The midterms are still nine months away and the 2028 Presidential primary isn't for over a year, but ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is once again floating his name out there. One of his former ESPN colleagues had some thoughts on that.
In a recent livestream, former ESPN host Jemele Hill mused that the Democratic Party should take Smith seriously as a candidate as they try to find someone to take on the Republicans in 2028. Hill feels that Smith's skill with the media makes him a very viable option. She believes that Democrats have just two choices on how to treat Smith: Take him seriously, or try to cut the legs out from under him before the process begins.
“If I’m the Democrats, given Stephen A.’s name recognition and his constant ability to attract audience, to speak in soundbites, to debate … and I see Stephen A. constantly talking about running for president … he’s already got the media wired. The Democrats need to take him seriously,” Hill said.
“He’s a threat. If you’re a Democrat who wants to run for president, or if you, as the party in general, don’t want someone like Stephen A.’s popularity or don’t want people to start paying more attention to his politics, and you don’t want people to give more consideration to him running, then you nip this in the bud. You start taking him seriously.”
https://www.youtube.com/live/XnJRvBzVvIs?si=DZn2nT99m4fdGCOF
Stephen A. Smith in 2028?
Hill listed off some advantages that Smith might have over a slew of other would-be primary candidates among the Democrats: Donor interest, cross-party support from Republicans, his fanbase and his personality were just a few.
“Stephen A. is going to be able to generate a lot of donor interest,” Hill said.
“Donors who are powerful, donors who are in those rooms that we don’t talk about. And if it means undermining the Democrats, you best believe a lot of Republicans will get behind Stephen A.
“I could certainly see a scenario where you have white voters who are intrigued by Stephen A. Smith. He didn’t become the face of ESPN because everybody hates him. He has a fan base,” Hill said. “He has name recognition. And frankly, considering how uneducated and uninformed the public can be about voting and staying on top of things, it would not surprise me if Stephen A. … is on somebody’s ballot or announcing a presidential run.”
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Smith's interest in politics first emerged shortly after the 2024 Presidential election when Democratic polling listed him as a candidate with a handful of percentage points. That certainly seemed to stroke his ego a bit.
But Smith has not done much publicly in terms of preparing himself for the possibility. While he has enjoyed an increased media presence, he isn't showing serious policy ideas to the public or outlining a vision for America in the way that political outsiders like President Donald Trump did years before he threw his name into the ring.
That doesn't make him any less plausible of a candidate if he does start to prepare though. Democrats learned that the hard way with Trump.