Public figurePolitical leaning: Center-rightProfile last reviewed: 2026-07-29
Stephen A. Smith
Host, ESPN First Take
A registered Democrat auditioning for 2028 by torching his own party: fiscal conservative, social liberal, allergic to identity politics — with Trump cheering him on from the other side.
The loudest man in sports television spent 2025 converting a five-year, $100 million ESPN deal — negotiated so he could talk politics — and a new SiriusXM politics show into a proto-campaign, and by February 2026 he was 'giving strong consideration' to joining the 2027 Democratic debate stage. His pitch is pure First Take: the party of Kamala Harris, Newsom and Buttigieg 'still doesn't get it,' identity politics is electoral poison, and he can 'beat them all' — a message so congenial to the right that Trump has said he'd love to see him run.
Basis for the leaning assessment
Registered Democrat who voted for Harris in 2024 (a vote he now says he regrets) and frames any 2028 bid as a run in the Democratic primary, yet self-describes as a fiscal conservative and social liberal and aims most of his fire at his own party — Trump has publicly encouraged him to run. Editorial estimate reflecting that ambiguity.
Current Stances
Stances are editorial interpretations, always shown with the statements and actions they rest on.
LGBTQ+ Rightsobserved 2024-11-07 – 2024-11-07
Democrats' focus on trans issues and culture wars is electoral poison.
Smith argues the party's 'strong tilt to the progressive left' on transgender issues, culture wars and identity politics cost it the 2024 election and alienates ordinary voters — framing it as a political-strategy critique rather than a policy position on rights themselves.
Supporting statements & actions (1)
2024-11-07Interview
It's such a strong tilt to the progressive left where we are talking about transgender issues and culture wars and identity politics and all of this stuff. We are sick of all of that.
Two days after the 2024 election, Smith went on The Will Cain Show and blamed the Democratic National Committee's progressive messaging for the loss.
Democracy & Institutionsobserved 2025-03-04 – 2026-04-01
The Democratic establishment has failed, and a celebrity outsider — maybe him — belongs on the debate stage.
Smith says the post-2024 Democratic Party 'still doesn't get it' and offers himself as the desperate electorate's alternative, giving 'strong consideration' to the 2027 primary debate stage despite never having held or sought office.
Supporting statements & actions (3)
2025-03-04Interview
Goals
Short-term
Build a political media platform beyond ESPN
ActiveLaunched the weekly SiriusXM politics show 'Straight Shooter' in September 2025 and appears regularly on NewsNation, after negotiating his $100M ESPN deal specifically to allow political talk.
Declared: 2025-09-02Source ↗
Long-term
Decide on a 2028 Democratic presidential run
UnclearSays he is 'giving strong consideration' to being on the 2027 debate stage and will spend 2026 studying the issues before deciding; he has never formally declared and has elsewhere suggested he would not give up his media income.
Declared: 2026-02-13Source ↗
Push the Democratic Party away from identity politics
ActiveUses his platforms to demand the party abandon its 'progressive tilt' on culture-war issues and rebuild toward the center, saying it 'still doesn't get' why it lost in 2024.
Declared: 2026-04-01Source ↗
Consistency Tracker
Does each new statement or decision square with the record? Verdicts are not accusations: both sides of the record are presented so readers can judge for themselves.
Tension
Earlier statement / action
2025-03-04Interview
I make of it that citizens, particularly on the left, are desperate. And I mean it when I say it: I think I can beat them all.
On ABC's The View, asked about 2028 polls placing him near Pete Buttigieg and AOC, Smith boasted he could win the primary — while also saying he had no desire to run; date is the appearance reported in the March 5 article.
The 'I can beat them all' boast ricocheted across both political and sports media and became shorthand for his 2028 flirtation.
Later statement / action
2026-02-13Interview
I will confess to you, I'm giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027. ... I've got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues.
In a CBS Sunday Morning interview with Robert Costa, Smith said he was moving closer to a 2028 Democratic bid, calling himself a fiscal conservative and social liberal.
Set off a week of 2028 coverage; Costa said the interview reminded him of covering Trump in 2013-14, when a TV personality's presidential talk was still being laughed off.
Most-Cited Sources from Voterscommunity reading list
Articles readers attached to their poll votes as evidence. Only pages cited independently by two or more voters are listed.
- 1www.foxnews.com/media/stephen-smith-regrets-voting-kamala-harris-says-he-lost-faith-democrats ↗
Cited by 6 voters
Liberal 4Conservative 2 - 2www.foxnews.com/sports/stephen-a-smith-says-we-sick-transgender-issues-culture-wars-after-teasing-presidential-bid ↗
Cited by 4 voters
Liberal 1Conservative 3 - 3www.yahoo.com/news/stephen-smith-now-boasts-d-180715056.html ↗
Cited by 4 voters
Liberal 1
Most-Discussed Moments
The statements and actions that set social media on fire — top 3, in chronological order. Every entry links to its source.
- 2023-08-15Interview
(On his infamous 2008 on-air rant mocking Kwame Brown, the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick, after the Lakers traded him for Pau Gasol) I wish I could do that over. I wouldn't do it.
Speaking on Paul George's podcast, Smith called the 2008 Kwame Brown rant one of his biggest career regrets; date is the article date.
The 2008 Kwame Brown rant was one of ESPN's first truly viral clips — pre-Twitter, yet still memed more than 15 years later, and the moment most associated with Smith's shout-first style.
- 2025-03-04Interview
I make of it that citizens, particularly on the left, are desperate. And I mean it when I say it: I think I can beat them all.
On ABC's The View, asked about 2028 polls placing him near Pete Buttigieg and AOC, Smith boasted he could win the primary — while also saying he had no desire to run; date is the appearance reported in the March 5 article.
The 'I can beat them all' boast ricocheted across both political and sports media and became shorthand for his 2028 flirtation.
Timeline of Statements & Actions7 records, newest first
2026-04-01Interview
(On regretting his 2024 vote for Kamala Harris) When I saw how things were unfolding and how out in the clouds the Democratic Party was even after they lost the election, I just said, 'There's no hope.' ... I don't know what the hell I was thinking about believing that you all would get it, because you still don't get it.
On The Sage Steele Show, Smith said he regretted voting for Harris and had 'lost all faith' in the Democratic Party's post-2024 direction; date is the article date.
2026-02-13Interview
I will confess to you, I'm giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027. ... I've got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues.
In a CBS Sunday Morning interview with Robert Costa, Smith said he was moving closer to a 2028 Democratic bid, calling himself a fiscal conservative and social liberal.
Set off a week of 2028 coverage; Costa said the interview reminded him of covering Trump in 2013-14, when a TV personality's presidential talk was still being laughed off.
2025-09-02Interview
I will spare no one
Ahead of launching his weekly SiriusXM politics show 'Straight Shooter' on the P.O.T.U.S. channel, Smith told The Washington Post his political commentary would target both parties.