ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said on Sunday that he might feel compelled to run for president in 2028 if the Democratic Party fails to present a stronger candidate.
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Speaking on his show, First Take, Smith claimed he has received a wave of messages urging him to consider a presidential bid, prompting him to keep the option open, the New York Post reported.
“I have no choice because I’ve had elected officials, and I’m not going to give their names—elected officials coming up to me,” Smith told ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday.
“I’ve had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires and others that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature,” he added. “I’m not a politician. I’ve never had a desire to be a politician.”
Stephen A. Smith rose to national fame for his bold commentary on sports, but in recent years, he has increasingly ventured into political commentary—often criticizing both President Trump and Democrats for failing to defeat him.
While Smith has hinted at a possible 2028 presidential run, he acknowledged that he would prefer to see a qualified, experienced candidate step forward instead.
“I would hope somebody else would step up that’s more qualified than me, but if it has to come down to me, it is something I would consider,” he said, per The Post.
Last week, the sports host made headlines by stating he will “no longer rule out” a possible presidential run.
“Here’s the reality: People, literally people, have walked up to me, including my own pastor, for crying out loud, who has said to me, ‘You don’t know what God has planned for you,’” Smith claimed, adding that his pastor told him to respect “the people who believe” in him.
In the 2024 election, Smith voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, although he later expressed feeling like a “fool” because the ex-veep secured the Democratic nomination without a primary.
Smith made his comments during a “Real Time with Bill Maher” segment on HBO while discussing comparisons between Harris’ campaign and Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. He argued to the host that Harris’ lack of a legitimate primary nomination process and her poor performance during the 2020 Democratic primary made her unappealing to voters.
“Kamala Harris, who didn’t resonate during the primaries in 2020, couldn’t even get to Iowa, suddenly is the Democratic nominee, then you roll up to the convention in Chicago, and everybody is like ‘She’s a rockstar!’ So it’s like, ‘How’d that happen?” Smith said.
“Yes, I voted for her, a lot of people voted for her, but in the end, we end up feeling like d— fools because we supported it, we fell for ‘the okiedoke’ as they say. If you had a primary, the likelihood is she would not have been the Democratic nominee,” he continued.
Though he’s been critical of Democrats, he also said he “doesn’t like” what is happening under President Donald Trump.
“I don’t like what I’m seeing, but I’m not surprised. I mean, this whole tariff war situation is utterly ridiculous,” he lamented. “He should have immediately targeted China and not every nation on the planet, for crying out loud.”
“There doesn’t appear to be a plan. Let’s be, let’s be very, very clear about that,” he added. “But in the end, you know, what you have to applaud them for is for trying something.”
Smith said his big problem with Democrats these days is “they talk and they talk and they talk” but never really accomplish anything of substance that is good for the country and for Americans.
“It’s an indictment against a Democratic Party that doesn’t have leadership,” he said, per The Post. “It doesn’t have a vision.”
The 2028 presidential race is set to be the first contest in nearly a decade without an incumbent candidate from either party, presenting a significant opportunity for Democrats and Republicans alike.