Rob Smith Shares Journey From Failing Ohio School to White House: Why Identity Politics Must End
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Rob Smith Shares Journey From Failing Ohio School to White House: Why Identity Politics Must End
Rob Smith opens up about growing up in Akron, Ohio, attending one of the state's most failing high schools, and his service in Iraq that shaped his perspective on America. The Army veteran and conservative commentator addresses why he embraces his identity now so future generations won't have to engage in identity politics later. Speaking to young Black conservatives, Smith challenges the narrative that certain communities must think a certain way, recounting how he built a social media following from zero to millions in just 18 months after being told he should "start as a reporter in North Dakota." His message: stop saying "I can't" and start recognizing the opportunities available in America.
Rob Smith doesn't come from privilege, private schools, or family money. He's a first-generation college student from Akron, Ohio, who attended Buchtel High School, one of the most failing schools in the state with an F rating from the Ohio Department of Education. Smith recalls sitting next to classmates who graduated barely knowing how to spell their names, let alone understanding geography or world history.
His mother intervened early in his education, pulling him from a chaotic kindergarten classroom and enrolling him in a school across town for his elementary years. But when he returned to his neighborhood for middle and high school, Smith experienced firsthand what it means to attend a failing institution. To this day, he admits embarrassment over gaps in his knowledge and continuously works to educate himself using available resources.
This background fuels Smith's passion for school choice, which he believes could win the Black vote with five simple words: "school choice for Black kids." He argues that empowering parents to choose where their children are educated stops the cycle of pumping money into failing schools that pay failing teachers to continue not educating African American youth.
Military Service and Finding Purpose
At 17, barely having graduated high school, Smith joined the United States Army. He's candid that his decision wasn't born from deep patriotism or love of country at that age. Looking at his hometown, he saw young men without options, without fulfilling work, turning to the streets and drugs. He knew that couldn't be his path.
Basic training was brutal. Smith struggled with weight and physical fitness, falling out of runs and road marches, unable to keep pace. He recalls vomiting on his drill sergeants and feeling like he couldn't accomplish anything physically. His drill sergeants, intimidating Southern men, gave him an ultimatum: go home now or get it together and start making those runs.
Smith looked his drill sergeant in the eye and said he had nowhere else to go because returning to Akron meant ending up like the people he was trying to escape. That moment changed everything. He kept getting knocked down but got up each time, gradually running longer and farther until he was passing people and earning his infantry blue cord from the United States Army.
The lesson? Life will be hard. Struggle is inevitable. But that struggle teaches you how to fight for something, not just for yourself but for everyone coming after you, so they don't have to be called names or face the same barriers for thinking freely.
Combat in Iraq and Facing Mortality
At 19, Smith deployed to Iraq, stationed in Samarra during the early invasion. Most people don't think about life and death daily, but Smith had to confront mortality more than any teenager should. The night before his first attack, while pulling guard duty, he asked a close friend if they would die the next day. He genuinely didn't know if that would be his last day on earth.
The attack went fine, no one got hurt, but Smith did see combat in Iraq. He had people fire at him more than once and saw his life flash before his eyes repeatedly. Those experiences made him think deeply about how he wanted to use the life God gave him. That drives him to use his voice today and inspires his message to others: everyone has a voice, and everyone will use it differently.
Smith met an educator at a leadership dinner who uses her voice through teaching. Others argue on Fox News or build platforms on Instagram and Twitter. The key is that no one is promised tomorrow—a lesson Smith learned young that drives him every single day.
The White House Symbolism and Media Resistance
Smith reflects on the symbolism of young Black Americans visiting the White House, their smiling faces representing a powerful message: no more bullying, no more staying silent about beliefs. The President addressed them, and that symbolism matters so much that left-controlled media does everything possible to hide it.
The media either ignores conservative Black voices, pretending they don't exist, or works overtime to discredit them and sow discord in the movement. Smith has witnessed this firsthand over the past 72 hours. He emphasizes that while people like Angela Stanton King, Isaiah Washington, Kingface, and Bryson may think differently on some issues, they're aligned on what matters and won't let anyone divide them.
Smith addresses the culture directly, noting that when someone walked past Bryson wearing a big MAGA hat and muttered "embarrassing," that's when you know you're affecting culture. When liberals look down on you or try to shame you, that's confirmation you're making an impact. Smith even wrote and performed a rap bar for the first time in his life, inspired by the moment and the movement.
Rejecting Victimhood and "I Can't"
There are two words in the English language Smith despises more than any others: "I can't." He hates hearing them and hates when someone tells him he can't do something because it motivates him to prove he will and then does. Too many messages tell people they can't because they're Black, because they attended a bad school, because of their circumstances.
Smith wants everyone to understand that nobody in the room can't do anything in this world. The biggest con happening is Black people on the left continuing to sell victimhood to the community. When people call conservative Black voices "grifters"—calling out Smith, David Harris Jr., Kingface, Isaiah Washington, and Angela Stanton King—he points out that the real grift is making upwards of $100,000 per month lecturing white people about white privilege and white supremacy while cashing capitalist checks.
People can't understand how someone who looks like Smith and "loves like him" could love America. But serving in the United States military showed him the best of what this country is and can be. The people the media demonizes as racist, rural Trump supporters didn't sound like the white guys he served beside, many of whom were conservative. He realized something was wrong with the messaging he was receiving.
Building a Platform From Zero
A year and a half before this speech, Smith was a "nobody" in the grand scheme of things, producing content for an unnamed liberal media outlet. While visiting his best friend in Las Vegas, he spoke with a high-level executive about an idea: coming out publicly as a conservative. He was angry about illegal immigration, tired of Democrats, and believed America was ready for a Black, gay conservative voice.
The executive's response? "Oh no, no, no, they're not ready for this. You need to go be a reporter in North Dakota somewhere and work your way up." If Smith had listened to every person who told him he couldn't do something, he would never have left Akron, Ohio. He saw that executive recently in New York City, who admitted that not listening to him was the best decision Smith ever made.
Smith built his social media following from zero—zero Twitter, zero Instagram, zero Facebook, zero White House visits, zero everything—in just 18 months. The best thing about living in 2019 is that everything you want to do is right there in your phone, in the palm of your hand. You can make something out of nothing without waiting for permission from anybody.
Why Identity Politics Today Means Freedom Tomorrow
When challenged about practicing identity politics by calling himself "America's favorite gay Black veteran Republican," Smith provides a thoughtful answer. He doesn't let people ascribe to him what they've heard from other conservatives unless they've heard him say it first. Yes, he engages in a form of identity politics, but he does it so people don't have to engage in identity politics in the future.
By being visible as a Black, gay, veteran Republican now, Smith lets others like him know that maybe these identities don't matter as much as thinking with your brain. He plays identity politics now so that in a decade, we don't have to and can start talking about issues instead. America is struggling with a culture war because we don't have a national identity as Americans. We have to get past identity politics to reach the good stuff about America.
Advice for Young Conservatives
When a University of Connecticut freshman asks for advice about speaking out despite fearing conflict and burning bridges, Smith gives brutally honest counsel: if you're afraid of backlash, don't do it. If you're not prepared for backlash, don't do it. If you're not prepared to lose all your friends, don't do it. If you're not prepared to get backlash from friends, family, and people you've known for years, do not do it.
Smith learned this lesson the hard way over 18 months. He had brunch with a fraternity brother he'd known for years, and there has been strife in his life with people who know his heart but have opinions about what he's doing. This isn't pressure—it's legitimate advice. If you're not ready to take that on, wait until you feel strong and confident enough. That's when you'll know it's time.
The Education Crisis and Real Solutions
On school choice and charter schools, Smith rejects hypotheticals about overcrowding, preferring to work in reality. Charter schools succeed because they cut class sizes, hire better teachers, and employ better administrators. That's not an entirely fair system either and needs work, but it's far better than pumping billions of dollars into failing public schools that indoctrinate kids.
Schools are literally teaching Black Lives Matter curriculum in elementary schools now—a real story that shows where tax dollars go. The indoctrination continues in public schools and then in college, producing graduates without real skills. Having a PhD in certain fields doesn't necessarily mean making money or surviving in a capitalist society. People are graduating tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, already behind before they even start their careers.
Smith's message is clear: stop saying "I can't because I'm Black, I'm poor, I'm working class, my family never went to college." Start saying "I can because I'm Black, I'm brilliant, I was lucky and blessed and privileged enough to be born right here in the United States of America where you can do anything you want to do." Remember the people you met, the faces you saw at the White House, and everyone you encountered this weekend. That's proof of what's possible.
