Rusty Weiss
Stephen A. Smith, the ESPN personality who apparently feels he doesn’t get enough attention at the network, has been toying with the idea of running for President in 2028. It’s not that he really wants to, it’s just that he thinks the Democratic candidates are so bad that he’d smoke them on the debate stage.
He’s been going back and forth. One minute, he tells folks he’d be the best choice; the next, he complains he wouldn’t be paid enough for the job. Cause it’s not about serving America. The man needs to get paid.
And he’s gone back in that direction yet again, telling Fox News Sean Hannity that he’s essentially putting a White House run to rest. Hannity confronted him and said it was all a ruse from the start.
“I think it’s all bulls‑‑‑,” Hannity told Smith. “I don’t think you’re running. Am I right?”
“I don’t think I’m running either, because I got to give up my money,” the sports analyst and LeBron James punching bag responded. “Yeah, I ain’t giving up my money, Sean.”
“I can tell you right now, let me put the presidential aspirations to bed,” he added. “If I have to give up my money, it’s not happening.”
Stephen A. Smith Shuts Down White House Bid: ‘I Ain’t Giving Up My Money’ – Backs Marco Rubio Over Top Democrats
It’s an argument he’s made before.
“My money has to be tight,” the man who just signed a 5-year, $100 million deal with ESPN last year told TMZ Sports in a previous interview.
“My quality of life needs to be straight, you know? From my understanding, that can’t happen because I’d have to give it up in order to run.”
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Smith, whose presidential ambitions ebb and flow much like his knowledge of sports, has said that he’d consider a White House run because “the country sucks” due to a profound lack of effective leadership. In reality, the only thing that sucks is the party he’d be running in. Barack Obama and Joe Biden ran this country into the ground. Kamala Harris would have finished it off.
So, if he’s not running, who does Smith think would make a good candidate? Surprisingly, he says he’s supporting Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even over prominent Democrats such as California Governor Gavin Newsom and Harris.
“Yes. I’d vote for Marco Rubio over anybody that’s out there right now other than Wes Moore or Josh Shapiro,” Smith said.
BREAKING: Stephen A Smith praises Secretary Rubio.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) March 9, 2026
“I’d vote for Marco Rubio.”
pic.twitter.com/gmh1gVmjWo
Smith recently suggested he would study up on current events to run for President. Guess that was too much for him.