Stephen A. Smith has 'no desire' to run for president, but is 'not ruling it out' for 2028

Stephen A. Smith during a 2025 appearance on The Rubin Report.

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said in a new interview set to come out over the weekend that he's not ruling out a 2028 White House bid. The sportscaster, who has delved more deeply into politics over the last two years, has been frequently mentioned as a possible outsider-type of candidate who could dramatically shakeup up the 2028 race.

"When somebody talks about me being a president or whatever, I have no desire to be a politician. Zero," Smith told CBS Sunday Morning in an interview, according to Deadline, which obtained quotes from the interview. "I have no desire to run for office," he added.

But that doesn't mean he's ready to write off running in 2028. And if he did run, he'd do so as a Democrat. 

Smith said he's "not ruling it out because I’d love to be on the debate stage against some of these individuals that think they’re better suited to run the country. Because I think that the American people deserve to listen to and hear from somebody who genuinely cares about making life better for them instead of yourself." In a promotional post on X. Smith joked that he'd been "grilled" during the interview. 

Smith appeared for a lengthy interview on The Rubin Report last year in which he was outspoken about how Democrats conducted themselves during the 2024 election cycle. Speaking with Dave less than two weeks before Trump was sworn in, Smith blasted the lawfare used against Trump, which continued even after Trump won the election. He also discussed how a friend of his, whom Smith described as a staunch Republican, distinguished modern Democrats from Republicans and predicted that a silent majority of voters would sweep Trump into office. 

He also talked about receiving a phone call from Donald Trump in 2014 when Trump was pursuing a purchase of the Buffalo Bills, and he mentioned to Smith that he had a desire to run for the White House.

During his interview on The Rubin Report, Smith said he was registered as an independent. 

Watch last year's interview with Smith below.