Those surprised to see Stephen A. Smith’s name mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2028 haven’t been paying attention to Capitol Hill, the ESPN host said in a wild attack on the left during a recent episode of his podcast.
Speaking before President Donald Trump‘s Congressional address on Tuesday night, Smith eviscerated Senators Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and 19 others for repeating the same scripted White House protest, verbatim, online.
‘Now you see why Stephen A. Smith was in the polls as a presidential candidate?’ Smith asked after showing a clip of Warren, Booker and others’ attempts to correct the President’s record on inflation and other issues.
‘See what I’m talking about?’ the increasingly agitated Smith continued. ‘You see that idiocy right there? You talk about something, people being tone def. Why the hell would 22 Democratic senators be literally echoing the same thing and think that would resonate with the American people. All it shows is that the same fabric of our democracy is unchanging…
‘Do I have to come up to Capitol Hill and give you lessons? Seriously, you don’t get it.’
Smith’s tirade came days before his reported $100 million agreement with ESPN, which The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports will allow the sports pundit more time to spread his wings into politics on other platforms.
Stephen A. Smith seen in midtown Manhattan this week before agreeing to a new ESPN deal
He has been flirting a presidential run after a national survey revealed last month he would receive more support than several high-profile Democrat hopefuls in the 2028 election . In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com shortly after the survey was released, Smith left the door open for a potential run in three years’ time if the American people call for it.
He did, however, stress that he has no personal desire to run.
But on Tuesday, it was easy to see how Smith could find himself campaigning in 2028 as a centrist Democrat and opponent to whomever the right deems to be Trump’s successor.
Specifically, Smith slammed the Democrats’ failure to match Trump’s vitriol.
‘Here’s Trump,’ Smith said, ‘[Democratic Senators are] pieces of s***. They don’t give a s*** about you. It’s rigged. They’ve hoodwinked you all the time. They think you’re a freaking joke. They give you the middle finger any time they want to.
‘F*** them. They ain’t worth s***.
‘And then you know what his followers say?’ Smith followed. ‘Yeah!’
‘It’s not what he says,’ Smith added. ‘It’s how he says it. He does it with vitriol and venom to show disrespect to the politicians who the public have no respect for because they feel they’ve been hoodwinked by those same politicians.
‘He’s using [the vitriol] to separate himself from the cesspool that is Capitol Hill. And how does Capitol Hill respond? By showing him they’re still Capitol Hill.’
Smith concluded by reminding Democrats that they’re currently the minority in the House and Senate, while Republicans also control the White House and Supreme Court
Smith concluded by reminding Democrats that they’re currently the minority in the House and Senate, while Republicans also control the White House and Supreme Court.
‘… is that the Democrats are so damn lost, that they’re actually going to convince themselves they can do the same old, same old and still regain power, both in the midterms and the 2028 election?’ Smith asked.
‘I’m here to tell you that’s not going to happen because Trump has the power now. And he’s manipulating the proceedings. And in case you didn’t notice, one of his top boys, Elon Musk, Doge, owns X. Who else was at the inauguration? Jeff Bezos, the man running TikTok [Shou Chew], and lord knows who else.
‘If you think the liberals are topping that, you go ahead and you listen to Chuck Schumer and 21 other Senators talk their drivel. JD Vance or Marco Rubio will be the next president in 2028. You’ll have nobody but yourselves to blame.’
Despite his increasingly political rhetoric, Smith’s new deal is a good reason against him running for office in 2028.
As Marchand remarked on X, Smith would need to surrender a significant amount of salary if he wanted to run for office in the middle of the deal.
