ESPN's Stephen A. Smith storms off debate stage after losing it over shutdown

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith dramatically interrupted a NewsNation panel's debate on the government shutdown, delivering a passionate critique of Washington's disconnect from everyday Americans' struggles — before storming off the stage.

"You know what I'm going to do?" he asked his co-guests on the panel, including Republican Jim Jordan (OH), as well as Democrats Ro Khanna (CA), and Madeleine Dean (PA). "I'm going to take a break."

He then walked off stage in the middle of the televised NewsNation town hall, held in the Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center Wednesday — returning calmer a few minutes later.

The NBA analyst became visibly upset after a member of the audience told how being an unpaid air traffic controller had forced him to also start working as a delivery driver.

“We’re looking at a president that just gave $20 billion to Argentina," Smith raged.

"We’re witnessing what I consider to be a retribution tour. And even though, to some degree, I don’t blame him because of how people went after him, still it appears to be counterproductive.

“We’re listening to this kind of stuff while a young man walked up to the microphone and said he had to leave here to go and work on DoorDash to help pay for his daughter’s tuition. Meanwhile, everybody up here gets paid, but he ain’t.”

“Somehow, some way, you’re supposed to be doing something constructive and productive enough to make sure that we don’t have that kind of deficit,” Smith told his panel. “It isn’t happening.

The NBA analyst, who has hinted at a potential 2028 presidential run himself, shocked host Chris Cuomo, who said he "would never have guessed" he'd be the one to storm off.