In perhaps the worst-kept political secret since Bill Clinton’s hedonism was publicly exposed, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith seems all but assured to at least make an attempt at the 2028 presidential election.
While Smith has been getting more and more involved with political discourse lately, the outspoken television personality has been dropping bigger and bigger clues to his political aspirations.
That culminated with a recent interview with CBS News’ Robert Costa, where Smith revealed that he’s “giving strong consideration” to running for president as the Democratic nominee.
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
“I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027,” Smith told Costa.
He added, “I’ve got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues.”
You can watch the whole interview, which aired Sunday, below:
High-profile ESPN and SiriusXM commentator and bestselling author @stephenasmith is a combative and colorful voice on sports. But now, with a weekly political show, in which he interviews government leaders, he is gaining notice in Washington, too.
Smith talks with “Sunday… pic.twitter.com/oyUiAT77q6
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) February 15, 2026
Smith, who identifies as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, genuinely seems to be inching closer to an honest-to-goodness presidential bid come 2028.
However, that being said, it’s noteworthy that Smith plans to run as a Democrat.
Why? Because two of the men he would very likely face in an election are darn near unbeatable — and that’s coming (or came) from Smith himself.
In October, Smith was on one of his shows taking audience questions when an X user wrote in to ask him a simple inquiry.
“Who has the best chance to defeat [Vice President J.D.] Vance and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio on the dem side in 2028?” the X user asked.
Without skipping a beat, Smith answered, “The answer would be no one. Not a d*** soul.”
Smith went on to laud Rubio especially, calling him someone who “gets things done,” and someone whose been personally complimented by President Donald Trump as being an all-time great secretary of state — especially if the Israel-Hamas peace deal leads to meaningful change.
You can watch the entire October 2025 segment — courtesy of the Daily Caller’s Jason Cohen — for yourself below:
pic.twitter.com/2QZK5Oqe1l
💥 Stephen A. Smith *BULLISH* on Marco Rubio in 2028💥“Marco Rubio gets things done. He’s a former Senator. He’s now Secretary of State & National Security Adviser. He is no joke. I’d put him above Vice President Vance.”
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) February 16, 2026
Which raises the obvious question: if Stephen A. Smith truly believes that “not a d*** soul” can take down J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio, what exactly is the endgame here? It’s one thing to flirt with the spotlight; it’s another to walk onto a debate stage you’ve already declared unwinnable.
Politics rewards confidence, but it punishes delusion.
Of course, Smith has built a career on saying the loud part out loud — and sometimes being spectacularly wrong. Maybe this is a ratings play. Maybe it’s ego. Or maybe he thinks the Democratic bench will look very different by 2028.
Either way, if he does jump in, he won’t just be debating Republicans like Vance and Rubio — he’ll be debating his own words.
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