- - 'I will confess.' Stephen A. Smith comments on possible presidential run

Terry Collins, USA TODAYFebruary 14, 2026 at 5:42 AM

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Will he or won't he?

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith is again flirting with the possibility of running for president.

The 58-year-old "First Take" and Sirius XM radio host said in a CBS Sunday Morning interview with correspondent Robert Costa airing on Feb. 15that while he has "no desire" to be a politician or run for office, Smith, who is known for his loquacious rants on all things sports (such as NBA great LeBron James) and politics (President Donald Trump), is also not ruling it out.

"I will confess to you, I'm giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027" and running for the Democratic nomination, Smith said, according to Costa's Feb. 13 post on X, teasing the interview.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

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Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

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1 / 2See 19 potential Democratic presidential candidates for the 2028 election

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

"I've got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues," Smith told Costa.

Smith's latest comments come almost a year after he publicly entertained the thought of running for POTUS.

Blasphemy?: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is thinking about running for president

"Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney," Smith said in an April 7, 2025, post on X. "Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess. So I’m officially leaving all doors open."

A month earlier, Smith told USA TODAY he didn't "give a damn about the office" and preferred sparring with political leaders rather than being one.

But since then, Smith has gone back and forth talking about his presidential possibilities on his various platforms and to those who broached him with the question. During a July 27, 2025, appearance on ABC's This Week, Smith told ABC News' Jonathan Karl that the Democrats look "very bad right now because they look leaderless."

Oct 23, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Stephen A. Smith (Stephen Smith) on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome.

"One party has a lead in Donald Trump. You can refute. Yeah. Nobody can refute that. He is the leader of the GOP and the Republican Party. Make no mistake about it. The Democrats don't have a leader," Smith said. :We -- I see -- who -- who's your leader? Who is it? Is it AOC? Is it Bernie Sanders? Is it Jasmine Crockett? Who is it? We respect so many people on Capitol Hill.

"I'm certainly not here to cast dispersions upon individuals, but as a body, the Democratic Party just looks very, very bad right now because they look leaderless," Smith said. "They don't have a definitive voice that anybody can depend on.

"When we look towards 2028, for example, we see a guy like Governor Wes Moore, who I like a lot, and I think is very capable, a Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, who I like and I think is very, very capable.

"But when you talk about a national voice for the Democratic Party, it is literally non-existent. You have no one right now," Smith continued.

Smith has previously said he was "officially leaving all doors open" after rejecting the notion of running for president. Past polling, however, showed the media personality known for his hot takes would have a long way to go to woo voters.

As for Trump, the president said last year he would "love" to see Smith run.

"I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him," Trump said, calling in to a NewsNation town hall on April 30, 2025. "I've been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you, I’d love to see him run."

USA TODAY's Phillip M. Bailey contributed.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen A. Smith floats 2028 presidential run. Democrat or Republican?

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