Stephen A. Smith tells Dave Rubin he could beat every Democrat in 2028 race -- if he runs

Dave Rubin interviewing Stephen A. Smith

ESPN sports pundit Stephen A. Smith appeared on Thursday's episode of The Rubin Report and addressed the possibility that he may launch a 2028 White House bid, as well as a number of other topics making headlines recently.

When Dave asked Smith why he'd run as a Democrat, Smith replied, "I've never considered myself conservative when it came to social issues. I've always considered myself a liberal. I'm pro-choice instead of pro-life --even though I'm not one who believes in abortion." He noted several other issues that he has historically leaned liberal on, and said he's felt that in the past, the Republican Party wasn't overly welcoming to black people. 

"I believe in free-market capitalism from a principled perspective, but in the same breath, I do believe there are people out here who need a helping hand," Smith said.

Dave then pressed Smith on whether the Democrats' thin bench for possible 2028 candidates is a reason for running as a Democrat.

Smith said, "It is tempting when I see those [people] as the candidates because I don't believe any of them have a chance of winning." Apart from criticizing Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and AOC as presidential candidates, Smith had tough words for the modern Democrat Party. "I am in no way identifying myself with today's Democratic Party," he said. "If I were ever to run for office, I wouldn't listen to them [the modern progressive Democrats] at all. I wouldn't take that nonsense from them one bit."

Several times throughout the interview, Smith said he likely won't end up running for president in 2028 because of his lucrative contract with ESPN. But, he said at one point, "If I do it, it's because I believe I'm going to win. I'm coming to win. I'm not going to step on a debate stage to lose."

Smith did offer a hint about whom he might support in 2028 should he choose not to run.

"I'm not ruling out the possibility that if I don't run, I wouldn't vote for a guy like Marco Rubio. I respect Marco Rubio. This man is a former senator,  he's the present Secretary of State, he's the National Security Adviser. He's an adult in the room." Smith seemed to prefer Rubio over Vice President JD Vance. "I look at JD Vance and I see somebody that aspires to be Trump-ish," Smith said, adding that Rubio seems more focused on the job than Vance does. 

Smith also weighed in on a number of other topics including AOC's disastrous answer at a security conference in Munich, Germany, earlier this month, the moment at Trump's State of the Union when Democrats refused to stand in agreement with the "first duty" of American government officials., and the snowball attack on NYPD officers during the blizzard. Watch the full interview below.