The 2028 presidential election season is far, far away. Yet, Stephen A. Smith, ESPN’s notorious hot-take artist, has already decided whether he will run.
A poll last month showed Smith trailing former Democrat Vice President Tim Walz by only one percentage point in a field of possible candidates for the Democrat nod in 2028. That strong showing prompted Smith to muse about a possible presidential run on his podcast.
However, the ESPN talker tells TMZ Sports he is not interested in making a run.
“I ain’t trying to run for office or anything like that,” Smith told the outlet in New Orleans last week. “I love talking politics. I love talking about things, not just sports. If the American people want to sit up there and say, ‘Yo, we want Stephen A. to run,’ I’m not going to be mad at that.
“I don’t know what the hell they’re thinking. I ain’t qualified, but if you want to go ahead and entertain it, you can go ahead and entertain it.”
Citing President Trump’s lack of political experience before winning the presidency, Smith quipped, “He’s inspired all of us because if he can be president, a lot of us could be president.”
Of course, President Trump demonstrated a thorough grasp of the issues while debating and eventually defeating a field of 16 veteran politicians in 2016. He demonstrated remarkable acuity again eight years later when forcing the Democrats to retire Joe Biden and then thoroughly defeating his chosen replacement. So, just because Trump had no experience doesn’t necessarily mean “a lot of us” could be president.
Nonetheless, Smith, who describes himself as a political “centrist,” would likely have difficulty running for the nomination of the increasingly unhinged Democratic Party. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Smith parted with mainstream Dems by saying he opposes allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Smith’s views on that issue align him with 79 percent of Americans.
🚨CNN: "You rarely get 79% of the country to agree on anything. But they do, in fact, agree on the idea of OPPOSING tr*ns female athletes in women's sports" pic.twitter.com/lb6smB3Gdp
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 6, 2025
That would normally be a good thing. The only problem is that virtually all of the 21 percent who approve of allowing trans athletes to compete against females are Democrats.
