Donald Trump has endorsed Stephen A. Smith for a possible presidential run in 2028.
When asked about Smith‘s potential run during a town hall hosted by NewsNation (on April 30), Trump gave a surprising response.
“I’ve been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you I’d love to see him run,” Trump said of Smith.
“Stephen A, he’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. I love watching him,” the president added. “He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him. You know, a lot of these Democrats I watch, I say they have no chance.”
Earlier in the interview, Smith questioned Trump on his administration’s efforts to roll back DEI policies.
“Your administration has issued executive orders dismantling DEI initiative across federal agencies, including revoking equal opportunity mandates and slashing funding for minority owned businesses,” Smith told the president. “Critics argue these actions reverse decades of civil rights progress. So how do you justify these measures, and what message do they send to the marginalized communities?”
Trump defended his agenda, saying he’s running a country “that’s based solely on merit now.”
“If somebody’s out there doing a great job —and this includes getting into colleges if you’ve worked really hard — and we don’t look at race,” Trump said. “We don’t look at color, we don’t look at height or shortness or weight. If somebody is doing a good job and they worked and they got great marks, and they got great board numbers, and they get rejected at Harvard, which has been so disgusting, so horribly. I mean, so think of it.”
Shifting from sports to politics
Smith, a New York City native, has gained notoriety as an ESPN television personality and radio host. He currently serves as executive producer on ESPN’s First Take, analyst on NBA Countdown, and host of NBA in Stephen A’s World.
Smith has recently focused more of his attention on politics while continuing to discuss sports. He’s been able to speak freely on ESPN after it was negotiated into his new five-year, $100 million contract, per The Athletic.
A poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports asked 1,000+ voters about how they would vote in an election with Smith as one of the candidates. The results found that 33% of Likely U.S. Voters view Smith favorably, including 11% with a Very Favorable impression. Twenty-four percent (24%) view Smith unfavorably, including 10% with a Very Unfavorable opinion. Forty-four percent (44%) are not sure.
Due to Smith’s online presence and ability to connect with the younger generation, he was approached by elected officials about becoming a candidate. While Smith maintains that he still has no desire to become a politician, he now feels as though the decision is no longer in his hands.
“I have no choice because I’ve had elected officials, and I’m not going to give their names, elected officials coming up to me,” Smith told ABC News when asked whether he would seriously consider running. “I’ve had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires and others that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature.”