While Stephen A Smith continues to entertain a potential run for political office, he is coming around to the influence he can have in political media.
Since signing a new contract at ESPN last year, Smith has had the freedom to dive more deeply into commentary on politics. The ESPN star now weighs in on the news and even interviews top political figures on his YouTube channel and weekly SiriusXM talk show.
And in a new interview with Cam Newton, Smith offered a rare admission that he doesn’t need to run for office to be influential in politics.
“As I sit up there and I purview the landscape and I think about the opportunities that I have available, I’m like, wait a minute,” Smith said. “My show on Sirius, SiriusXM POTUS Radio, has exploded. My YouTube platform continues to grow. My SiriusXM shows, sports, and politics, is growing. First Take is still No. 1. Why the hell would I [run]? I’m making more noise.”
Smith contrasted the success he has had building his profile as an important political voice in a few short years to the inability of politicians in Washington to accomplish much of anything.
“Look at Capitol Hill, they’ve got 525 representatives … they can’t get anything right. They can’t get together for nothing, for a damn cup of coffee half the time,” he said.
“The president’s doing what he wants to do, but it’s by executive orders, only to get sued and turn and renege on what he promised because he can’t get sh*t done. You’ve got all of this stuff going on, why would I give up my money and my quality of life for that?”
Asked by Newton whether leaning further into politics could harm his brand or hamper his career ambitions, Smith said he doesn’t think so.
“It has the potential not to be (good for business). We’ll have to see. So far, it is. I think I’m doing pretty good,” Smith said.
“But here’s the point … if I thought like that, I’d never be here. There’s plenty of decisions over the years I could have made that would have been good for business. But I had the courage to attack the issues that I was passionate enough to attack. That’s what makes me me.”
From the first time Smith’s name appeared in a political poll for the 2028 presidential race, an actual campaign has felt premature at the very least, if not outright ridiculous. Smith, despite a long, successful career in sports media, is early in his journey as a political figure.
The conversation around a potential Smith run for president may be more realistic come 2032 or beyond. In the meantime, Smith clearly understands that there is an audience for his commentary, and that he can follow in the footsteps of many other hosts who are seen as key figures in the political landscape — even if they are not politicians themselves.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.