Stephen A. Smith ‘aghast’ at Donald Trump endorsement

Last week, an unlikely figure weighed in on a potential Stephen A. Smith presidential run: President Donald Trump.

During a NewsNation town hall the ESPN star hosted alongside Bill O’Reilly and Chris Cuomo, the current president called in and opined on Stephen A.’s White House chances.

“I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him. You know, 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,” Trump said.

Smith was able to address Trump’s stamp of approval during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.

“I was aghast to be quite honest with you,” Smith said. “I wasn’t looking for any kind of endorsement from anybody, especially him. But he is the President of the United States. There’s a bit of flattery that comes with getting such words from the man who holds the highest office in the land, and I can appreciate that. But in the same breath I’m saying to myself, ‘You know what, evidently I have no chance,’ because if someone like that is throwing out my name, clearly they think that, ‘Yeah, go ahead and do it so we can beat you. We can romp you too.’ So I’m not falling for it. It was nice to hear and I appreciated it, but obviously it is what it is. I hear where he’s coming from, but I wasn’t thinking about it any more seriously than that.”

True to form, Stephen A. Smith was able to express his disdain for Trump in one sentence before softening his stance in the next. Typically when one is “aghast” at someone or something, they are not also flattered by that same thing. Though, to give Stephen A. the benefit of the doubt, there is room for nuance when that person is the president.