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The Stephen A. Smith presidential candidacy bandwagon has picked up a powerful promoter: Donald Trump.
During a call-in interview with NewsNation’s Cuomo Townhall, the president said he’d “love” to see ESPN’s biggest on-air star make a run for the Oval Office in 2028.
“Stephen A. is a good guy. He’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him,” Trump told Chris Cuomo and Bill O’Reilly, while a seemingly embarrassed Smith held his head in his hands. “You know, a lot of these Democrats I watch, I say, ‘They have no chance.’ I’ve been pretty good at picking people, and picking candidates, and I would tell you: I’d love to see him run.”
Trump is not alone. Smith is an enticing candidate in the eyes of some Democratic power players. Like Trump before 2016, he’s an outspoken outsider who’s never been part of the political establishment. With his sports background, Smith could appeal to some of the male voters who left the Democratic party in 2024. The Queens, N.Y. native could also be attractive to the party’s base of black voters. His weekday First Take morning show and eponymous YouTube show give him a pulpit to opine on many topics important to voters.
On the other hand, Smith might be a flavor of the month for Democratic voters who will eventually coalesce around a more traditional candidate such as former vice president Kamala Harris, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, or former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. Other sports personalities such as Charles Barkley and Mark Cuban have flirted with the idea of running for president, but never followed through.
Cuomo’s late father, New York Governor Mario Cuomo, was so famous for his will-he-or-won’t-he flirting with a presidential run that he was nicknamed “Hamlet on the Hudson.” Smith has similarly been teasing a presidential campaign, while never committing. After initially dismissing the idea, Smith told ABC’s This Week he has “no choice” but to leave the door open after being urged by everyone from politicians and pundits to billionaires and his own pastor to consider a run.
“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. Yes, I would,” Smith said. “Because I don’t mind the thought of tussling with these folks at all—on the left or the right. All of them disgust me, to be quite honest with you.”
There’s more. As part of his new five-year, $100 million deal with ESPN and The Walt Disney Co., Smith won a key concession that allows him to address hot-button political and social issues rather than just sticking to sports. His ESPN colleagues frequently rib him on the air about his presidential ambitions. But Smith didn’t address the topic on Thursday’s edition of First Take.
Was Trump just trolling Smith in a friendly way? You never know. Despite Smith assailing Trump’s anti-DEI policies Wednesday night, the two go way back. And nobody knows better than Trump how a charismatic outsider can sweep aside the establishment to capture the White House.
