damn thing but make gay marriage legal and he ain't really black. His mama white and he from Kenya. That's black, not to me. Maybe to some of y'all, not to me. That [ __ ] ain't black to me. That [ __ ] don't mean nothing to me.

And even when they do have somebody that's so-called black in there, even if it is a foundational black American, they not thinking about the grassroots. They're not thinking about us. They thinking about how they can help everybody else. And they always got a white man or a white woman. Think about that. The so-called everything is about racism and white supremacy. They stay with a white man or a white woman. Don't [ __ ] what's her name? Katangi Brown, Kadani Jack, whatever name is. She got a white man. I think she do. Kamala Harris, white man. All these politicians, the women or the man, they always got a white man or a white woman. Now me, I don't give a [ __ ] who you date. You can date who you want to date. I don't care. I've been with all of them. Black, Asian, Latina. I've been with them all. Now I love women. I prefer my black American women, but white women. I don't give a [ __ ] who you with. But don't sit up and talk about this pro-black and all this racism, but you laying down with this white person, but you want to so-called speak for the black community about racism, but you laying with the same people who you so-called hate so much. Man, get your goof ass on, man. Watch out for that goof ass.

Let's keep going, though. >> Is that some of our cities that are being led by these Democratic mayors, a lot of them of whom are black, we got to make sure that we support them and don't just criticize them when there are shootings and killings, but let's talk about the good things that they are doing. So I, I, I fundamentally disagree that not that black people basically are just complaining about everything. The majority of black people that I'm friends with and the majority of people that I talk to, they want a good paying job. But unfortunately, they can't keep a job because basically folks are not hiring. We have folks in this country right now who are overly educated for jobs are taking jobs that they're overly qualified for. And people that are qualified for the jobs actually can't get them. And then lastly, I was >> wait, what? What? Hold on. What? They want a good paying job, but unfortunately they can't keep a job because basically folks are not hiring. We >> There's plenty of people hiring. There's plenty of people that are hiring. The majority of people have jobs. The majority of people are not jobless. So even if what you're saying is true, it's not the majority of black people. So that's a losing talking point. The majority of black people have a job and the majority of black people are working everyday jobs. So maybe they may not be making enough money like they want. The majority of black people in America have a job. You have folks in this country right now who are overly educated for jobs are taking jobs that they're overly >> overly educated. I don't know about that one. >> Qualified for and people that are >> so maybe they shouldn't take the job >> are qualified for the jobs actually can't get them. And then lastly, I would say this. We have to do a better job as a community. Stephen A, you're doing this, right? Putting people in positions to make sure that when they've done the work, when they've actually made the sacrifices, right? They've been given opportunity, somebody's helped them, give them a platform to talk about their story, about what they're doing to try to help people. And so, again, I fundamentally disagree with Anton as far as, you know, um, you know, having babies and going to jail. We know that basically the crime rate and the uh is the same with a black person with a job and the same person with a white person with the same job. Right? If you give people a job, crime goes down, people are more productive citizens. But if we don't give them access to jobs, if we don't have politicians in place to make sure that the blatant racism that we do see in this country, um, where people basically know when I go in a lot of rooms, folks don't look like me, but I'm scared of that room. Even though sometimes I'm more educated and more experienced, we got to make sure that we hold those folks accountable. So I think that's the difference between that and that >> he just proved my point. They don't hold people of color accountable for the BS that they do. As long as you black, you can get in and do whatever the hell you want to do. >> As I've been very blessed to be in positions, I'm always Stephen A and Anton trying to figure out how do I help the young black brothers and the young black sisters uh who are trying to actually make a way and make sure that they thrive in. >> Can I, can I saw you, I saw, I said I, yeah, I was getting ready to say I saw you shaking your head. Feel free to comment. Go ahead. >> For every Andre Dickens, you have a Lori Lightfoot and Brandon Johnson over in Chicago, >> which both of them ain't did for Chicago. And it's somebody that lived in Chicago for multiple years. I was there when Lori White, the the Lori Lightfoot lesbian coochie bumping was there. That [ __ ] ain't did but look like she got electrocuted all day long. And if you don't know who Lori Lightfoot is, go to Google, type in Lori Lightfoot, and tell me that [ __ ] don't look like she got mother. That [ __ ] look like Albert Einstein. So she ain't doing nothing. Then Brandon, Brandon uh Johnson, he don't do nothing but support the immigrants that's there. That's all he give a damn about is immigrants. That's all he care about is immigrants. So it ain't a damn thing that I'm So yeah, Anton's was right. Them don't give a damn about the black black people. >> You have a Karen Bass who is >> Karen Bass is another one. All she give a damn about is immigrants. Do y'all know that Karen Bass had a specific uh thing that she passed in LA for people for uh Mexicans who were not even just Mexicans, it was Latinos in general, people of Latin descent. It was only Latin descent. So, you know how they like they know how to make lineage and ethnic race based or ethnic based um policies when it's beneficial for them. But when it comes to black Americans, they got to be for everybody. Do you all know that that [ __ ] was putting in policies to get people to get money that were scared because of ICE? If you do not believe me, I promise you. I got think I got a video of it. Go look that up. I'm so serious. She had a policy that was passed that was giving families thousands of dollars of taxpayer money for people that simply was scared because they could have possibly got uh uh uh sent back home because of ICE. You don't believe me? Look it up. I did a whole video breakdown of it. That [ __ ] ain't either. So miss me with this. So I'm glad Anton is bringing this up. Y'all have black politicians who get in. They don't do nothing when they get in. They care about everybody else and they always got a white man or a white woman. It's crazy as hell. Karen Bass is married to a Mexican. You see what I mean? Completely incompetent. Right. As a person that is born and raised in Detroit, what I've seen is >> a predominantly black city that was ran by black people, black politicians, whether you talking about the mayor and the city council, >> you're talking about uh the school systems, you're talking about the police chiefs, you're talking about all of this. So when we talking about identity, for whatever reason, people feel like you need somebody to look like you in order for you to do what you supposed to do, right? >> And that has nothing to do with anything. As far as me and using myself as an example, nobody poured into me except for my father. My father was responsible for me because I didn't ask to be here. And so when we talking about taking accountability, what I do see is people continuing to have children out of wedlock. What I do see is people not getting married. What I And I'm not even talking about the political landscape. I'm talking about the basics, the [ __ ]. >> And that's because the older generation dropped the ball. Not all of y'all, but the older generation dropped the ball when it came to instilling the right moral values in my generation. Because there's no reason why, for whatever reason, we will prioritize a baby shower where a woman says, "Hey, I got a baby on the way. Hey, my man is he he asked me to be his wife and I said yes." Oo, think about that. Think about that. We will question, not seeing we, when I say we, I mean too many people in the black community. We'll question the fact that a young woman has a man that wants to be her husband. We'll question that and be like, I don't know, you might be too young to be 20 getting married, but when she want to open up her legs and be a [ __ ] hoe, we applaud that and we go into the baby shower and shower in this little gift, man. Come on, man. And you ain't got to sign a paperwork to be married. I ain't with the sucker. But I'm just saying we prioritize BS way too often in certain parts of the community for show, for show. Especially in my generation and I don't really have much excuses from for my generation because we got ChatGPT, we got Google, we got books and all this stuff that we can learn. So it ain't no excuses. When you like 14, 15 and you young, okay? But when you in my generation, I'm generation Z. I'm at the end of generation Z. I was born in '97. You [ __ ] is you, we we have way more access that the older generation did not have. They didn't have ChatGPT and Google and everything is in their mother's phone. We know every album that's gonna come out. We can watch every basketball game and play video games and all this [ __ ]. I do all this [ __ ] too. But I also know a little bit of my history cuz my mother and father did what they supposed to do in the time that I was with both of them. You feel me? So I know a little bit of something that I was instilled and done in the right way. So my parents did what they supposed to do. But a lot of y'all, it ain't even your parents' fault. You too damn old because you got all access and resources to do what you're supposed to do. So ain't no reason why you don't know nothing. So I don't want to hear it.

Well, let's keep going. >> Fundamentals. I work with automakers here in in Metro Detroit and so many new jobs was created. Uh Chrysler, well, actually it's Stellantis, but we call it Chrysler here in Detroit opened up a new plant. Ford went on a hiring spree as a result of the Trump administration. >> And the main reason why most people couldn't get a job, overwhelmingly black people applied for these jobs, is because they couldn't pass the drug test. They couldn't pass the drug test. >> I gotta see a stat on that. That don't sound too truthful. I'm not saying it don't happen. But when you say overwhelming majority, that's above 50%. So, especially when a when a job is working at, I think he said Chrysler, whatever, car dealership, that ain't no low-paying job. The majority of people, the majority of the like people couldn't pass a job. Like, where's the stat? Where's the study that said that? That's exactly why. I'm sure it was some people for sure. I know some people right now who be getting fake pee and applying for jobs, but the majority, I don't know. I need to see a stat on that. That don't sound too accurate cuz where do they even do studies on that? >> It's because they couldn't pass a drug test. They couldn't pass the drug test. >> But how prevalent is that, Anton? How prevalent is that? I mean, I mean, you can find those cases, but >> where's the source that proves that that was the majority? But to give the impression that that's a vast majority is where the problem occurs. >> You really believe it's the vast majority? >> of applicants actually got hired or was on the verge of getting hired couldn't pass a drug test in order to get into the point. >> But Anton, let's go back to Detroit real quick. I know your mayor very well. Mary Sheffield actually supported her in Atlanta. Stephen A. She came here where no one knew her. She had some mutual friends. Met this sister. And you can't tell me, Anton, having that black woman with that rich history, right? I don't need to tell you her history, you know, her family, how she served on the city council president. You can't tell me having her in that room and not necessarily the color of her skin, but the content of her character, what she took to get there. You guys, if people who are citizens of Detroit, you guys are who give a damn. What's the policies? I don't give a damn about that. Everybody got a story. I don't give a damn about none of that. What's the policy? All this, "Well, what about her story?" I don't, I don't, I don't care about none of that. I heard [ __ ] been swept from the the the top of Seven Mile all the way to 100 Mile in Detroit. I don't give a damn. What's the big policy? That don't mean nothing to me. Benefiting from that. I mean, she, she, she no one gave her anything. She ran against the establishment. She ran against the preachers. And so now she's trying to basically talk about people um and getting them in position to get those jobs you're talking about. But I think I agree with Stephen A. Let's not put this on black folk, bro. Hispanics fail drug tests all the time. Asians fail and you know a lot of white people. >> The question wasn't about that though. >> And we're not gonna even get into the thing around fit and all the drug problems that a lot of our >> respectively. The question is about the black American community unless it's a hypocrisy going on. There's no need to bring up other communities in this sense. >> Rural white class working-class people are failing right now. They failed drug tests, too. So, I think that's my fundamental issue with you. We can't just, we can't just isolate that just to the black community. >> You're moving the goalposts because specifically the question was for the black community, right? We're not talking about Asians. We're not talking about white people. We're talking about taking self. >> I did ask the question. I did, Darren. I did ask the question about the black community. I didn't bring up any, I didn't bring up any other community. He's right about that. I did ask the question specifically about the black community. So, I get he's got me there. But go ahead. Go ahead. Going to I'm not going to lean into somebody else in order to justify why we not or why we are right. You have a responsibility as an American citizen and as a a duty to your to your parents and the ancestors that came before us, especially with regard to the civil rights movement and all of the the people that died and the people that suffered. We don't even show up at the polls and we don't even educate ourselves enough to understand the candidates that we're voting for. I'm not going to talk negatively about Mary Sheffield because she just got into office and I think that we should give her some grace and some opportunity to really show herself. And so even though I am a Republican, I do believe in supporting whoever is in office regardless whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. But you can go further back. Forget Mary Sheffield. Let's talk about Kwame Kilpatrick. Let's talk about Mayor Coleman Young. Let's talk about all of the black people that came before them that ran the city into the ground that ultimately culminated in the city filing for bankruptcy in 2008. That's not a mistake. It's not a mistake that Detroit had fell behind and filed for bankruptcy. Now, once Mike Duggan got into office afterwards, we had 11 consecutive years of surpluses that Mary Sheffield now can benefit from because she can stand on the shoulders of people that actually worked and did the work. And I'm not gonna say that she didn't do the work because she was a part of the city council, but she can now benefit from people voting and saying, "Listen, I'm not gonna vote based off of identity. I'm gonna vote based off of the person that's the best for the job." And Mike Duggan, especially as a CEO of a hospital system and understanding it from a business perspective, gave the city an opportunity to really show itself and grow. And now that's what you see as far as Detroit benefiting, especially from working with business leaders like Dan Gilbert, the Illitches, and so on and so forth. They are the beneficiaries. But but again, we want to ignore the people that did horrible for the city in order to catapult people that are now in office. But we can't forget the history in order to in order to move the goalposts. We can't do that.

>> I'm gonna say I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go this route. Both of y'all are coming from different perspectives, different sides of the aisle to some degree, but we're sitting here having a conversation. And I get the impression that if y'all were in a room together having to handle some business, y'all could reach some kind of accord, some kind of resolution. That's entirely different. That That's entirely different than the perspective that is disseminating out there to the masses. When we look at both sides of the aisle, one of the things that I've been on a war path about is that I think the politicians have messed up our country because the polarization I think has been largely instigated by them. We live in a binary system. You got to pick one side or another. You can't find an accord anywhere. And I think that >> I agree with that. Finally, Stephen A. Smith says something that makes sense. Yeah, he he right with that. The two-party system needs to be completely abolished and just burned to the ground. I agree with him on that. It's made us as a society more polarizing and more volatile towards one another than it has been in recent memory. I've run across people that are obviously considerably older that tell me this is worse than the civil rights era. This is what they've said to me in terms of how times are right now. I don't know how accurate it is. I'm talking about people in their 70s and 80s in terms of the volatility that exists amongst American citizens. My question to y'all is, if y'all had to, do y'all believe y'all could work together to find resolution? And if so, why can y'all? But so many people in our society are are unable to pull that off in this day and age. >> Sure. Go ahead. >> Hey y'all, I got a bet real quick. Somebody bet me $20 that I if I can not cuss for the rest of the stream. So, we not gonna cuss for the rest of the stream. Y'all know I be cussing. We ain't gonna cuss for the rest of the live. I'm I'mma get this $20. I don't care. We ain't gonna cuss for the rest of the live. Somebody just text me and said, "I bet you can't not cuss for 20 for the rest of the live." Bet. I'll do it for sure. I know how to, I got it. Tough control. Let's do it. Come on. >> I think that the >> starting Hold on. Let me Hold on. All right. Starting now. is is the is somewhat disingenuous, but you can work with that because you understand the disingenuous nature of the conversation is based off of him absolutely believing what he believes, right? He's not doing it to be malicious. He's doing it because he truly believes in what he's saying. And and you can work with >> But then why is it disingenuous? Why is it disingenuous if he truly believes it? It's it's disingenuous because he knows better as far as I think that the speaks to just off of this conversation alone. He's speaking and and reaching the lowest hanging fruit. And I know he understands what I'm talking about. >> Well, y'all, but Democrats and Republicans do that. I think honestly, well, I can't even say one is more disingenuous than the other. They both are very, very, very disingenuous depending on the argument of which, you know, what the argument is. But Democrats and Republicans both do that. They they're both doing this in this conversation. Anton Daniels is leaving out history and Ron is leaving out the facts of the matter of right now and how these politicians actually operate in the Democratic side. So, it's one and the same >> because he has worked in these political circles. When when we're having these conversations, we're not speaking to the actual real issues. He's speaking to the talking points that a lot of Democrats use in order to justify or get people riled up to vote however they gonna vote or to stay in the same space as far as what I would describe as a Democratic plantation. I would be able to work with him because I know that he's smart, he's educated, and he knows what he's talking about. And so behind closed doors, he would be solutions-based. And so that's where you would be able to find that bipartisan agreement or, you know, you would be able to reach that middle road. >> That time like to do this thing. He did it with Cory Booker too when they had their little spat. He likes to do this thing where he likes to act like I know you better than you know yourself. And it's a really good manipulation tactic if you don't know how to see it. See if you remember what Anton did when he was talking to Corey when they had that little spat is he was telling Corey he was like trying to like size you up like basically saying like it it's a it's again it's a manipulation tactic. It's like a It's like a It's like a art of war tactic. I'm going to explain to you how you operate and what you doing right now is not what you really do. So, I'm going to explain to you that I know you more than you know yourself. So, you can kind of humble a little bit and you cannot be as I guess aggressive or you cannot think that you know more than me. And regardless of whoever knows more than whoever, he does this. I want y'all to go back and watch that. that you don't got to watch the whole thing. But if you go back and watch when Anton was talking to Cory, Cory Booker, when I had that little spat, I did a breakdown, a reaction video of it. Y'all can go look it up. But he does that a lot. He's doing it again where like, okay, well, you do this, but behind closed doors, we both know that you going, you know what I'm saying? It's like it's a manipulation tactic. It's a what a lot of people do to to to try to like bring your guard down so they can fully attack. You got to be able to peep the play when people do that stuff. Let's keep going. Well, that's where you would be able to find that bipartisan agreement or, you know, you would be able to reach that middle road because people that are educated understand even though if they're on the on the front lines and you know facing an audience, I believe that the way that they speak to the audience is much different than how they work with people that they know is educated and know what the solutions are or trying to find, you know, equitable solution, >> which he might, he's not, he might. Anton is correct about that, but you don't know this man. So, you don't know if he like that. You just making that assumption. You may know of him, but you don't fully know that more personally. So, you can't make that that judgment call to say that. But people definitely do that though, for sure. >> So, I think that be able to work with him. And I also believe that debating conversation is good. Even if you have different talking points, even if you have different beliefs, you looking to, you know, a conversation is you looking to understand the person that you're having a conversation with. But I do think that just based off of the talking points that he has today, he's using similar talking points that Democrats use, especially in the black community to have people engage in a vote instead of educating on why they need to do things differently. >> Y >> So Steve, let me ask you a question. Here we go. >> I said earlier with this brother Anton, but I think that I would describe him as disillusioned and I think that he actually is using his conservatism. >> Shout out to Theon for peeping the play. I told y'all, see, I peeped it. I would have did the same thing. So the the R, I guess that's how you say his name. He doing the same exact thing that Anton is doing. And I want y'all to notice the smirk that Anton did because his his tactic did not work. So Anton did this whole I can see through you thing and Theron did the same exact thing. This is a good like Yeah. We reversed it back on him. Exactly. Empress, this is a good manipulation. This is not a manipulation. This is a good like like strategy that Theon did. He did the same exact thing and he peeped it. I didn't think he was going to peep it. Watch Anton's face because he knows that his little thing didn't work. question. Here we go. So, look at his face. I would be able to work with this brother Anton, but I think that I would describe him as disillusioned. And I think that he actually you >> he looked to the right. It didn't work. >> Well, technically it'd be our our left, but his right. It didn't work. It didn't work. That's why he did that. He like, "Girl, cuz you know, he act sassy. He He look like I don't know. I ain't trying to say he gay, but he lowkey be looking a little I don't know. He be pucking his lip and I don't know. I feel like he do this in photos and stuff, but yeah, he tried to do that. Why his lips so perched? I don't know why, but he do that. He He always do that. I don't know why dog do that for real. For real. That's crazy. >> Using his conservatism to actually convey a level of elitism when he just said himself that his father and everybody kind of poured into him. The party that he aligns himself with is not the party who actually is helping the people that look like he and I. And so the difference between these are not talking points and time. The reason we're both on Stephen A. Smith straight shooter show is because we've been putting in the work. I mean, when you look at the work that I'm doing every single day, right, it's podcast, but it's also in the streets making sure that I support my HBCUs. It's making sure that when TSA workers are laid off at Atlanta uh airport and they have no way to get to and from work. I was the guy that was out there passing out the gas cards, right? Serving on boards to try to basically help people with re-entry with an organization called CEO. These are the things that I do every single day. I think the difference between you and I, brother, which we will be able to work together, is that you come on a lot of these shows and you take a very um sort of uh controversial topic and you go viral, but you push the button, right? You push the button. But what I would challenge you to do is that when we would get in that room and we would hash it out, I'm sure there's a lot of similarities, but I fundamentally believe that the conservatism that you bought into and the criticism that you bestow on our people is not productive. It's not what's going to help us get to the next level. And so I do believe that you're putting in the work. Clearly you've made it this far. But Stephen A, what we have to do more as particularly as black men is have sensible conversations like this, represent our point of view in a very calm but direct manner, but also make sure that we don't abandon the core principles of who we are. Listen to what I said to you. You're talking to a guy who clearly didn't grow up with a father, right? A mom who only had a high school education, have an adopted sister, went to HBCU. No one gave me anything. But I was able to utilize my political skills to get in the rooms and that's why I chose the South in 2008 and 2012 on the Obama campaign. That's why I support our mayors as well. And and when I can talk about the city of Detroit, because when a black woman, Mayor Sheffield, comes to my city, Atlanta, say, "Hey, I'm running to do something that's going to be better for all of Detroit, not just black people." I support that woman. And so >> you just said that nobody gave you anything. >> No, no, no. I'm saying to you, I I had I I had good mentors along the way, right? But I had a mother, a praying mother who actually poured into me. I had an older brother. But when I gave the opportunity, there were a lot of people who helped me. John Lewis helped me. Gave me an opportunity to run his campaign in 2008. Mar. >> You earned that. Let's Let's be clear. >> No. No. But Anton, no. No. These are the difference rooms that I'm in, brother. They're letting you in those rooms because you are the one of the few black people that talk that conservative talk with most of those Republicans. You know how hard it is to penetrate when you are a black male Democrat where there are so many of us. Yeah. So I had to prove myself, I had to work hard >> even opportunity my wins and my merit-based strategy right because at the end of the day, Stephen A, it's all based on merit, right? Can you really deliver on what you're going to do? And I'm a man of merit. So yeah, so no, no one gave it to me, but like there were some people along the way, Barack Obama, who said, "Look, we're going to give you the South in 2012." So I can't act like I got here by myself, but I worked hard just like you to make sure that when given that opportunity, I was prepared for the moment.

>> Let me stay with you for a moment before I get back to Antoine because we're talking about I mean, when you talk about black folks, you talk about the black community. Let's talk about the black voters for a second who've supported the Democrats by roughly 80 to 90% over the last several decades. We all know that. So if black America is thriving, the Democrats wouldn't hesitate to to take credit. They'd feel they deserved it. No doubt about that. But if black America is struggling, which we obviously are, should Democrats bear responsibility for that? Which one is it? Darren, I >> think Democrats have got to continue to make sure that we take credit where credit is due. If you just look at where when Democrats are in office, where the black unemployment rates are, it's always higher than when we see Republican presidents. And right now, Biden had a higher black employment rate than uh than Trump. Okay, then let's get into what Democrats need to do better. We need to make sure that we reward these folks, these black voters, when they vote for us by putting them in positions of power where they're competent and they're ready for it. Also, we got to make sure that we talk about some of the challenges, but we got to offer solutions. And that's why I'm so proud to be in Georgia and Atlanta because a lot of our black leaders, Stephen A, they're not just talking about the inequities, the inequalities. They're actually putting forth solutions. And it takes sometimes working across the aisle. It does take some bipartisanship because we are a black Democratic city in a ruby sort of red kind of purple state that's run by Republicans and state leadership. So you got to be able to have that delicate balance, that duality approach into it. So yeah, I think that if you put up what Democrats have done for black people versus what Republicans have done for black people, we've done more. Our challenge is is making sure that we maintain that voter base and show those women and men every single day that when you put us in office, we're not gonna forget about you. But also give us an opportunity to govern. And governing sometimes don't necessarily mean that you can just get things done by just focusing on black issues. You got to be able to work with white, Asian, and Hispanic folks. But at the center of your um uh ability to work every single day, you got to have the advancement of black people at your core. And I think that's what Democrats have done. And Republicans, honestly, they don't even elect enough of them. Don't even nominate enough of them. And literally on the federal and state in the local governments, we don't see the results from the Republican party that are benefiting black people the way that we do on the Democratic side. Anton, your thoughts about that assertion that the Democrats have done far more for the black community than than than the GOP, the Republicans have ever thought about doing? >> Again, it's your question initially, Stephen A, which obviously that was a moving a goalpost, another opportunity, was do you then take responsibility when you are not meeting the expectation as a Democratic party for black people? And the answer was no because he basically said we just got to give credit where credit is doing. You you really you're good. You're really really good there. And I like the way that you answer these question. >> I didn't answer the question, bro. >> Well, but but you didn't say that they should take responsibility when things aren't going so well. And I would also preface this by saying that the majority of the jobs uh because we can talk about the unemployment rate, but when you're really in the thick of things, and I know that he's in the thick of things like I'm in the thick of things, >> you understand that a lot of the jobs that are being handed out, especially when we started to see the layoffs at the federal government level, right? And we seen um Elon Musk and his crew and all of them went in there and they started to lay it off. We didn't see these same women getting these same jobs and being able to compete in the private sector as they are in the public sector. And what happens is they go into these jobs expecting to get their student loans forgiven and they work there for 10 years in the public sector with that expectation and at the same time they don't meet the expectation to be able to compete in the private sector. And that's why you see a a misalignment as far as a competitive balance when it comes to black people competing for jobs in the private sector versus the public sector. In a private sector, you actually have to be software engineers. You have to be mechanical engineers. You have to be in STEM fields and be able to get these same type of jobs and qualify to go up the economic ladder and not just in the political landscape or the public sector. And we cannot continue to let black women lead us not only at the polls, but when it comes to determining what happens, you know, in these political these political circles, right? No, they do not um take responsibility for what happens to the community. We are worse off than we've ever been in history. And more importantly, the Republican party is not >> worse off than we've ever been >> than we've ever been. In my opinion, I believe that we are when you compare ourselves to other groups when it comes to the wealth gap. We are worse off than we've ever been in my lifetime in my 44 years on this earth. And the interesting thing about the Democrat and the Republican party, and this is why we have to have a mindset shift, is the Republican party is not there to give you something. It's there to remove the barriers for you to do for yourself. >> That's what I that's what I was going to say. Uh but I want to I want him to go into more detail with the >> Democrats do that too. We're not we're not out here just giving away stuff as well. I mean, we're actually trying to But real quick, I want to ask you this question, >> whole positions created as far as diversity, equity, inclusion. >> That's a Republican answer. When when your Republican party, you mentioned Elon Musk, Doge is what it's called, >> Department of Government Efficiency. >> Yeah. You guys fire all these people in public sector, isn't it true that the Republican response from President Trump and others was go into the corporate world? Now, Stephen A, think about that. If you have spent decades in working hard to pursue public service um particularly in public health um certifications and you get fired for no fault of your own just because this president did not like the CDC not because you were doing a bad job, not because you couldn't actually do the job and then the Republican response to these black women that Anton are talking about was go into the corporate sector. >> How how is that logical? >> Well, guess what? >> Hold on. Let me go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. No. Go ahead. Go ahead. >> That happens every single day in the public sector. You're not guaranteed a job. People get laid off through no fault of their own on a regular basis. When you go through an audit, when a company metal laying off people in order to be able to fund AI, right? Not that AI is replacing jobs, but because they need to spend more money while being accountable to shareholders. People are being laid off, white people mostly over in Meta. And you don't have the opportunity to say, "Well, I didn't get laid off by any by any means of my own. I have to go and figure it out." You don't get a handout just because you got laid off. >> It wasn't a handout. >> I see. >> Well, well, first, first of all, I don't consider it a handout. They were working. They were working for that money. They want to be they want to be handed something. >> Yeah. I don't think that's a handout. If a company is is downsizing or a company is is, you know, they go bankrupt or whatever it is, it's not a handout because like you were working, you did what you needed to do to keep a job and that company is no longer either no longer exists or they downsized or whatever it is. You should at least if it was up to me, you should be able to be given some type of pay or some type of something to uphold yourself during that time that you're not working there anymore. So that's, you know, that's me. >> That's number one. But number two, I will say this. One of the things that I will come back to you about, Darren, was this is this the process of evolution never escapes any any any any generation. I mean, it it it it's not what it was 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago. It's just not. And so when you Donald Trump comes into office and the one thing that I will say is the man didn't lie about what he was intending to do. He talked about shrinking government. Now the GOP and the Republicans are known for shrinking government. And so I hated the fact that, you know what, they laid off a bunch of federal workers. I hated the fact that it had, you know, a a, you know, a very big effect on black women compared to almost anybody, particularly in that DC area working for the federal government when they made all of those cuts. I hated that. I didn't like that at all. But in the same breath, I also saw it coming from a mile away because he said it was coming. He said it was coming because he said the government's spending too much damn money. Now, obviously, he seems a bit hypocritical with the damn money that somehow gets funneled into his pocket. Don't get me started. By the way, Anton, with a 1.8 billion slush fund that he tried to get that he was going to oversee and allocate to insurrectionists like nothing was going to get in his pocket. We I I got you. But we were born at night, not last night. You got to be kidding me with some or the fact that the man is in office and since he's been in office, he's reported to have made anywhere from an additional five to 7 billion dollars in his own damn pocket. These are the kind of things that they're saying. Somehow someway the American people are suffering, but he's getting richer and richer. Him, his cronies, his families, but not necessarily the American people. I'm looking at it from that standpoint. But again, we all saw it coming and he said it was coming. The so for me, I I don't know how to answer that. Like every administration has a right to invoke and implement their own policies. That's what they do that they think is in the best interest of the American people. If you see it coming, you

Got to prepare accordingly. What do you say to that? So, I'll add two more things real quickly, and I'm going to answer your question.

We also saw the same president who told us he was going to build his ballroom and it was going to be funded by private dollars, and he just allocated almost $350 million from secret services. Also, when we look at this war in Iran, it's going to probably have a $132 billion negative impact on our economy at a time where he's doing all this stuff and we're having to pay $4,000 for gas.

But let me say this about what the president told us he was going to do. You're absolutely right, Stephen. And he campaigned on Project 2025. He did talk about shrinking government, but guess what? News flash. Democrats have also talked about less government and figuring out how we can eliminate waste. Biden did it. Obama did. I never heard that. I ain't going to lie to you. I never heard a Democrat really talk about that. I really haven't.

Well, well, I'm here to tell you that I worked for these folks, and I knew that they would go in and look at certain departments, see how we can actually deal with everything. And after COVID, everything changed because we didn't have to figure out how to tell work, right? We had to figure out how to do more ability to use virtual meetings and different things like that. But here's the difference. Obama, Biden, other folks did it, but it was metrics-driven. Stephen A., it actually had, you had to actually put a cost tag on how much we were going to save, and was the work going to be able to get done if you make these cuts?

We know back to the CDC, that was a personal attack on a major federal agency based here in Atlanta in DeKalb County, where he fundamentally was mad about the use of vaccines. He put a secretary in there who clearly didn't know what he was doing. That was a direct attack. Now, when you start looking at the cuts to the federal education, right, our education department, how are you expecting to improve public schools and to have a more educated workforce? That's what Republicans talk about, when you're eliminating the people who are doing the work every single day that are there to help these teachers, help these public schools thrive. And so, yes, he told us he was going to do it. It was too much, and I think we're seeing the consequences now. And that's part of the reason why you're seeing the inflation rate so high.

Oh, by the way, Stephen, he told us he was going to deal with inflation on day one. Last time I checked, inflation right now is the highest it's ever been under Trump's administration. Right now, make sure you say under Trump's administration, because under Biden, inflation was above 9%.

And in some, he lowered it. No, inflation is only at... Well, that's because it's high expectations for Trump. You got to remember that when Trump left office the first time, inflation was less than 2%. All right. And then when he came back, that was the highest he's ever... Under Trump, three and a half percent. One at a time. That's not crazy. Go ahead. No, no, no. Under Trump, three and a half percent. Now, you got to also do the math because, and this is why I say disingenuous. So, there'll be a lot of talking points that's thrown in. Oh, he campaigned under Project 2025. Trump obviously denounced that. He said he wasn't campaigning under Project 2025.

There are some things that I will agree with, which is true. Trump never campaigned on Project 2025. I remember they were talking about that on TikTok, and I thought it was true, but he vividly came out and said that's not under him. That was something that the Democrats created. And it was a bunch of, I mean, some of the policies weren't even ethical. It was like some crazy stuff that wasn't anything that he campaigned on ever. So, I mean, that's true.

You, and this is what makes me objective is because I don't agree with the $1.8 billion slush fund, while at the same time, we do need to remove subsidizing private jobs with the public sector. And so an audit should be done. Audits are regularly done in the private sector, and we should be doing it with our tax dollars. But for whatever reason, we think it's okay to just throw money at the wall. That's why you're talking about the Department of Education. The Department of Education is really removing the federal government's hand from it and giving it back to the states. Right? That's the true nature of what they're trying to do with the Department of Education. We know that money has been wasted for a long time, that kids have been suffering. We've seen under the Biden administration, kids suffering at a mass rate of learning disabilities. And now we have AI entering into the race, and we have all of these tablet babies, and we don't know what to do with it. And so you have to evolve, and you have to change how you're teaching these kids. And there's other things that other countries are doing.

He ain't lying. Quit giving these kids tablets and letting them just be on a tablet for four, five hours. Stop doing that. Put these kids to work. Tell them to go outside, man.

Take into consideration and start to implement. But the reality of it is this: you can't continue to blame other people for your shortfall. And the one thing that I do know for sure, and two things are for certain, is that Black people are going to vote Democrat regardless. So, even when it goes back to his original point where he's saying that we need to acknowledge and exalt the people that are being successful and that look like us, he still hasn't talked about Brandon Johnson. He still hasn't talked about Lori Lightfoot. He still skips over Karen Bass because they're doing a horrible job. They look like us, and they are a reflection of what is wrong with our politics and why we continue to vote Democrat regardless of the people that's given us what it is that they've given us. I don't agree with any of what he's saying right now, and I think it speaks to the lower thing.

But I think the one thing between you and me, Anton, is that all those people you just mentioned, I know these folks. Let's start with Karen Bass. This woman didn't become a member of Congress to actually become the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and then running a city like LA, which, by the way, it doesn't just take the ability to just get a certain sector of voters. You got to build a winning coalition. This woman did that in LA. I was just with her in Long Beach, right, when we were at the Dem... the US.

No, she's done a good job. She's doing... You just say she's doing a good job in LA. You just... I think she is doing the best to her ability in LA with the service. I'm not... Hold on. I'm not questioning. Let me be very clear. I'm not questioning that she's working hard and striving to do the best that she can. Hey, I don't even live in LA, but I feel bad for the folks out there in LA. I'm not questioning her intent in terms of whether she cares about citizens. Now, I'm saying in terms of her efficiency, in terms of her productivity. Did you just say that she's doing a good job in LA? 'Cause I know a whole bunch of people in LA that would say, "Hell no."

There are those, yes, there are some of the folks that tell me that, but I said some other folks tell me that, you know, again, with the circumstance that she's under, right, with the economy that she's inheriting, with the lack of jobs, with all the different things that comes along with Los Angeles politics, I think that she's actually moving in the right direction. She has a very well-funded opponent right now. There's a lot of negativity out there about the job. But when I talk to you about the day-to-day services, making sure that the city has the basic services every day, trash being picked up, making sure that people actually can try to feel safe. She's doing her best to try to...

Wait, wait, wait. We have a... What about crime? More police officers choosing to quit than ever before in Los Angeles. Similar to over in Chicago. She's regularly operating at a budget deficit. Can't even balance the balance the budget effectively. He's saying that she's picking up trash. That is the most basic, basic...

But that's what people care about, and they do care about public safety, and I think public safety is a struggle for not just her, but for other mayors across the country. And it's a lot. They're operating at a 1.4 to 1.6 billion budget deficit, and they're projected for it to be higher. They've been operating at a budget deficit under Lori Lightfoot. It's ballooned under Brandon Johnson. We don't want to talk about the fact that they spent city resources on illegal migrants and housing them, and we can't even track where the money was going as far as who it is that was benefiting from all of this money and sheltering and things like that. There's a lot of gaps and a lot of lack of accountability. But we only want to speak on... I don't even know how you can use Karen Bass as an example of what's right as a political person, as a mayor of a city, as a Black woman that is running the city into the ground. They don't even believe in voter ID, right?

They don't even believe in voter ID. What has Karen Bass done? Give me one thing that Karen Bass has done that's been good since she's been the mayor of Los Angeles. I think that if you're going to look at this when it's all said and done, the people of...

Answer the question, man. He simply asked you a question. What has she done that has been a positive thing? Answer the question. Well, I think if you look when it's all said and done, but you just said she did a good job. So, what do you mean, "if it's all said and done"? You just said she's been doing a good job. So, to say that she's been doing a good job, which means that you should have some evidence to back your claim. So, you're just doing what the Democratic party does, which is to deflect, deflect, deflect, deflect.

The city of Los Angeles definitely has some concerns about her leadership, right? That's what any mayor... I can make a case with mayors that people like him, when people don't, right? But when it, when you look at her ability to... Yeah, but LA is the second biggest city in America with what? How many people in LA? 4 million, 3 million, something like that. That's completely different.

Make a case with mayors that people like him, when people don't, right? But when it, when you look at her ability to understand with the circumstances, actually being a partner with the state, calling out the federal government, she's got to continue to deal with public safety. I agree with you on that, Stephen. And Anton... He's not answering the question. But when you look at her ability to basically get the funding that is needed and get things done, I think ultimately she's got a tough race ahead of her, but I think she's... I think she's doing what she can do. And also, I mean, with the Olympics and everything coming, she's got...

You still think she's going to get the... You still think she's going to get support financially from a lot of people out there after the wildfires fiasco out there in the Palisades and all of that? You really think that's going to happen? The wildfires was... Yes, the wildfires was another big case. But you look at her ability to be present, because one of the things that she got criticized for was not being present. So, during the wildfires, she was as present as she possibly can. And I think that you look at the funding with the cooperation with the state and the federal government, she's got to fix that.

Yeah, she's got to. What? But what you still haven't answered the question. What has she done? Give me one thing that she's done well in Los Angeles. I think she's created jobs. I think she has definitely utilized her federal research as a member of Congress to get money.

She's created jobs. How? What? Like, what is he talking about? I think she has definitely utilized her federal research as a member of Congress to get money to help with infrastructure, which has been a big concern with LA folks. And I also think that she's doing her best to try to figure out a way with micromobility and different things to reduce the congestion in the traffic. And she said publicly that the traffic and infrastructure needs in the city of Los Angeles is a top priority of hers. But she's also...

Homelessness, drugs. I'm getting there. Hold on. Then... Then you get to what she's doing around homelessness. And we like to call them unhoused, Anton, as well, because they're all citizens.

No, they're unhoused, brother. Don't see that. That's disingenuous. That's sensitive. Being a man that's compromised. Words hurt feelings. They're homeless. Y'all trying to call women "birthing persons" now. Women, the Democrats, the Democrats don't even want to call y'all women no more. They want to call y'all "birthing persons" because... well, male and female and man and woman, it depends on how you feel, man.

That's conservatism right there. They're unhoused. Diversity, equity, and inclusion talk. Unhoused people. What is the difference between unhoused and homeless? In Los Angeles, she's doing her best to find them a warm place to stay, prioritizing the women, while some unhoused men, they can't... They don't have enough shelters to shelter.

Warm place to stay? Where is it cold in LA? Cold in LA, right? You've been to LA. It does get a little cold at night. Aaron, when is the last time that you walked Skid Row? When is the last time that you walked Skid Row? I walked Skid Row about a year and a half ago. I walked... Okay, so you know... What's really happening out there? You really understand the drug problem. You understand that it's everywhere. You understand that you can't step over without stepping in some form of feces everywhere. Where are they cleaning up anything over in LA? What, what is safe in LA? I mean, look, I think that you've been to LA. I've been on Skid Row. That is an isolated area of a lot of unhoused people, right? And it's unfortunate. No. Hey, I ain't going to lie. I went to LA for a movie in December. Shout out to Tariq and She. I went to go film for Hidden Colors Six. I was nowhere near Skid Row. I'm talking about $5. You got $5? No one got $5. Get off my face. Like, I ain't going to lie, they everywhere, dude. I ain't gonna cap. I mean, they were at the hotel I was at, just walking around in the lobby, and this is a prominent hotel I was in. Like, man, they... I ain't going to lie, they be... Boy, they all over it.

I just... I just stayed right there at LA Live with Crypto. But you and I both visiting, Anton, like we're not citizens. No, I'm there regularly. And when I stay there, I'm looking at this monstrosity of graffiti that is directly across from Crypto Arena. If you walk two blocks up the street and then you take a quick Uber, you're going to see people sleeping along the freeway on the entrance ramp. It looks like... Actually, actually, Anton, actually Anton, you see that right down the block from the movie theater, which is right around the corner from Crypto.com Arena and the JW Marriott. I wasn't near either of them, and I've seen a whole bunch of homeless people, bro. I got... I mean, I couldn't even walk to the store without like three or four people either walking past him or somebody walking up to me asking me for some money.

You see that? Right into the rinse. That's right. That's right. But... I don't know how you defend this, like, honestly, because we're not... What I'm telling you... She's got challenges, right? And the difference between you and I is that I'm willing to work with her to offer solutions and not just come on these platforms and just... We need these people. All of these lifetime politicians, you need to understand from a business perspective. These are lifetime politicians. These are people that are a part of the establishment, people that are in the bullpen that get some kind of incentive. All of these people sign the same letters. Karen Bass down in Denver, Mike Johnson, when my man was over in New York, y'all former mayor, he signed the same list. The Houston mayor, before they practically ran out of money down there. And then you also had Brandon Johnson. They signed all of the same list in order to get incentivized from the federal government when Biden was in there, in order to get all these illegal immigrants. Yet, we didn't... Yet, we couldn't find no money for some reason. We found all the money for the illegal migrants, but we couldn't find any money to do infrastructure improvements.

Anton finally cooking. He cooking right now. I ain't going to lie. Anton cooking right now with this point. Make sure that the recent... Infrastructure is not where I was going next. Come on, guys. Let me move this along. Let me move this along. Let me move this along. Let me ask you this question. Migrants, immigration, what kind of effect do you believe that that has had on the African-American community in this country? Darren, I'll ask you first.

Black Americans, you know, growing up in Georgia, um, there was always a concern that when you had immigrants who come into Georgia and other places, that we wanted to be able to have access to those jobs, right? And there's always been an emphasis that had to be placed on, like, if we have true American citizens who are here in this country who are qualified and want to work, let's figure out a way to put them to work. Now, what has happened in this country over the last few decades, even before that, we have had a migration...

Bro, he does this thing. This is what politicians do. He's so compromised. He does this thing that all of these politicians do, which is just to deflect and not answer the question. It's like, you don't need to give a book. You don't have to go through this, this soliloquy before you get into your point. Just answer the question. This is what the Democrats do whenever you ask them a direct question. They get to babbling to get you off topic. It's a debate tactic that people do when they don't have an answer to a question. They start answering and talking about other stuff that didn't have nothing to do with what you just said. Just answer the question, gosh. Answer the question.

In this country who are qualified and want to work, let's figure out a way to put them to work. Now, what has happened in this country over the last few decades, even before that, we have had a migration of illegal and undocumented immigrants here. A lot of them are people who are DACA recipients and people who have been born here. But we also have some folks who enter this country illegally and they're not trying to actually get a pathway to citizenship. And so what we see as an African-American community, Stephen A., is a confluence of, okay, when I go in this place and I look at this restaurant or I go in this particular facility, all I see back there are people who I believe are either here legally or illegally. But then I would say to a lot of the Black folks in our community, okay, well, let's make sure that if we want to do those jobs, we should apply for them. And so I do think that there's a...

Black people do apply for them. Who do you think were doing these jobs before these illegals or legals people were over here in general? Black people were doing these jobs. This is the difference though. You can pay those people less money. So it's not that Black people are not applying to jobs. You just sat up here and said at the start of the live, another argument was that ain't nobody hiring. So how are you going to say that ain't nobody hiring and that's why Black people ain't going to do jobs? But then you say, "Well, Black people should apply for jobs 'cause that's why they can't get a job." WHAT ARE YOU talking about? He was just SAYING THAT. WHY YOU NOT SAYING THAT LIKE LIKE 10 MINUTES AGO, 15 minutes ago? You was just SAYING THAT. You just said, "What? Nobody hiring now? They hiring. They just ain't applying." No, it's just the fact that Black people need to get paid for what they're owed. And these people that are coming from another country don't care. They are willing to take any crumb they can get to get access to America. Black Americans are not just owed a little crumb. We've been here since the inception of this country, and we deserve that. We deserve anything that anybody else will get because we were the foundation of America. So, no, we're not going to work a job and get paid less money or get paid under the table on some BS or not have the benefits that we we are not uh we we shouldn't have or or we should have. I'm sorry. Or work a job where we're getting disrespected. See them immigrants, they don't mind coming over here and getting talked to and disrespected and treated any type of way 'cause they just want a job. We put too much work in historically for us to not get treated that way. So what you're not going to do is sit up here and say that whatever his name is. You goofy. Let's keep going though.

A sentiment amongst the African-American community, particularly older people, that feel that way. But I would tell you that a lot of these jobs African-Americans are willing to do, and they are applying for them. But you also have people who are here legally who have come to this country because not all immigrants are here illegally, like them. A lot of them are not from places like these places. Yeah.

I got... Let me chime in. Let me tell you why I'm interjecting because the belief is... Yeah, of course, there, everybody that's here is not here illegally. We got that. But still, anywhere from 12 to 15 million people cross the border illegally. We all know that that was the Biden administration telling us that, you know what, there was no, there was no crisis at the border when clearly there was. I think that's a big reason why they lost the election along with identity politics. Don't get me started with that. But ultimately, what it comes down to is this, Darren. I think that you have a lot of folks out there, not just Democrats, not just Republicans, but independents like myself that look at it, and we look at the Democratic party, and we're saying Black folks make up 13.6% of the population. We're no longer even the dominant minority. And you have a Democratic party that's willing to sort of shove us to the side because they could afford to do it because they could take our vote for granted, right? So by being people who support illegal migrants coming into this country, that's a voting block that ultimately could work in your favor. You even got the, what is it? The state of California. You got people voting on illegal migrants being able to vote when you're supposed to not be able to vote unless you're an American citizen. That's the kind of stuff that we're talking about. How do you defend that as a liberal?

Let me say this as a Democrat, and I'm a moderate more so than I am a liberal. No, you're not. No, you're not. Be quiet. No, you're not. Um, okay. Let me just say this. Number one, I want to make sure that our borders are secure.

All right. No one should be entering this country, particularly if you're entering this country illegally to come over here to harm, kill, and rape people. I do not want those folks in the country. But the unfortunate thing is that a lot of those people are already here. So if they're here, I want them trying to actively seek citizenship. Okay?

Why? You don't even know what their history is back in their country. People can come over here. This is what people don't understand too. Do y'all know that the majority, even in Mexico, Mexico is the closest neighboring country to America. Obvious neighboring country to America. Do y'all know that the majority in crime in Mexico goes unreported and unsolved? I did a breakdown on the Ashley Gonzalez video, but I didn't post it on YouTube because it would have been too, too hot for YouTubers. I was speaking that truth. Do y'all know that the overwhelming majority of the people that come from these immigrant countries, these third-world countries, but specifically a country like Mexico, like 90% of the crime either goes unreported or unresolved? Do you know what that means? That means when you have millions and millions and millions of people, whether they be legal or illegal, come over to America, you don't know what their criminal history is. They could have unalived somebody. They could have raped somebody. I'm going to use these words 'cause, you know, YouTubers are sensitive. They could have unalived somebody. RA3P somebody, have had connection to the cartel. You don't know what their history is. You don't know what they're doing. So, let's not have this mentality, "Well, let's just let them come over here and get access." No, they're here legally. They should be sent back home. And before you bring anybody over here, you should do a deep dive into who they are. So, even though they may be a part of the higher percentage of their their their their community financially, at the end of the day, you still don't know what their history is. You can... I can only imagine the amount of people that's in America right now that have done heinous crimes against people, just completely, just like I'm talking about, to biblical, biblical proportions, then done crazy stuff to people. You know how crazy the cartel is doing crazy stuff to people, but then they come over to America 'cause either they want to run from the fact that 'cause you'll get more street justice than you will over there than you will from the actual justice system over there 'cause it's all corrupt due to the cartel. So the cartel will probably hold you accountable before the actual police will over there. But, um, I can just imagine all of those people that have done whatever they've done coming over here to America. Why give them access to do anything over here? They should be sent back home. And again, that affects Black Americans because they don't do nothing but get stuffed and pushed into Black American communities. They don't do nothing but get stuffed into us, and we got to take on their BS behavior. We don't want to do that. We got way too much stuff to fix over here with our own community, which is why this conversation is being had. So to just speak from this perspective of how you talking, this is what most Democratic politicians do. So if anybody at this point, I mean, if you really care about the Black community, I'm going to assume you anti-Black if you a Democrat. You could be anti-Black and be a Republican, too. I don't give a damn about evil. But if you're just this staunch hard Democrat, you, to me, you, you, you are just anti-Black to the fullest extent. You're anti-Black. I mean, it's crazy, dude. Let's keep going, man. And damn ain't no cuss word. I said damn. Damn is not considered a cuss word. Don't get me on that one. I said damn. I ain't say nothing else. Let's keep going.

If they're not willing to do that and they're over here committing crimes, we need to send them back. I'm saying that as a Democrat, Stephen A. However, we do have a lot of undocumented immigrants here.

Illegal, being illegal is committing a crime. You idiot. Do you not understand that? That is literally an illegal immigrant. Being illegal is committing a crime. Coming over to America with no paperwork, not legally, is committing a crime. So it doesn't matter what level of the crime it is, you're a criminal. You should be sent back home regardless.

I'm saying that as a Democrat, Stephen A. However, we do have a lot of undocumented immigrants here who are willing to work. I believe that if they're willing to work, they're not committing crimes. They want to be productive citizens.

THEY NEED TO GO WORK BACK HOME. THAT'S WHY THEIR HOMELAND IS IN SHAMBLES. Maybe they should go work back home. They ain't got to work over here.

Going to pay taxes. Let's figure out a way to get them a work permit. Whatever state process you need to go, let's make sure they actually are documented and we know where they're working. If they're going to be productive citizens to our environment and to our communities, and particularly in our agriculture...

If they're so productive, they can be productive back home. Shout out to Afronet with the $20 donation on Cash App. Much love to you. I appreciate you. Thank you for the $20 donation on Cash App. Community. Then I think that we need to give those folks a pathway to get the proper permit to make sure that they're here. Lastly, I'll say this is that there are a lot of people who leave this country and they say, "Okay, you know what? I'm here legally. I'm going to go back to my country and then it takes them forever to try to come back." A lot of folks actually want to leave and come back in the right way. And that's something that I think there's a spirit of bipartisanship in Congress where folks can figure out that those who are here and got sent back or decided to go back where they were here temporarily in a work permit or school, if they want to come back into this country, let's try to minimize the time they need to come back.

And if I go and I rob somebody and I get away with it, and then I go and start a business with the money that I robbed somebody with, is that justified? If I go and I sell drugs...

That would be the American power structure. Anti-Daniels. I'm not disagreeing with you, but the same American power structure that you believe systematic racism doesn't operate, that would literally be the way that the American power structure was built. Funny how, you know, it applies when it comes to that, but it don't apply when it comes to Black Americans. Let's keep going. With the money that I rob somebody with, is that justified? If I go and I sell drugs inside of my community and then I use that drug money in order to build a business around it, is that justified? Can I... Can I do the wrong thing on the outset of what I purposed to do, and then I can justify a pathway to doing the right thing with the support of our federal government and our Democrats? Does that make it right? That's what y'all Republicans... That's what y'all say will happen in the Civil War. We fought for you guys to not be slaves anymore. But why were we slaves in the first place? And you guys actually didn't fight. When they use that argument, make sure you understand. They didn't fight. White men in that time, they weren't fighting. Maybe two of them, but they weren't fighting for Black people to be free. They were fighting so they didn't have to be controlled by another system. They weren't fighting for Black people to be free. That was just something that the power structure put in at that time. Abraham Lincoln put that in. So, hey, Blacks, you guys will get freedom if you fight in our war because we're losing. That's what actually happened. But it's funny how the logic, they understand the logic when it comes to this, but when it comes to other stuff, it's like, "Now, what racism? What? What? What? What were you talking about?" Now, they don't know nothing. But let's keep going though.

No, the very foundation... And I would... Exactly. That's literally the argument for reparations. Thank you, Empress. Let's keep going though. Expect for you to understand this, especially with the de facto chief, Barack Obama, because Barack deported way more people than Trump ever could. And I would, I would expect for you to truly understand that, especially with the Supreme Court taking up birthright citizenship, which should not be afforded to any migrant.

Agreed. Agreed. I... I really didn't do a video on birthright citizenship because, I mean, what's the point, man? I was disappointed when I seen that, man. I was disappointed that they, that they, that they basically, they're going to keep it or they're not going to do anything to change it. I was disappointed, but it is what it is, man. Anybody... Because it should be abolished. It was it was for the descendants of slaves, for people that did not ask to come here. It should be abolished. It was it was for the descendants of slaves, for people that did not ask to come here, who had children here or was forced to work here, who had lineage here. And so now birthright citizenship is being taken advantage of by illegal migrants that are coming over here, getting dual citizenship. Chinese people come over here pregnant, they have children over here. And a lot of times they're also leaning into that in order to justify that they need a green card or that they should become a citizen or have a pathway to citizenship. You cannot come over here and do things the wrong way because not only is it messing up what we have going on over here as far as how we should be allocating resources to the judges and the immigration process, it actually is disrespectful to the people that did it the right way. That's why you had so many migrants, people that are legal citizens in the United States, not supporting um um illegal migrants having that pathway to citizenship because they did do it the right way and they believe in American values and principles and they go about really taking care of our, taking care of us, paying their taxes, and really being model citizens in the United States of America. No, you can't do that.

Got you. But what do you say, Anton, to people that would bring up on the left? They'd bring up Trump and the fact that while he's dogged about his position when it comes to migrants of Hispanic descent or whatever, you've got white South Africans that are coming over here and supposedly he's facilitating a path for them to come over here as well, and he's not as dogged in his approach towards them as he is towards people who happen to be of Hispanic descent. What would you say to that?

I... I don't support, and I'm objective across the board. I believe that everybody has to... No, you're not. I don't support, and I'm... Maybe in this situation, but not in other situations. Objective across the board. I believe that everybody has to come over here the right way. I do think that there are situations and the Biden administration uses broadly. There are situations where people are being, you know, genocided and so on and so forth that are happening in other countries. I'm not talking about just white South Africans. I'm talking about in general. Um, but if we're not going to, and if we're going to deport people back to Haiti, then we shouldn't give any kind of leeway to white South Africans either.

Yeah. Who cares if they're getting genocided? Nobody cared about Black Americans. We were getting genocided over here. So, who cares if we're getting genocided? Because at the end of the day, anybody that comes from a country where they become a refugee or they're getting genocided, guess who still has to pay taxes for them to be over here? Us. So, I don't care about none of that. I don't care about that genocide. I'm not going to wish no harm on no people or death on people. But who cares? That ain't got nothing to do with us. Nobody was there for us when we were getting genocided. And none of these countries gave us a safe haven. So, I don't care about none of that. I don't want to hear it. Genocide. I... Hey, that's tough that they're going through that. I wish those people the best, but America should not be the safe haven for that. They don't nobody care about that. Kiss my ass. So, I'm objective and thinking that there should be very much an even playing field across the board as far as what a pathway to citizenship is supposed to look like. And I do not support illegal migrants coming into the United States of America and then gaining a pathway to citizenship. I think that that has happened for far too long. And...

And the white South Africans aren't getting genocided. That is a propaganda machine that's being pushed. If anything, it's the Black South Africans. First of all, South Africa was colonized. So it's like, why nobody talk about the genocide the South Africans went through? So if anything, if it was happening, which it's not, you reap what you sow if we're going to keep it 100. But if anything, unfortunately, the South Africans are genociding each other. The quote-unquote Black South Africans are the colors, they call themselves colored, are genociding, honestly. But they're not even getting genocided. But even if the white uh type Africans were, this is this is this is this is your unfortunately ancestors. This is you reap what you sow. And I'm not for it. I'm not saying that they should. I'm just saying like, hey, it is what it is.

When the Biden administration sued Texas to keep open the borders while at the same time advocating for money and national security and also at our borders, which also fed into what we were talking about in Taiwan and Ukraine, and they tried to package all of that into one bill that actually sold you how corrupt our Democrats are inside of our political system. Darren, before I got a couple of questions before I let you both get on out of here and thank y'all both for y'all time. I really, really appreciate it. Um, I want to lean back to what Anton had alluded to earlier when he talked about the shootings in Chicago. 39 shot, six fatally. Um, obviously crime is a huge issue. That's something that all of us pay attention to. He talked about...

That in there. That's right. On Juneteenth. Can't forget that. Um, he talked about, you know, the mayor in Chicago, he talked about what's been happening in the streets of Chicago for quite a long time and how nothing has been done about it. I think we've seen people. I remember back in the day when Spike Lee spoke out against Obama because Obama wasn't addressing it nearly enough, and he's from that area and he was the president of the United States and felt that more should have been done to bring attention to the plight of things in the city of Chicago. When you listen to a guy like Anton and other conservatives speak about personal responsibility, speak about addressing these issues, speaking about our willingness as a community to speak up about this just as vehemently as we've been speaking up when this guy Carmelo Anthony was convicted of first-degree murder in Texas a little less than two weeks ago. What do you say to that when those positions are brought to your attention, Darren, in terms of what liberals or what folks on the left could be doing to better address these situations?

First and foremost, on the Democratic side, we got to start with this. Number one, we support the Second Amendment. But more importantly, Stephen A., we support responsible... Since when? Since when do Democrats support the Second Amendment? Since when y'all care about people having guns and want people to be pro-gun? Since when? Number one, we support the Second Amendment, but more importantly, Stephen A., we support responsible gun ownership. And what does that look like? Right. We have nothing against people who want to be gun owners. Now, in certain states, it's an open carry state. Everyone owns a gun.

At FBI Empress chatted $10. I wouldn't have been able to watch this straight through. Face exhaling emoji. So much babble. Thank you for all your work. Praying gesture emoji. I love you, Empress. I appreciate you, love. Thank you for the donation.

But we also want to make sure that you lock the guns up and you have the proper storage. Now, let's get into some of the things that are leading to this crime that we're seeing in places like Chicago and others. You have a gang problem, and a lot of these initiations for these gangs are people that young folks who don't have jobs, that don't have a good parental...

Ah, now we buffering. YouTube don't like when you start speaking facts. They want to make your video buffer and all that. Hold on. Let me go back. See if it'll fix. Now all of a sudden we buffering. Oh boy.

Like Chicago and others. You have a gang problem. And a lot of these initiations for these gangs are people that young folks who don't have jobs that don't have a good parental sort of um um environment around them. And unfortunately, these gang members are getting them very early and initiating them into these gangs. The other thing that's happening is that you have a big issue with people who don't deescalate situations anymore. Hypothetically, let's say Anton and I, we were in LA, right? Because he spends a lot of time there. We get into a debate, we get into an argument. Back in the day, Stephen A., okay, maybe we would punch each other. Maybe we'd get in a fight and maybe even, you know, like, you know, somebody break.

But now what happens, Stephen A., is that I got to assume that Anton may actually have a gun. He got to assume that I have a gun. And not only could he have a gun, he may actually use it. So what we're seeing with our crime stats is that people in America, it's not just a Black issue, it's everybody, right? That they're deescalating situations. No more. We're just fighting. They're actually using guns to shoot people. The other thing I would say is this: the issue around crime. We got to give people more access to jobs. Right. I believe that.

Oh boy. Okay. I... Okay. So, okay. First of all, um, most people in the gang are not in a gang because of an initiation. This isn't The Warriors. Like, this isn't the 1970s. Most people that are in gangs in any major city are in gangs due to where they from and who they around. For the most part, people, first of all, everybody that's in a gang is not operating in criminality on a level, and that's the only thing. Most of the people that commit crimes in these communities are from blocks where they from. That's what you see more often. You more see the crime from people that's from where they from. So you from over here, they from over there, or you... It's more so what it is. And it's not even necessarily like you from over there, we got a beef. It's more so interpersonal violence when it comes to relationships. Oh, you got into it with my cousin. My cousin said he don't rock with you because this happened, so we got to get like that. That's more so what happens. Not it's a gang, so go ahead and put this gang, join the gang, like, no, like that's not happening in real time. Not as not like how he trying to make it seem. This is 2026, bro. These young kids, this I promise you nowadays, the hierarchy of gang culture and all that is not what it was 30, 40, 50, 20, 30, 40 years ago. It's not. It's more so, oh, you from over there, you know this person, that's your cousin, so you you cool 'cause that's your cousin. You from over here, that's your cousin, or he know you, you even...

Though you're not from over here, he knows you all. You can come rock with us. That's more so what it is, more than anything. It's not a, "Come on, man, come on, dude." He just, but he just talking, man. He, I don't know. He just, the, the issue around crime. We got.

Why not talking about jobs that like, give people more access to jobs? Again, more, most, most black Americans have a job, though. What are you talking about, dude? That's right. I believe that people right now are poor. They're hurting. They're hungry. Gas prices are out of control. And so they are using these guns and this violence to shoot people. And a lot of them are like turf wars. A lot of these are disagreements about family, disagreements about a partner or a woman or a man. And we're not able to deescalate that anymore.

And then he just said a turf war. This is not The Warriors. What do you think this is? Like, this is not The Warriors. He thinks this is like the 1970s and it's The Warriors. It's not a turf war. What do you mean a turf war? That's what white people say when they talk about like a turf. Hey, said a turf war, man. Shut up, man. You don't even know what you're talking about, dude. Ain't it like, man, now the interpersonal relationships and all that? Yeah. Sure. Yeah. But a turf war. What are you talking about, man? This is not 1975, 1980. Dude, shut up. A partner or a woman or a man. And we're not able to deescalate that anymore.

And then the last thing I would say is this is that we got to deal with the issue around too many guns on the street. Again, believe in the Second Amendment. Be responsible gun ownership. The access to guns and when evil people, people who are mentally ill or people who are getting access to these guns to actually inflict pain and murder people, that in that in lies the problem. And many, and this also is our judicial system, right?

Well, y'all don't want to lock them up. Y'all want to keep everybody in and out of jail. Y'all like, no, y'all not tough on crime. Justice system. A lot of these people are reoccurring folks. These are like revolving doors. These are repeat offenders. Exactly, Char. Meanwhile, DMs have been going soft, literally, like, what do you, come on, man. System? A lot of these people are reoccurring folks. These are like revolving doors. These are repeat offenders.

And which would prove my point. Goofball. Then they, they getting, they're getting access to these guns illegally. They're breaking their cars. And so I think our police departments are in a very, very tough situation right now because we also need more community policing. We need more technology to make sure that we can actually know where these guns are coming from. And when you have a murder, you have a case, you can actually quickly access cameras and not.

Well, they do know where the guns is coming from, but the, the, the, the justice system, so-called justice, the justice system and crime makes too much money. Like, you know how much these wardens and police officers and, well, police officers don't make that much money, but like jails make so much money. So, I mean, they don't, they know where the stuff is coming from. They just don't care. I mean, the CIA planted guns and drugs in the community. They make money from that. They make money from stuff that they set in stone 50 years ago, 40 years ago. Come on, man. Somebody said, "Wait, defund the police is a Democratic policy. The police force need to be completely flipped upside down 'cause it's all the way messed up." Excuse me. And it's definitely racist, but, uh, for sure, especially when it comes to arrest and things like that. But I mean, you got to be tough. Again, if I was a dictator, people will be beheaded publicly. That's just me.

Let me be clear. Not actually praying on people, right? But getting cameras set up in the right places where we can actually solve those crimes. So, this is a big issue that's not just a Democratic thing.

Well, cameras is more so focused on getting people for speeding and getting people for not using a blinker 100 yards before a stop sign, more than they focused on people actually committing real crime and real stuff that's going on out here. So.

I think it's an American problem right now.

That's crazy.

Well, it's an American problem. No doubt about it. But it's definitely partially a black problem. We can't escape that. And Antoine, I'll ask the same question basically for you to answer, but I'll put it this way. Many predominantly black neighborhoods and cities like Atlanta and Chicago still struggle with violence, failing schools, poverty despite decades of political promises. So what's the biggest reason those problems persist in your estimation? And what are we going to be able to do about it? Particularly considering what you just heard Darren say.

So funny because if you look at the, the track record of the Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, he literally ran on the premise of defunding the police. He has completely lost control of his police department. I am in a group chat with multiple police officers in Chicago and they don't trust his leadership. He has no support for them. He removed Shot Spotter that then would help the police officers respond more effectively to crimes that happen inside of these communities. They are juking the stats. Yes, they are. They are juking the stats and they are, they're reducing how they're, they're reallocating how they're classifying crime. A lot of these crimes actually go unreported. These are not.

Well, that can go both ways, Anton. You can make the stats look less of a problem or you can make the stats look more of a problem. So if you believe it happens on one side, there's no way you don't think it's possible. It's, it's impossible for it to happen on the other side, too.

Issues of people that are having some kind of domestic dispute and then it spirals out of control. These are people that are targeting other people, carjackings, taking them to ATMs and having them remove money, telling them to give you your phone and so they can get your password. These are drive-bys. When 12 people was shot over Juneteenth, right, this past weekend over in Chicago. That was a drive-by and they had over 113 shell casings on the ground. They are demonizing the police. They don't support it. They don't want to speak on that. They don't want to be accountable for the fact that they advocated for for for for the police or against the police. They want to say more community policing. That doesn't work. They implemented the safety act over in Illinois. That didn't work. They trying to put in the no bail system. That doesn't work. They're so busy trying to pander for votes instead of solving for the problem by being tough on crime and holding these people accountable. And that's why you also see these teen takeovers. It is predominantly from black children, teen takeovers. And I'm not talking about takeover as far as like car meets and stuff, but teen takeover.

That's still a teen takeover, Anton. The reason why you don't want to justify that as a teen takeover is because the majority of the people who are doing teen takeovers with the car meets and literally taking over the whole street and doing spinner and and and doing donuts and stuff are Latin kids or Latino kids, Mexicans and kids from Latin descent and whites. It's not majority black. So, it's funny how the team takeover replies when it comes to a bunch of black kids going to some mall and running around, which should be called out, which is BS and that's a product of the bad parenting that goes on sometimes. But it's funny how you're not talking about the teen takeovers when it comes to that, but you only want to talk about this. So, I mean, both of those things have to be called out. That's not just us. But, I mean, I get it. He's still correct. There are some team takeovers where it's just black kids, but teen takeover, teen takeovers is not exclusive to black kids. But, let's keep going.

Are happening across the United States of America. They're woefully inadequate. They don't have the technology. They can't follow them on social media to be able to preventively preventatively stop. And then they don't even have the tools to hold the parents or them accountable once they find out that something has happened. And now our police departments are reactive. They're not proactive. They can't solve the problems. And they don't have the support of our politicians. And that's why you see what's happening inside of our community. Nobody is even scared of the police. They'll approach the police. I see multiple videos all the time of people talking to the police disrespectful because they don't have any kind of regard for him because.

Well, we have freedom of speech. So, as long as you don't make a threat to the police or make an admission to a crime, then you can talk to the police any type of way you want to because we have freedom of speech. So, it sounds like you have an issue with that amendment. Anton, come on, man.

We've created this culture.

And I'm not, I'm not saying people should go up to the police and do that. I'm not saying they should, but that's a part of a right that we have in America.

Where now [ __ ] are bad based off of the uniform. And.

You can't say that it's okay for Chad the Builder walking around and calling people the N-word. And if we respond, that's the problem. But it's okay. But it's not okay for uh people to record the police and call the police a a b-word and then act like, "Hey, you're supposed to respect people." Like, come on, man.

Because we've created this culture where now cops are bad based off of the uniform and the majority of those same cops are actually from those neighborhoods that they're policing.

Aaron, I'm going to end this interview by asking you both this last question and I'll start with you. Imagine we're having the same conversation in 2040, about 14 years from now. What would have to happen between now and then for black Americans to be undeniably better off?

I'll start there.

Yeah, we got to deal with the root cause, Stephen A. And this is where I think Anton and I agree. We got to make sure that the black family structure is in place, but we can't sit up here and kid ourselves. Not every black child that's born in this country is going to have the ability to be born in certain areas where they're going to be able to thrive. Not all black kids are going to be born in a two-parent household. I was not born in a two-parent household. And so that parent, that that man or woman, that husband or wife, that father or mother is got to basically be able to do what they can to make sure you deal with the root cause of the issue. And that is is that we got to deal with the issue of poverty and access to a quality education.

I agree with that. Uh, the number one thing that we can fix on a local level is, um, black men and women, um, being together and raising their children together. I will say that with the man being the head and the woman following suit and the children being up under that.

And that's why I'm a huge proponent of making sure that public schools are fully supported. Then you got to get into the ability to teach people how that if you're going to own a gun, you got to be a responsible gun owner. I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe that people should have guns to protect themselves. There's a lot of folks who get guns to hunt. Then the third thing that we got to do, we got to deal with this issue around hate and mental illness. And I truly believe that if we're having this conversation 20 plus years from now, Stephen A, the issue around mental illness and anxiety, depression, these are all things that we got to deal with. But we got to limit the ability for people to get access legally and illegally to guns that are with the true intent to go out here and actually kill people. We got to reduce that.

Yeah. All that is just the younger generation just complaining and crying that life is hard 'cause they sit around all day in the house scrolling doom scrolling on iPads. That be these iPad kids. These little kids don't be depressed and all that. It be these parents giving they giving they butt letting them play the game all day. Let them doom scrolling these iPads and sitting there let the YouTube play with Coco Melon and sit there for four hours and no. That's why the little kid is depressed and weird and he don't know nobody. He ain't got no friends and he's an outcast and he going through all this stuff 'cause they don't play outside. They don't have no physical activity. That's why he fat and he 11 and he morbidly obese because the parents ain't doing their dang on job. So all that is just this younger generation don't want to take accountability for nothing and life's hard and I got to work. Yeah, you got to work. Yeah. And again, and that also, all that mental, I'm not saying people don't have mental health, but you can miss me. All that is just described soft internet little kid generation that's coming up now that's always crying and complaining about everything 'cause their fathers ain't around to go in their chest. That's the issue that's going on now. But let's keep going.

And the food that these little kids be eating too. Y'all be feeding these kids this food that mess with their psyche and mess with their mental. And that's why these little kids messed up 'cause all them all these Red 40s and Hot Cheetos and Wing Stop and pizza and burgers and McDonald's and all that. And that's why the little kid messed up.

Actually kill people. We got to reduce that.

Antoine, final say for you, Ben.

Um, I think that we need to completely divest ourselves against the Democratic party and we need to get back to our original conservative values and roots, which the foundation of that is family, God, and then some sort of morality behind holding ourselves accountable. We need to get to snitching and telling because let's be clear, we all know who the shooters are. We all know who the drug dealers are. We all know who the jack boys are and we all know who the people are that are that are committing the majority of the crimes inside of our neighborhoods. We have a.

I don't know who we is. I don't know nothing about nothing. And I ain't got that ain't got nothing to do with because of I don't, I don't, I don't know nothing about none of that. I don't know what you're talking about. You mean you know, I don't know what you're talking. I ain't got nothing. I don't know nobody that done did nothing.

Cultural problem. And not only do we have a cultural problem, we have a cult following for the Democratic Party. And somehow.

But I agree with most of what he's saying though, for sure.

At least in this part.

They have done a a Jedi mind trick on us.

He, he speaking French. I don't know nothing. I'm not saying that just to say because they're no snitches. I'm genuinely made. I don't know nothing. Somehow someway they have done a a Jedi mind trick on us that we need to vote and we need to support people based off of identity because it's so funny. I could look at this guy, right? Not, not you. I'm just speaking of some hypothetical guy and we'll say, "I'mma support him because he's black."

We don't do a character check. We don't find out if he's married. We don't find out if he beats his wife. We don't find out if he's actually a decent person, if he's a fraud. In so many instances, we don't force people to pull the receipts, which then we then make a fool of ourselves and instead of us actually taking accountability, we say, "Well, you know what? Well, look at this person and they're doing well. Well, look at the good that they did." But we have lost our way. We are a godless people. We have allowed for women to lead our households. We allow for people to say we want partners instead of we want husbands. And we do not have any kind of backbone on saying the uncomfortable things so that we.

Partner is a homosexual term. He right about that too. Stop calling your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband partner. Partner is a homosexual term.

And we do not have any kind of backbone on saying the uncomfortable things so that we can get to the solution. And nobody is willing to actually be honest with ourselves. We have lost our way completely. We have walked away from God. We have walked away from our our conservative values. and we've walked away from things that's right as far as promoting the best for us and culture in order to subsidize our lifestyle by saying that well at least we are part of the goal along get alalong gang. I'm not for it. I actually don't. I think we should tear the whole system down. And to answer your original question, in 2040 we will be here talking about this and having the same conversation and we will be worse off than we ever have been unless we do those things.

Yeah, you're you're probably right about that. Unless we do something about it. Let me close by saying this to both of y'all. First of all, thank y'all both for taking time out of your busy schedules for being on this on this call. And I'm going to put myself on front street. Obviously, I've been incredibly blessed and fortunate to be as successful as I am. All right? And I'm a dad and I'm in a very, very good position to be able to provide for and take care of my family. Not just my immediate family, but my extended family. I say all of that to say this. I happen to know and agree with both of y'all wholeheartedly. As proud as I am as a dad, one of the greatest injustices that I've ever committed is the fact that I had two children out of wedlock, which is the only time in my entire life that my mother was disappointed in me. That's the only thing that ever disappointed her about me. I've been left back. You know what I'm saying? She didn't, I, I believe in you. You know, I, I believe in you and all that stuff. But when I did that, she was so disgusted. And I happen to know that y'all are both right about that. When you talk about the structure of the family and being together and building from that premise, that's what it's all about. And to do otherwise just makes the road a hell of a lot harder. And I'm saying that as a brother that's pretty well off at this particular moment in time. So, I appreciate what both of y'all had to say. Can't have a conversation and not be authentic on my side of the fence. There's just no way around it. Y'all are both right when y'all bring that up. I appreciate it. And I also want to share with the audience, this will not be edited. Every conversation that we had here, every word. Anton, I saw you giving me props so that when you came on my show, it's the truth. I'm not editing anything out. I really, really appreciate y'all both and y'all know y'all are both welcome back on the show anytime. Thank y'all from the bottom of my heart.

I appreciate Aaron and he's a really good guy also. I just wanted to say that I respect your work. I actually did a lot of research and understand who you are. You are a very, very intelligent brother and I have a lot of regard and a lot of respect for you. Yes. Just wanted to let you know.

I'm very happy to have met you. Seriously. Yeah. Same thing. Stephen A and it was been, it's been an honor to bait you and thank you Stephen A for this opportunity, man. I really appreciate it.

I appreciate both of y'all. Y'all take it easy. All right.

Cool. All right. All right, y'all. That's going to be the end of the show today. That's going to be the end of the live. I appreciate y'all coming through.