President Donald Trump offered unexpected praise for Stephen A. Smith, saying the ESPN commentator would be among the more competent Democrats if he chose to pursue a presidential run.
Trump surprisingly called into a NewsNation town hall on Monday, which was hosted by former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, featuring guests Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith.
At one point, O’Reilly turned the discussion toward Smith’s rumored presidential ambitions.
“Stephen A. Smith may run for president, as you know,” O’Reilly noted, prompting unhappy reactions from the panel. “Do you have any advice for Stephen A., you know, if he launches the run?”
Trump avoided addressing political strategy. Instead, he complimented Smith as a public figure. “No. Stephen A., he’s a good guy,” he replied.
“He’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him,” Trump continued.
After lauding Smith’s media success, he lobbed a characteristically Trumpian jab at the Democratic field.
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"I've been critical of him for years. But he was nice on NewsNation. You know why? I said, 'Good evening, Mr. President. Good to talk to you.' Something as… pic.twitter.com/jZrbzj9YTo
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) May 6, 2025
“You know, a lot of these Democrats I watch, I say they have no chance,” he sniped.
“I’ve been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you, I’d love to see him run.”
Cuomo added his two cents about Smith saying that he didn’t want him to run for president because he likes him too much.
Later in the program, Cuomo shifted the tone to a more somber subject, the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The former CNN host told Trump he had tried to get in touch with him following the incident and criticized media reports questioning whether Trump had actually been shot.
When asked how he planned to bring the country together, Trump pointed to his success with Hispanic voters in border regions.
“What I have to do is save the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Smith himself didn’t hold back when talking about the Democratic Party’s failures to connect honestly with black voters.
His blunt criticism underscored frustration with what he sees as manipulative tactics.
The Democrat Party FOOLED the black community.
They sold us dependency, destroyed our self-reliance, and locked up our vote without delivering real change. Decades later, we’re still complaining—and they’re still doing nothing.
Thank you @stephenasmith for having me on your… pic.twitter.com/139GKGhvBa
— Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) May 1, 2025
“They wanted to make sure, ‘Oh, we’re going to point to racism. We’re going to guilt you into voting for us. We’re not going to talk about the things that we’re doing positively,” he began.
“We’re going to talk about what the other side is doing negatively to engage in fear mongering to help you, through fear factor, go our way instead of theirs.’ And it didn’t work this time,” Smith said.
The ESPN star added that while he “might not like” all of Trump’s executive actions, he’s “glad” that Democrats didn’t win the White House.
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"It didn't work this time. And to be quite honest with you, even though I might not like some of the things I’m seeing from the Trump… pic.twitter.com/MJiBowwfFa
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) May 6, 2025
“Because I think, for the longest time, black Americans have played the role of suckers to the Democratic Party,” Smith continued.
“They’ve guilted us into voting for them, making us feel as if we’re going to be ostracized, creating division within our own communities or what have you to get our vote, instead of saying to us, ‘Hey, this is what we will do for you. And it will work better than what they’re offering.’”
The titular host echoed a similar sentiment on his April 28 episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” where he also credited Trump with achieving real results on the border.
“When it comes to immigration enforcement, there is no doubt that Donald Trump has been successful,” Smith stated.
“We can slice it any way we want to, but Joe Biden having an open border policy caused a lot of problems in this nation, particularly to the psyche of American citizens.”
Speculation about Smith’s political ambitions has grown in recent months. He teased the possibility during an appearance on “The View,” hinting that a serious run might be on the table if the odds favored him.
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“I’m half joking, but I kind of mean it,” Smith said. “I mean, I have no desire to be a congressional figure or a senator, but if you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it.”
That suggestion didn’t sit well with NBA legend and friend Charles Barkley.
During a recent episode of the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast, Barkley pushed back against the idea.
“Calm down, Stephen A. — and Stephen A. is one of my friends,” Barkley said. “Come on, man. Stop it. Come on.”
“It had to start out as a joke, and he started taking it serious. Come on, man. All I would say is, ‘Knock it off.’ And that’s the best way to phrase it.”
Traina couldn’t help but point out the similarity to former President Trump’s own origin story, which some critics long speculated began as a publicity stunt before turning serious.
“The funny thing is that’s what everyone says happened with Trump; he first started it as a joke because ‘The Apprentice’ was getting canceled,” he pointed out.
“Now, you’re saying Stephen A., like, you would think it’s starting as like, ‘Oh, let me get some attention for ‘First Take,’ I just got my big contract.’ But now it’s like he’s on ABC Sunday morning saying, ‘You know I got to run,’” Traina added.
Barkley shared his own view on potential 2028 contenders, naming Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro and Maryland’s Wes Moore as the only Democrats he would consider backing.
“I would not even consider voting for anybody else other than one of those two,” he said.
As for Trump, Barkley didn’t mince words: “He’s just not my cup of tea.”
When asked point-blank if he’d vote for Smith, Barkley responded, “No. Hard No.”