ESPN host Stephen A. Smith appears to be inching closer to officially throwing his hat into the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, declaring that he’s “leaving all doors open” after claiming in a recent interview that he’s growing “more serious about” a candidacy.
The bombastic sports commentator, who has been devoting more of his energy to political punditry since last year’s election, shared an article on Monday that stated he was no longer ruling out the possibility of a presidential run.
“Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney. Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess,” Smith added. “So I’m officially leaving all doors open.”
In the interview that Smith tweeted out, he said that while he has “no desire” to run for office since he’s “living a pretty good life right now” and he’s never seen himself as a politician, he feels that the current political environment demands he toss his hat into the ring.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve had no choice but to get more serious about it,” Smith asserted in a conversation with McVay Media President Mike McVay. “I’ve been approached by people on Capitol Hill. I’ve been approached by people who are elected officials in office, whether it’s governors or mayors or what have you.”
Adding that people have “seriously” asked him about running, Smith said that he’s “no longer going to close that door” and keep all his options open. “If it comes in late 2026, 2027, where I look at this country and think it’s an absolute mess and there’s legitimate reason to believe … that I indeed have a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States,” the First Take host declared. “I am not going to rule it out.”
Smith, who recently signed a $100 million contract extension with ESPN that gives him more freedom to engage in political commentary, has grown increasingly outspoken about the Democratic Party’s shortcomings following President Donald Trump’s victory. While remaining largely critical of the president and his policies, Smith has fumed about how much Democrats “suck” while suggesting he has the solution for the party’s ills, leading him to rise in polls of potential 2020 presidential hopefuls.
Having already boasted that he could “beat them all” in a 2028 Democratic primary, Smith’s growing confidence in an official candidacy may have been boosted by a recent survey from GOP-leaning pollster Rasmussen that found him competitive against prominent Democratic contenders.
In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup with 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Smith would pull in 24 percent of likely Democratic voters against Harris’ 45 percent. However, matched up with progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Smith was only down single digits.
In a recent interview with late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Smith quipped that the reason his name has been floated as a possible presidential candidate is that “folks are nuts” before taking aim at Democrats for dropping the ball during the 2024 election.
“Number two, the Democrat Party, they lost. They had a bad few months. We all know this. And even though there’s a lot of qualified Democrats all over the country from a local perspective — governors, mayors, stuff like that — there’s no real national voice,” he insisted. “Enter moi. They’ve come to me.”
At the same time, Democrats have started to gain back some traction in recent weeks following a dispiriting few months after Trump’s victory that saw public approval of the party fall to record lows.
The Trump administration has sparked public furor in recent weeks over DOGE’s slash-and-burn dismantling of federal agencies and the president causing an economic crisis with his sweeping tariffs. On top of that, the White House has come under fire over the Signalgate scandal and deportations of non-criminals to El Salvador’s ultra-max prison, all of which resulted in nationwide protests against the administration this past weekend.
Democrats also easily won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race last week, which became something of a referendum against Trump and his “first buddy” Elon Musk, who tossed $20 million into the race.
Meanwhile, Smith’s foray into national politics hasn’t been met with open arms by all Democrats. Former Clinton strategist James Carville, for instance, said that while Smith is “really insightful” about sports, he doesn’t “know his a** from a hole in the ground” when it comes to politics.
Smith has also faced backlash over a friendly interview he conducted with far-right extremist Candace Owens, who has faced condemnation from both liberals and conservatives for peddling outlandish conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes. Making matters worse, infamous white supremacist Nick Fuentes celebrated the sitdown with Owens, saying that Smith is “clearly red-pilled.”
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