EXCERPT:
SMITH: "I wanted to touch om something that I made news about just a few days ago. Let me say this, ladies and gentlemen:
Accountability is where everything needs to begin in this world. There's something I say quite often. I certainly never hesitate to hold folks accountable when mistakes are mishaps occur, so I'm certainly not about to run from it myself. I’m fully aware that I’ve been in the news over the last few days, paraded all over social media, as well, after comments I made during my appearance on Fox News’ 'Hannity' last week with the one and only Sean Hannity himself. And I’m fully aware of the outcry that has ensued because of it. A lot of folks in black America seem pretty pissed at me right now, from friends and loved ones, to colleagues, contemporaries, and dare I say, even the NAACP itself. Quite a few folks were put off, if not flat out offended after my words were interpreted as associating support for Trump from the black community with all the legal issues he’s facing. For that, I sincerely apologize. To be clear, my words were misconstrued. I’m standing right here for the record that my words were taken out of context, misrepresenting and depicting me in a way I found every bit as insulting and disrespectful as folks in black America evidently felt about what they thought I said.”