Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith argued that people are speculating about whether he will run for office because they are desperate for new Democratic Party leader.
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith rejected the idea of running for president, arguing the suggestion only took off because Democrats are so desperate to find a new leader to rally around.
The ESPN host addressed the chatter on his podcast Monday, declaring, “I wanted to put this to bed once and for all… I have no intentions of running for the President of the United States of America.”
While he cited multiple reasons he would not run, he nonetheless hedged by saying that if “I knew that I had a really, really good shot to win, I can’t deny it’s something I would consider.”
“Let me tell y’all something, if you’re the Democrats,” he said. “That is why Stephen A. Smith is in the news – because y’all don’t have anybody.
“Who you got? Who you got? Kamala Harris better not run. She better not run. She’s not going to win the presidency in 2028! Keep in mind- respect for her. I’m not going to disrespect the former Vice President of the United States. I will never do that, but we gotta be real about something here.”
“When she ran for election on her own, she couldn’t make it to Iowa in 2020. She ultimately positions herself [and] gets the vice presidency,” he continued. “They win the election in 2020. Joe Biden is feeling himself after the liberals won the midterms. And instead of being a transitional president like he promised, the man backstabbed the liberal party and turned around and said, ‘I’m staying.’ They wanted him out.”
Smith then slammed the entire process of the Democratic Party having Biden run again without a primary, and the hasty process by which he was replaced with Harris.
“Who else you got? [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries?” he asked. “I personally support Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, but I don’t know how much of a national figure he is. I already interviewed [Pennsylvania governor] Josh Shapiro.”
He went on to condemn America’s current political system, where people have to pick between Democrats and Republicans, as a “joke.” Smith also specifically noted that he had told Democrats to beat Trump fair and square rather than use legal battles: “One of the reasons I think he won, because he was saying, ‘You can’t beat me! You’re using this to get help because you can’t beat me on your own!’”
The host then spoke about how liberal donors have pulled away from Democrats, either out of fear of retaliation from Trump or frustration with the Democratic Party’s current state of disarray.
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Smith offered an olive branch to Republicans, inviting them to appear on his show and declaring, “I’m not one-sided. See, this is why my name is in the election.”
“I’m not in the news because I’m here!” he said while making a gesture with his hand up high.
“I’m in the news because the Democratic Party is here,” he continued, gesturing down so low his hand went off-camera. “Dammit, lower than that. Down to the bottom. They suck right now. Horrible. Because they don’t have a voice. Where the hell is the voice?”
“That’s why Stephen A. Smith is a candidate,” Smith said as he blasted the Democratic Party for lacking a national messenger. “Who the hell told y’all I’d wanna be a Democrat? I have conservative ideas. I believe in free market capitalism. I believe in patrolling our borders. I believe in strong national security.”
Nonetheless, he admitted, “But you are right, I’d probably be a Democrat… a moderate. A centrist leaning left. I’m about that Bill Clinton-Newt Gingrich agreement. I’m about that surplus when Clinton walked out of office. I’m about Obama deporting more than Trump did, but the American public didn’t notice.”
“That’s why I’m [considered] a candidate,” he said. “The sad part is that I’d still beat any Democrat out there right now, because who the hell is resonating with the American people?”
“I have no interest in getting involved moreso than punditry and commentary, but you better hope I stay feeling that way.”