Donald Trump would ‘love’ to see ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith run for president
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has been waiting to speak with President Donald Trump and got his chance at the News Nation townhall.

Donald Trump seemingly endorses Stephen A. Smith's presidential run
Stephen A. Smith has been in the news recently for various reasons. One was when he decided to take on Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in a back-and-forth battle to come out of the confrontation discourse as the winner. The other was when he talked about his interest in running for president.
Some believe that the two are connected. He saw an opportunity to endear himself to right-wingers who do not like the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. That is what prompted him to appear on FOX News and other conservative platforms.
Theorists believe he is currently building up his popularity with the conservatives before swinging back to connect with liberals. Some also believe that his employer is helping him along this journey, which could be why he has amassed support amongst those in power.
Stephen A. Smith claimed that he can easily defeat Democrats and is now open to running for President. While he was at the NewsNation town hall on Wednesday, President Donald Trump joined the discussion via telephone. Host Bill O’Reilly informed Trump about Smith’s plans, to which the President replied.
Stephen A., he’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important, people watch him. A lot of these Democrats I watch, I say they have no chance. I’ve been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you I’d love to see him run.
Donald Trump said
President @RealDonaldTrump says he “would love to see” @StephenASmith run for president in 2028. Watch #CUOMOTownHall live: https://t.co/MMLMKOKbtB pic.twitter.com/UqX5s9jEEb
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) May 1, 2025
At the start, when O’Reilly told the President that Smith was planning to run for President, the ESPN analyst clasped his face in embarrassment. But after Donald Trump said that he would love the Queens native to run, Smith looked stunned. If anything, it was his biggest endorsement yet.
Stephen A. Smith quizzes Donald Trump on DEI measures
The endorsement might have helped Stephen A. Smith catapult his popularity. But at the same time, he has been critical of Donald Trump’s administration for its attack on DEI measures. Since he was directly speaking with the President, he asked if those moves were justified.
What we’re doing is we have a country that’s based solely on merit now, and that’s the way it is. 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. We don’t look at color, we don’t look at height or shortness or weight.
Donald Trump said
Smith did not have a response to this answer, which suggests he might have been content with it. He called out the President and his staff after the Department of Defense pulled down baseball legend and military veteran Jackie Robinson‘s accolades from the official website.
President @RealDonaldTrump says, “if you’ve worked really hard, we don’t look at race,” when asked by @StephenASmith about the message anti-DEI efforts send. Watch #CUOMOTownHall live: https://t.co/MMLMKOKbtB pic.twitter.com/MXsDMjksJc
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) May 1, 2025
He challenged them to a debate, but that has not happened yet. This might be the closest he could get to an answer directly from the President. The sports analyst has been lobbying for politicians to do the right thing. Maybe he is working his way to understand how that works.
Smith’s chances of running for President
Stephen A. Smith has been building his rapport with citizens, billionaires, and those in power to get a feel for his chances if he runs for President. He still claims he is not a politician and has a lot to learn. But so far, he has been doing a good job of building support.
He recently signed a new contract with Walt Disney Co., which will see him earn $20 million over the next five years. Smith referenced that he is in a good spot in life and has no complaints. But if his popularity keeps surging, he might think of running a campaign full-time.
His day job takes up most of his time. To help cover other areas, he takes to his podcast and goes through topics that he cannot broach on ESPN. Then he is also appearing on other platforms where he can speak about the problems faced by the citizens of the country.
All of that has helped him increase his popularity to where he could start building a serious base. He knows he cannot run for the next three years, and that gives him time to improve his popularity. On top of that, if the Democrats continue to struggle with acceptance, Smith will be in a good position to ditch his sports analyst career.
Also Read:
- Former LeBron James teammate angles for Giannis Antetokounmpo-Luka Doncic team-up with Lakers
- Jamal Murray’s terror against Los Angeles teams continues after 43-point night blows out Clippers