Stephen A. Smith defends Donald Trump and points to Joe Biden Obama and Bill Clinton for Russia Ukraine conflict (Image via Getty)

On Monday, August 19, 2025, on his podcast, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said that Donald Trump did not start the Russia-Ukraine war. He said it’s wrong to blame Mr. Trump. He pointed out that the war started while Joe Biden was president, and that earlier actions by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton made things worse. He spoke clearly and strongly. This is the most important news right up front.

Stephen A. Smith made these remarks on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast on Monday, August 19, 2025, defending Donald Trump from claims that he caused the war.He said, “We ain’t gonna act like he caused this now. It’s Democrats in office” and added, “It was Biden in office when a full-fledged war against Ukraine took place, courtesy of Russia’s instigation, no matter what they try to say to Trump.”He also blamed Barack Obama, saying Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 during the Obama administration, and that helped fuel the current war. Then he mentioned Bill Clinton, noting that in 1994, under President Clinton, Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons and became dependent on the United States.Stephen A. Smith stressed that promises should be kept. He said, even if people don’t like spending money to defend Ukraine, “promises made are supposed to be promises kept. We promised them this! … You owe it to the Ukraine, Ukrainians.”Also Read: Antonio Brown Drops Explosive Epstein Remark On Donald Trump And Vladimir Putin At Alaska Pursuing Peace Summit

The ESPN host then brought up Bill Clinton’s role in the 1990s. In 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons under an agreement that President Clinton supported. Ukraine did this in exchange for promises of security. Smith argued that this left Ukraine weaker and too dependent on help from other nations. He said that today’s war shows the danger of that deal, because now Ukraine must rely heavily on outside support. “It was Clinton in office when you made a deal that disarmed Ukraine, and therefore weakened them, leaving them dependent on the United States,” he said.Stephen A. Smith added that even though he does not like the idea of U.S. taxpayers paying billions of dollars for Ukraine, promises made should still be promises kept. He ended by saying that Ukraine’s sovereignty was under attack and that the people of Ukraine should not be treated as the villains in the conflict.