Stephen A. Smith reveals that he’s open to running for President of the United States in the 2028 Presidential Election, but only under one condition.
During an interview with Daily Mail, ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, La., Smith said that if he were financially set to his liking, he would make the foray into politics at the behest of the voting public.
“I have no desire to do this, but assuming that I’m well off, that I have lots of money, and money is no longer a concern,” the renowned sports pundit said of the stipulations regarding his potential candidacy.
Stephen A. Smith attends the 2024 Disney Upfront at Javits Center on May 14, 2024 in New York City.
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“If the American people came to me and looked at me and said ‘Yo, man, we want you to run for office,’ and I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States, I’m not gonna lie, I’ll think about that.”
Smith continued, reiterating that his Presidential bid would be contingent on his financial stability. ‘But I gotta have my money. I’m not gonna go to the White House broke,” he added.
“I’m not gonna do that. I gotta have my money. I gotta have my home. I gotta have my financial situation completely taken care of. I have no concerns if that happens for me. If they told me I had a legitimate, bonafide shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would entertain it.”
Stephen A. Smith attends a playoff basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on May 08, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
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Smith’s comments regarding a run for the White House come after it was revealed in a recent poll that the Queens, N.Y. native beat out Democratic party members with far stronger political resumes. This includes former Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke—who ran for the nomination in 2020—and Illinois governor JB Pritzker.
The New York Times Bestseller also finished closely behind former Democratic vice president candidate Tim Walz, who ran alongside former vice president Kamala Harris during her own presidential campaign, and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, in the poll, by one percentage point.
Stephen A. Smith visits SiriusXM’s ‘The Howard Stern Show’ at SiriusXM Studio on January 23, 2024 in New York City.
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The 57-year-old media personality also expressed his confidence that his presidential campaign would reign victorious over the field, including Harris, who topped the aforementioned poll with 33% over the votes.
“The part that I’m not joking about is I believe I could beat every candidate on that poll. Every candidate that they mentioned, from Kamala Harris right on down to (Pete) Buttigieg and to Tim Walz,” Smith bragged. “I’d beat all of them. I do believe that. I really do.”
Stephen A. Smith attends SiriusXM At Super Bowl LVII on February 09, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.
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