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The buzz around Stephen A. Smith's presidential prospects began the way a lot of buzz begins: with his own hot take.
"If you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America," Smith, the uber-famous sports commentator, said on "The View" two days after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris, "I would definitely consider it."
Now, with Democrats casting about for a way out of the wilderness, the buzz around the take artist known as "Stephen A." has grown louder. Who better to help the party reclaim the populist mantle than Smith, a media star with an innate understanding of the attention economy who has spent his career talking to men?
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro went on Smith's YouTube show around the Super Bowl. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) is currently in talks to go on. Multiple House Democrats said they are interested in Smith coming to Washington to address their caucus. "He's a powerful voice against the status quo," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California). "Democrats would be smart to listen to what he has to say."
The chattering class has snapped to attention. "Pod Save America," the liberal podcast hosted by former Obama administration staffers, invited Smith on as a guest earlier this week. CNN convened its own roundtable to discuss Smith's prospects. "What's required for 2028 is a combative, attention-grabbing candidate who can punch the Democratic establishment squarely in the face," wrote Jay Caspian Kang, who endorsed Smith's candidacy in the New Yorker.
"I hope he runs," Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and Kamala Harris campaign surrogate, told The Washington Post in an email. "His energy alone would be a plus."
"Stephen A Smith brilliant choice," texted Stephen K. Bannon, the MAGA luminary and former Trump White House adviser. "1. Smart 2. Savvy 3. A feel for things 4. High energy, a fighter 5. Communications skills that can pierce thru the noise."
"If Stephen A. Smith ran, he would instantly be credible," said veteran public-opinion maven Frank Luntz.
And yet …
"It's kind of a meme, though, right?" said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida).
"I tend to be skeptical about celebrities running for president," said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-New York).
"Entertaining a conversation about Stephen A. Smith is a distraction," said Charlamagne Tha G od, the co-host of "The Breakfast Club."
To Charlamagne, it's a symptom of a deeper rot within the Democratic Party. "Maybe y'all could find yourselves as a party - find something to stand on and stop being cowards," he said. "Democrats have tried every single strategy but bravery."
For his part, Smith has told countless interviewers some version of Hell no! when asked if he really wants to run for president. (He declined to speak to The Post for this story.) Nevertheless, the discourse has persisted. The Smith speculation seems to be part of a familiar Dems-in-disarray cycle of recrimination and spit-balling. Last time they lost to Trump, Democrats discussed a variety of potential celebrity saviors. Oprah? The Rock? Cuban, whose TV-businessman bona fides on "Shark Tank" mirrored Trump's turn on "The Apprentice"? (They ended up nominating one of the most politician-y politicians on their roster, Joe Biden, who did beat Trump.)
So what is this chatter really about? When they look at Stephen A. Smith, Democrats may see, if not quite a presidential candidate, then at least an answer to a problem they are trying to solve: how to reconnect to a wide swath of the electorate that views the party as a feckless collection of coastal elites. And as they struggle to hone a message, and crank up the volume to compete with Trumpism, a listless party wonders what lessons one of the country's loudest, most famous people might have to teach them.
•
"I know you're not talking about someone being lucid and cogent and enunciating their thoughts with clarity, and you're bragging about Donald Trump!" Smith said in his famous high-decibel delivery. "We can't be watching the same stuff if that's what you're doing! You ain't gonna do that today!"
If Pete Buttigieg has perfected a cerebral, policy-based rebuttal to the usual conservative lines of argument on Fox News, Smith offered something else: A mastery of arguing on live TV. He's honed his craft for years on ESPN's "First Take" and, more recently, his thrice-weekly YouTube show.
On Hannity, Smith's comfort was obvious. Kevin Clancy of Barstool Sports wrote on X that watching Smith and Hannity reminded him of Bane destroying Batman: "After decades of … hot take shows & pointless debates [Smith] was running circles around Hannity. Political pundits merely adopted the dark. He was born in it, molded by it."
"I wouldn't want to debate him," Luntz said, adding: "He could outtalk, outthink and outdebate any politician I know."
Luntz, who has been a guest on Smith's YouTube show, said he once conducted focus groups on major sports personalities for both ESPN and Fox Sports; Smith emerged as the most authentic, genuine sportscaster. He is "unvarnished and unedited - and sports fans appreciate that because they want candor," Luntz said.
People are now looking for the same thing from their politicians, Luntz continued. He said Smith comes up in his regular conversations with senators and members of Congress. "The conversation always begins with ‘Can I ask you a really strange question out of left field?'" Luntz said. "‘What do you think of Stephen A.?'"
Smith describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. He says he's voted mostly for Democrats but helped fundraise for Chris Christie's presidential campaign. He's voiced concern for Trump's attacks on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives, but he's against trans women competing in women's sports. He says he can't stand Trump, but called himself "a damn fool" for voting for Kamala Harris. He doesn't like Elon Musk's access to the levers of the federal government, but agrees with the spirit of Musk's U.S. DOGE Service, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency.
But, as is often true in politics, the particulars of any policy position aren't really the point. Smith's viral takedowns of various political targets can sound similar to his blistering rebukes of quarterbacks and point guards. His exasperation is charismatic. His Queens accent makes his grievances feel more credible. "What voter out there can look at the Democratic Party at this moment in time and say, ‘There is a voice for us, somebody that speaks for us'?" he said on a recent appearance on Bill Maher's show.
"Smith is unpredictable, independent and entertaining. He can command an audience and television screen," said Will Cain, Smith's former co-star on "First Take" who now hosts his own Fox News show. "Those characteristics could remind someone of Donald Trump."
Smith, also like Trump, knows how to play a news cycle. When a January survey of potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates clocked Smith's support in the low-single digits, Smith passed the result around among friends, tickled to be considered. (And he's been gleefully sharing content from everyone else's interest in his political career on social media.) Several people who know Smith told The Post they think he's unlikely to give up the money he currently makes to go into public service. Speaking of which: Smith is expected to soon sign a new $20 million per year contract with the network, making him the highest-paid employee in ESPN history.
"I don't think [Smith] has the grasp of the issues to be president," Cain said, adding: "He's like a shiny object that someone would be forgiven for taking seriously."
• On Feb. 13, as the Stephen A. discourse was heating up, Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, was standing in a television studio in the basement of the U.S. Capitol, giving a most un-Stephen A.-like speech.
"House Democrats are working to drive down the high cost of living in the United States of America," Jeffries began. "Republicans continue to betray the middle class." He gestured at a pair of poster boards on either side his lectern - "REPUBLICANS BETRAY THE MIDDLE CLASS"- that repeated his latter point. The all-caps conveyed an urgency that Jeffries's droning delivery did not.
He was speaking to the economic issues Smith believes Democrats don't talk about enough - the cost of housing, groceries and child care. But his monologue, kicking off his weekly news conference, was standard fare, with the Democratic leader using hackneyed phrases to knock Republicans for not making progress on those issues.
"Republicans haven't done a thing to address the cost-of-living crisis in the United States of America. Not a single bill, not a single proposal, not a single idea."
" … there is no debate that can be legitimately had in the United States of America as it relates to the cost of living …"
" … Republicans, despite all of their grandiose promises, have done nothing to lower the high cost of living. In fact the cost of living is going up …"
He only spoke for two minutes, but it felt longer. When Jeffries opened the floor to questions, The Post asked him about Smith.
"2028 is way off in the distance," Jeffries said in response. "House Democrats are engaged in an hour by hour, day-to-day, week to week, struggle on behalf of the American people in the context of the first 100 days and beyond."
… and?
"There's a lot to like about Stephen A. Smith - including the fact that we are both die-hard Knicks fans."
The following Tuesday, Smith was on "Pod Save America," striking a more fiery tone as he engaged in some postgame analysis about how the Democrats had lost their way.
"You forgot who brought you here," he said, criticizing the party for failing to connect with Black and Latino voters. He chastised Kamala Harris, "Miss Prim and Proper," for trying too hard to say the right things: "Guess what? It wasn't resonating!" He slammed the party for paying inadequate attention to voters' concerns about crime and immigration: "People were talking about that, and the Democrats were talking about something else."
Most of all, he lambasted the party for its habit of anointing bad candidates.
"You got to get somebody with sizzle," Smith said. "You got to get somebody that when they speak, they influence minds, they influence hearts!"
"Where are those Democrats?" he continued, now nearly shouting. "I don't see them around. That's why I'm a damn candidate. Because of that, it's embarrassing. I want to make sure America understands this. I believe it is an utter embarrassment to the Democratic Party that I am a candidate in people's eyes for the presidency of the United States!"