Sports commentator and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith said he is seriously considering a 2028 presidential run as a Democratic candidate.
Smith made the comments during an interview with Robert Costa.
“I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027,” Smith told Costa.
“I’ve got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues,” he added.
The interview will air Sunday on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
Stephen A. Smith to @CBSSunday airing Feb. 15: “I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027” and running for the Democratic nomination. “I’ve got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues.”
— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 13, 2026
More from the New York Post:
Never one to shy away from confrontation, Smith is renowned for his hot takes and unwillingness to back down from his opinions.
However, Smith isn’t the only one who thinks running for the nation’s highest office is a good thing.
Last May, President Donald Trump publicly expressed his support for Smith in a 2028 presidential run.
“I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important,” Trump, who called in during the NewsNation town hall, said of Smith. “People watch him. 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 will tell you, I’d love to see him run.”
Smith recently provided a glimpse into his potential platform, saying he would never go against Trump for closing the border.
“My position has been very clear from day one. Biden opened it. That’s why it had to be closed,” Smith said.
“Had he followed Obama’s plan, who deported 3.1 million people, none of this would be necessary,” he added.
Check it out:
STEPHEN A. SMITH: “I will NEVER go against Donald Trump for closing the borders.”
“My position has been very clear from day one. Biden opened it. That’s why it had to be closed. If he had followed… Obama’s plan, who deported 3.1 million people, none of this would be necessary.” pic.twitter.com/E9Cwgx5MlN
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) February 12, 2026
USA TODAY shared further:
“Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney,” Smith said in an April 7, 2025, post on X. “Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess. So I’m officially leaving all doors open.”
A month earlier, Smith told USA TODAY he didn’t “give a d**n about the office” and preferred sparring with political leaders rather than being one.
But since then, Smith has gone back and forth talking about his presidential possibilities on his various platforms and to those who broached him with the question. During a July 27, 2025, appearance on ABC’s This Week, Smith told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that the Democrats look “very bad right now because they look leaderless.”
“One party has a lead in Donald Trump. You can refute. Yeah. Nobody can refute that. He is the leader of the GOP and the Republican Party. Make no mistake about it. The Democrats don’t have a leader,” Smith said. :We — I see — who — who’s your leader? Who is it? Is it AOC? Is it Bernie Sanders? Is it Jasmine Crockett? Who is it? We respect so many people on Capitol Hill.
“I’m certainly not here to cast dispersions upon individuals, but as a body, the Democratic Party just looks very, very bad right now because they look leaderless,” Smith said. “They don’t have a definitive voice that anybody can depend on.
“When we look towards 2028, for example, we see a guy like Governor Wes Moore, who I like a lot, and I think is very capable, a Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, who I like and I think is very, very capable.
“But when you talk about a national voice for the Democratic Party, it is literally non-existent. You have no one right now,” Smith continued.
