In a week marked by heated rhetoric and finger-pointing over the origins and handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith took to his podcast to mount a spirited defense of former President Donald Trump, pushing back against narratives that lay the blame for the ongoing conflict at Trump’s feet. Instead, Smith redirected scrutiny toward past Democratic administrations, arguing that a series of pivotal decisions by Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton set the stage for the current crisis in Eastern Europe.
Smith’s comments, delivered on August 19 and 20, 2025, on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," came as President Trump himself was engaged in high-profile meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seeking a resolution to the war that has ravaged Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. According to Fox News, Smith’s remarks were both passionate and pointed, as he called for a reassessment of responsibility and the honoring of longstanding commitments to Ukraine.
“We ain’t going to act like he caused this now,” Smith declared, referring to Trump. “It was Democrats in office. It was Biden in office when the full-fledged war against Ukraine took place, courtesy of Russia’s instigation, no matter what they try to say to Trump. It was Russia that invaded Crimea, and that was under the Obama administration.”
Smith’s argument traced the origins of Ukraine’s vulnerability back to the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton brokered a deal that led Ukraine to relinquish its nuclear arsenal—then the third largest in the world—in exchange for security assurances from the United States and other Western powers. This, Smith contended, left Ukraine dependent on American support and exposed to future threats. “It was Clinton in office when you made a deal that disarmed the Ukraine and therefore weakened them, leaving them dependent on the United States. And now here they are having to beg for support that they’re owed because of what we promised them as a nation,” Smith said, as reported by Fox News.
He didn’t stop there. Smith pointed to the Obama administration’s handling of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 as a critical moment when, in his view, American resolve faltered. The Obama White House, with Biden as vice president, responded with sanctions and diplomatic measures, including expelling Russia from the G-8, but stopped short of more forceful intervention. Smith echoed criticism from that era, noting that even within the Obama administration, there were voices—Biden’s among them—who believed the U.S. should have done more to deter Russian aggression.
“The response at the time was inadequate,” Smith argued, according to ESPN. “Even key figures like Biden, who was vice president then, believed more should have been done.” This, he said, emboldened Russia and contributed to the conditions that ultimately led to the 2022 invasion and the ongoing war.
Smith’s comments came against the backdrop of Trump’s own controversial statements on the conflict. In a "Fox & Friends" interview on August 20, Trump blamed Ukraine for provoking Russia, suggesting that Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and its resistance to Russian pressure were unwise. “It can’t be NATO because that’s just not something that would ever ever happen. He couldn’t. They couldn’t do that. If you were Russia, who would want to have your enemy, your opponent, sitting on your line? You don’t do that,” Trump said, as reported by Raw Story. He went further, suggesting that Ukraine would have to give up land to Russia to end the conflict and accused Ukraine of attacking Russia, a claim widely criticized by political commentators and foreign policy experts.
“For the umpteenth time, Trump blames Ukraine for starting the war. Trump can never be trusted. He works for Putin,” tweeted former GOP congressman Joe Walsh, reflecting the anger and disbelief among many critics. Communications expert Eric Koch added, “Really crystallizes Trump’s world view that bigger nations can bully smaller ones just because they can.”
Despite his criticisms of Democratic administrations, Smith made clear that he sees Ukraine as the victim, not the villain, in this conflict. “We promised them this. You owe it to the Ukraine, Ukrainians. You absolutely do!” he said, stressing the moral and strategic obligation for the U.S. to stand by its commitments. “I’m not saying I like it. I’m not saying I like spending billions of our taxpayer dollars to them. That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, promises made are supposed to be promises kept. You promised them, America!”
Smith’s insistence on upholding American promises to Ukraine, even as he questioned the wisdom of past foreign policy decisions, highlights the complex and often contradictory nature of the current debate in Washington and beyond. On one hand, there is growing fatigue among some segments of the American public and political establishment over the scale of U.S. financial and military support for Ukraine. On the other, there remains a broad consensus—at least among foreign policy professionals—that failing to support Ukraine would undermine American credibility and embolden authoritarian regimes worldwide.
As the war drags on, with no clear end in sight, the search for accountability has become increasingly politicized. Trump’s critics accuse him of undermining Ukraine and emboldening Russia through his rhetoric and past actions, while his defenders, like Smith, argue that the seeds of the crisis were sown long before Trump took office. The debate has spilled over into the 2028 presidential race, with Smith himself rumored to be a possible Democratic contender, adding another layer of intrigue to the unfolding drama.
Yet, for all the partisan wrangling, the facts on the ground remain stark. Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale assault on Ukraine in 2022 have left thousands dead and millions displaced. Ukraine’s hopes for security and sovereignty now rest on the willingness of the United States and its allies to honor their commitments—a point Smith returned to repeatedly in his remarks.
“Promises made are supposed to be promises kept,” Smith said, summing up the dilemma facing American policymakers. “You promised them, America!”
As the world watches the latest round of diplomacy and debate, the fate of Ukraine—and the credibility of U.S. foreign policy—hangs in the balance. The decisions made in Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv in the coming months will shape the future of Europe for years to come.
