Stephen A. Smith announces he will 'entertain the possibility' of 2028 Presidential race

Stephen A. Smith will entertain the possibility of running for President of the United States, the ESPN personality revealed. Though, it will have to be under the right circumstances.

In November, Smith was quoted as saying that if he was approached with a legitimate shot to win the presidency, he’d “definitely consider” it. Smith has since reiterated he has no desire to run for political office. However, the current political climate has forced him to keep that door open despite lacking the desire.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve had no choice but to get more serious about it,” Smith said about running for office in 2028 during the NAB show in Las Vegas, via Barrett Media. “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. People have legitimately, seriously, asked me about it.

“I have no desire to be a politician, but I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to close that door. I’m gonna keep my options open. I’m going to entertain the possibility. 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. I am not going to rule it out.”

Smith said he’s living the good life right now — and he isn’t wrong about that, especially at the moment. In March, it was revealed that he agreed to a lucrative new contract with ESPN that totals over $100 million across five years. The new deal allows him more freedom as Smith will no longer appear on ESPN’s NBA pregame show as he’s done the last two seasons while keeping his duties on First Take.

The thought is that he could use this extra time to tackle goals outside of sports. Smith has already dipped his feet into the political broadcast realm during last year’s election cycle, making appearances on FOX News and NewsNation. Running for office is a different story, however.

“The last thing that I would want to do is involve myself in politics,” Smith said. “I’ve always perceived politicians as being professional beggars. I don’t say that derogatorily or anything like that. It’s just the reality. You’ve always got your hand out for something. People always need favors in return. I’m not that guy. So I could never see myself as a politician.”

Of course, Smith has time to think about this decision. Currently, the 2028 election cycle is more than three years away as of this report.