NEW ORLEANS — Could ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith run for president?
The “Smith for President” bandwagon is not just the fever dream of the commentator, host, and executive producer of ESPN’s First Take morning show. Or his bosses at ESPN and The Walt Disney Co.
Smith just emerged as a presidential contender in a survey of potential Democratic candidates by Donald Trump’s former pollster John McLaughlin.
The sportscaster snared 2% of the vote in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic presidential primary. That was right behind the 3% for vice presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, as well as Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. Smith even polled ahead of the 1% for big Democratic names such as Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker and former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. Former Vice President Harris led the poll at 33% —and was the only candidate to poll in double digits. It should be noted that any polls this far ahead of true primaries are built much more on name recognition than probability. This week, I interviewed McLaughlin about Smith.
“We included his name because there were media reports about him talking about the presidency. But he didn’t come in at zero. He got some support. He certainly got media attention. So he’s probably gone up. But he’d probably have to take a pay cut. Just like President Trump had to take a pay cut. So we’ll see,” said the CEO of McLaughlin & Associates.
One of those not surprised was Smith. He posted a picture of himself smiling like a Cheshire cat on X/Twitter. Then he teased a political future on his eponymous YouTube show.
“I doubt I’ll ever run. It’s not me. I live a pretty good life—and I don’t want to ruin it by getting involved in politics,” Smith said. “But I’ve got to tell y’all something: the Democratic Party looks so pathetic after this election, I might entertain running. I just might change my mind one day. I doubt it. But I might. Because how much would it take to beat ya’ll? And Trump can’t run again. He’s done.”
During another interview with ABC’s The View, Smith noted he’s only interested in the oval office; not a lesser political career.
“I have no desire to be a congressional figure or a senator,” he said. “But if you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it.”
The son of West Indian immigrants, Smith grew up poor in Queens, New York. He’s leaned left during most of his career. Smith’s media appearances during the 2024 presidential campaign, however, showed his politician-like ability to straddle both sides. He appeared regularly on Fox News with his conservative friend Sean Hannity. But he also praised vice president Kamala Harris as “sensational” during the Democratic National Convention to Chris Cuomo.
After Trump’s victory, Smith told Bill Maher he voted for Harris over Trump, who he’s known for years. But Smith then declared he regretted his Harris vote, saying he felt like the Democratic party acted undemocratically by installing, rather than voting, for Harris as the nominee.
As Smith told Maher: “Yes I voted for her, a lot of people voted for her, but in the end, we end up feeling like damn 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.”
After Joe Biden decided not to run for the nation’s highest office in July as his poll numbers and fundraising dropped, Harris quickly won 99% of Democratic delegates and sailed to the nomination with little time to spare before the election.
Is Politics a Real Option for Smith?
We’re a long way away from the 2028 election. Smith proudly calls himself an independent voter. So if he did run—and that’s a big if—it’s not clear if he’d run as a Democrat, Republican or independent. He’d have to build a base and a political platform. He is close to Hannity and has regularly appeared on his show, occasionally criticizing Democrats but most recently ripping former Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth as unqualified to serve as Defense Secretary.
Hannity asked Smith about a possible presidential run this week, listing all the leaders in McLaughlin’s shock poll, including Harris (33%), former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg (9%), California governor Gavin Newsom, (7%) and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (6%). Smith said he could beat any of them. “I think somebody like me could actually win. I certainly think I could beat any of those candidates you put on the screen, I can tell you that right now.”
Still, Smith says lots of things. He’s talked about covering the NFL like his childhood idol Howard Cosell, succeeding Jimmy Kimmel as ABC’s late night host, or focusing on acting. He’s floated simply going independent with his own production company, Straight Shooter. Plus, he’s not the only sports figure who’s mused about running for President. Charles Barkley of TNT Sports has teased the idea of a presidential run. So has former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. In December, Barkley said a ticket consisting of him and Cuban would win the 2024 election “running away.”
If Smith is serious about politics, he would also have to make some very hard financial decisions. He’s poised to become ESPN’s first $20 million per year talent via a possible five-year $100 million contract extension at ESPN (first reported by FOS). But as McLaughlin learned with Trump, if Smith declares he is running, he will likely lose his high-paying TV gigs.
The possibility of losing his NBC reality show, The Celebrity Apprentice, is one reason why Trump skipped the 2012 Presidential Election race, he said. Does Smith want to give up his sports TV kingdom for the back-stabbing world of politics?
Still, McLaughlin’s not alone in saying Smith has a shot—even if it’s a longshot. This week, The Hill asked the question in bold-face type: “Could Stephen A. Smith Save the Democratic Party?”
Writes former White House official Doug Mackinnon: “If I were part of the Democratic Party brain trust in search of a winning presidential candidate, I might be seeking an ‘un-politician’ with a backstory that connects with ‘real America,’ has a massive platform; is independently wealthy and can tell the entrenched elites to stuff their special interests, has that all-elusive ‘It Factor;’ and is not afraid to trash talk or call out failure. Trump won two elections checking those boxes. If I were part of the Democratic brain trust, I would be reaching out to Stephen A. Smith.”
Smith has qualities that could make him stand out from the pack. He’s charismatic, outspoken, and centrist. He would be attractive to the party’s large base of Black voters while attracting male sports fans. At 57 years old, he’s practically a baby compared to aging party leaders like 74-year-old Chuck Schumer, 83-year-old Bernie Sanders, and 84-year-old Nancy Pelosi. (House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, however, is 54 and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is 35).
When the poll came out, another veteran journalist raised his hand. “I’d vote for Stephen A. Smith,” tweeted Geraldo Rivera.
Is Smith serious? Or throwing in a potential presidential run as another poker chip during his high-stakes contract negotiations? Never say never. Nobody thought Trump, Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger would succeed in politics before they did.
Smith is taking First Take on the road here in the Big Easy on Thursday-Friday. McLaughlin noted Trump is planning a sit-down interview with Fox News on Super Bowl Sunday, and will be the first sitting president to attend the game.
“Maybe Stephen A. should do the rebuttal,” joked McLaughlin.
