{"id":2421084,"date":"2025-04-08T09:41:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-worst-nightmare-stephen-a-smith-says-all-doors-open-for-presidential-run\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T09:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:44:20","slug":"democrats-worst-nightmare-stephen-a-smith-says-all-doors-open-for-presidential-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-worst-nightmare-stephen-a-smith-says-all-doors-open-for-presidential-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats&#8217; Worst Nightmare? Stephen A. Smith Says &#8216;All Doors Open&#8217; for Presidential Run"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-worst-nightmare-stephen-a-smith-says-all-doors-open-for-presidential-run%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2421084&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Stephen A.Smith, a prominent ESPN host, recently hinted at the possibility of running for president in the 2028 election. in a recent interview, while expressing his reluctance towards political involvement, he acknowledged that he would keep his options open and not rule out a run if the political climate worsens. Smith mentioned being approached by various Democratic officials,stating that he has become more serious about the idea of candidacy.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his reservations about the political system, which he described as involving &#8220;professional beggars,&#8221; Smith indicated that the current state of the country could motivate him to consider a presidential run. He believes that his outsider status could be an advantage in challenging other candidates. recent polls suggest that he has a competitive chance at securing the Democratic nomination, trailing other well-known figures by only a few points.<\/p>\n<p>Smith has also criticized both political parties for their lack of clear messaging and laid emphasis on the need for substantive options rather than mere opposition to prevailing issues. If he decides to run, it could create notable dynamics within the Democratic Party and the broader electoral landscape, particularly with his strong and candid viewpoints.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Stephen A. Smith: The Ralph Nader of 2028? Perhaps a reminder of how far left the party has gone? Or both?<\/p>\n<p>Whichever one, Republicans can always hope.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This A...rage American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">social media post<\/a> on Monday, Smith, a longtime ESPN pundit and radio-show host, said he was no longer ruling out a run for public office &mdash; and that office would be the presidency.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have no desire to do it,&rdquo; Smith said in an interview from Las Vegas on Monday, per <a href=\"https:\/\/barrettmedia.com\/2025\/04\/07\/stephen-a-smith-no-longer-ruling-out-possibility-of-running-for-president-in-2028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barrett Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m living a pretty good life right now. Life&rsquo;s been good. The last thing that I would want to do is involve myself in politics. I&rsquo;ve always perceived politicians as being professional beggars.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t say that derogatorily or anything like that. It&rsquo;s just the reality,&rdquo; he continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve always got your hand out for something. People always need favors in return. I&rsquo;m not that guy. So I could never see myself as a politician.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, he said that big names in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-will-schumer-democrats-continue-campaign-hate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democratic Party<\/a> had been in contact with him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Over the last few weeks, I&rsquo;ve had no choice but to get more serious about it,&rdquo; he d. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been approached by people on Capitol Hill. I&rsquo;ve been approached by people who are elected officials in office, whether it&rsquo;s governors or mayors or what have you.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People have legitimately, seriously, asked me about it,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have no desire to be a politician, but I&rsquo;ve decided that I&rsquo;m no longer going to close that door. I&rsquo;m gonna keep my options open. I&rsquo;m going to entertain the possibility.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If it comes in late 2026, 2027, where I look at this country and think it&rsquo;s an absolute mess and there&rsquo;s legitimate reason to believe &hellip; that I indeed have a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States. I am not going to rule it out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Smith said that his lack of background in politics would enable him to &ldquo;eat [other candidates] alive&rdquo; &mdash; and judging by the candidates he named, it&rsquo;s pretty clear he&rsquo;s running as a Democrat. According to Barrett Media, Smith named Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania as potential challengers.<\/p>\n<p>On X, he d a link to the article, with a confirmation that this wasn&rsquo;t idle speculation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN\/Disney,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So I&rsquo;m officially leaving all doors open,&rdquo; he concluded.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN\/Disney. Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess.<\/p>\n<p>So I&rsquo;m officially leaving all doors open <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n6BmAOKjiv\">https:\/\/t.co\/n6BmAOKjiv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephenasmith\/status\/1909351624491122709?\">April 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/othersports\/article-14571911\/Shock-new-poll-reveals-Stephen-Smith-Democrat-2028.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.K.&rsquo;s Daily Mail<\/a>, a Rasmussen Reports poll among 1,000 likely voters released last week found that Smith had a credible chance at the Democratic nomination, too &mdash; with him trailing Newsom by three points and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York by four. In a hypothetical match-up with Vice President J.D. Vance, he trails by four, 38 percent to 34 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The only time he trails significantly is when he&rsquo;s compared with former Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination &mdash; and then, he&rsquo;s still behind by 45 percent to 24 percent. That&rsquo;s still not bad for a guy who was polling at 2 percent before.<\/p>\n<p>And while Smith has eviscerated Republicans, it&rsquo;s worth noting he&rsquo;s an identified Democrat, so that&rsquo;s par for the course. Rather, it&rsquo;s his criticisms of too-woke Democrats that would likely hit the hardest were he to run.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-stephen-smith-blasts-leftist-staff-air-guys-full\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Last month<\/a>, he chastised Democrats for not giving voters a substantive message, saying that &ldquo;rather than telling us what we should vote against, maybe you should present us with options of what to vote for.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He went on to say that &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a centrist&rdquo; and that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/soros-comes-schumer-dem-leader-faces-end-career-soros-backed-org-marks-elimination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a> was correct to not shut the government down: &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t you know that when a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-stephen-a-smith-blasts-his-own-leftist-staff-while-on-air-you-guys-are-full-of-it\/\" title=\"Watch: ... A ... Blasts His Own Leftist Staff While on Air ... You Guys Are &#039;Full of It&#039;\">government shutdown takes place<\/a>, whatever party supports the government shutdown is who gets blamed?&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;It don&rsquo;t even matter how right you are!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When Kamala Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/espns-stephen-smith-calls-hiding-kamala-harris-somebody-gotta-say-something\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wasn&rsquo;t taking interviews<\/a> in the wake of being the heir apparent to the top of the Democratic ticket last summer, he called her out for not taking interviews: &ldquo;The only damn place we&rsquo;ve seen Kamala Harris is at pep rallies!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s up [with that]? Somebody gotta say something, and it can&rsquo;t just be the conservatives.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>And he&rsquo;s not taken with a case of Trump Derangement Syndrome&trade;, either, noting that the president had a mandate after the November election.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Let me be very clear, I&rsquo;m no supporter of Trump. I&rsquo;m a supporter of truth and the facts,&rdquo; Smith said during an appearance on &ldquo;The View.&rdquo; &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the facts: The man won every swing state. He increased the voter turnout in his favor from the standpoint of blacks, Latinos, and young voters &hellip; 89 percent of the counties shifted to the right.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a mandate. We can sit up there and play around if we want to,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephenasmith?\">@stephenasmith<\/a> on why he considers Pres. Trump&rsquo;s 2024 win a &ldquo;mandate&rdquo;: &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t about [Trump]. They were voting against what the Democrats were throwing in their direction.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ODnckgDO40\">pic.twitter.com\/ODnckgDO40<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The View (@TheView) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheView\/status\/1896963130938327156?\">March 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Now, if I were paid to advise this man, I&rsquo;d probably do it as Stephen A. Smith would: The Democrats are horr-<em>uh-BLE.<\/em> The Democrats are terr-<em>uh-BLE<\/em>. &hellip; How-<em>ev-UH! &hellip; you have no chance! You have no chance! Zero!&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/crooked-dnc-turns-bernie-forcing-sign-loyalty-pledge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anti-establishment candidates<\/a> don&rsquo;t win primaries. The two<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">-party machinery exists largely<\/a> to ensure this. Donald Trump is the exception to the rule, and this was a man who spent the better part of the 21st century preparing himself for a 2016 run that required all of his opponents to write him off until he won. He&rsquo;s also spent the better part of eight years reshaping the party apparatus to make his popular, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-era-of-limbaugh\/\" title=\"The Era of Limbaugh\">anti-establishment<\/a>, platform acceptable &mdash; at no small cost, it must be noted.<\/p>\n<p>And just that&rsquo;s the GOP side; those who don&rsquo;t remember the 2008 campaign might have forgotten the role that unpledged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nervous-dnc-superdelegates-planning-steal-nomination-sanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">superdelegates<\/a> &mdash; who now can&rsquo;t vote on the first ballot, but can vote on subsequent ballots &mdash; play in the Democratic process, which keeps establishment candidates in the race for far longer than they otherwise would be.<\/p>\n<p>Smith is not a star of the magnitude that Trump was, either. His relevant experience is opining, not doing, which is another key difference; before being the chief executive of America, the current president had been the chief executive of the Trump Organization and had tested the waters of many different enterprises &mdash; sometimes successfully, sometimes not, but always gaining experience, one can assume. For all of his hot takes on why the Jets are hot garbage, Smith has little of this acumen.<\/p>\n<p>But man, wouldn&rsquo;t it be great to see him crash the Democratic presidential party with some harsh truth? It&rsquo;d be entertaining to watch Gavin Newsom, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/kamala-harris-called-trump-concede-reaction-stunned-staff-book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kamala Harris<\/a>, Wes Moore, Pete Buttigieg, and whoever else they can dredge up try to dance around someone who&rsquo;s not drinking the Kool-Aid. Also, if he doesn&rsquo;t win the primary race, there&rsquo;s always a third-party run. And if you think the libs hate Ralph Nader for siphoning off potential Al Gore votes, hell will hath no fury like the left if Smith delivers the presidency to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/jd-vance-explains-greenland-critically-important-seeing-didnt-realize-fully\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">J.D. Vance<\/a> or someone else of similar bearing.<\/p>\n<p>For better and worse (mostly better), 2028 is a long way off, and we still have a few more years of Trump. A Republican can always hope for such a spectacle, though.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephen A. Smith: The Ralph Nader of 2028? A sign of the party&#8217;s leftward shift? Or both? Republicans might wish for either scenario. In a recent interview and social media update, Smith, an established ESPN commentator and radio host, indicated that he is no longer dismissing the idea of pursuing public office\u2014specifically, the presidency. &#8220;I have no desire to do it,&#8221; he stated during a Las Vegas interview with Barrett Media. &#8220;I&#8217;m enjoying my life right now; I wouldn&#8217;t want to get involved in politics. I&#8217;ve always viewed politicians as professional beggars.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>He elaborated that this isn&#8217;t meant as an insult but rather reflects reality: &#8220;You&#8217;re always asking for something in return.&#8221; Despite his reluctance towards politics, he mentioned that prominent figures within the Democratic Party have reached out to him recently. &#8220;In recent weeks, I&#8217;ve had to take it more seriously,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been approached by people on Capitol Hill and elected officials like governors and mayors.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While expressing his lack of ambition for political office, Smith acknowledged he&#8217;s keeping his options open: \u201cIf by late 2026 or 2027 I see this country in disarray and believe I could genuinely win the presidency, I&#8217;m not ruling it out.\u201d He believes his outsider status could give him an advantage over other candidates\u2014specifically naming Democratic governors Wes Moore (Maryland), Gavin Newsom (California), and Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania) as potential rivals.<\/p>\n<p>Smith also shared on social media that he&#8217;s officially leaving all possibilities open regarding a political run while expressing frustration with current political conditions: \u201cLife is great at ESPN\/Disney&#8230; but I&#8217;m tired of this mess.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A recent Rasmussen Reports poll suggested Smith has a viable chance at securing the Democratic nomination; he&#8217;s close behind Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among likely voters.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being critical of Republicans in the past, it&#8217;s important to note that Smith identifies as a Democrat; however, he has also criticized overly progressive Democrats for failing to provide voters with clear choices instead of just opposition messages.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s not one to shy away from addressing uncomfortable truths about both parties either\u2014recently calling out Kamala Harris for her lack of visibility during her rise within the party.<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging Trump&#8217;s electoral success without supporting him personally\u2014stating Trump had a mandate after winning key swing states\u2014Smith&#8217;s potential candidacy raises questions about how he&#8217;d navigate intra-party dynamics if he were serious about running against established Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately though unlikely given historical trends against anti-establishment candidates in primaries\u2014and lacking Trump&#8217;s star power or extensive executive experience\u2014it would be intriguing to see how someone like Smith would challenge conventional narratives within his party if he decided to enter the race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2421085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Stephen-A-Smith.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3685,5894,36672,32150],"class_list":["post-2421084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-democrats","tag-politics","tag-presidential-run","tag-stephen-a-smith"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Stephen-A-Smith.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2421084"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2421088,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421084\/revisions\/2421088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2421085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2421084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2421084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2421084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}