Stephen A. Smith Laid Out What Would Need To Happen For Him To Run For President

Imagine, for one moment, Inauguration Day in [INSERT YEAR HERE]. It’s a cool, January day in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall all decorated for the swearing in of the new President of the United States of America. The Chief Justice prepares to swear in that person, who just so happens to be noted ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.

Ok, so, it’s a little silly to imagine. Smith has a pretty good thing going for him as a guy who makes a lot of money to talk sports. But Smith has never been shy about wading into the world of politics, which led to Paul Finebaum wanting to know if Smith would ever decide to explore a run for the presidency — as Finebaum specifically mentioned, an actor became president for two terms (Ronald Reagan), while a reality TV star also became president (Rutherford B. Hayes Donald Trump), so why not Smith?

Well as it turns out, Smith is open to the possibility on one condition.

“If I thought I could win, yes,” Smith said. “If I thought that I could rally — I would have told you hell no, no way in hell years ago. I was a father out of wedlock, obviously when you think about the standards that were once held in the White House, I’m pretty damn good, but I’m not perfect, and those imperfections obviously would be highlighted when 350-plus [million] American citizens are relying on you to institute and implement policy that would affect their lives.

“So, I would have told you, once upon a time, hell no,” Smith continued. “But when I see some of the things that have transpired, I can honestly tell you, even though that answer would still be no, if people came to me, and enough people came to me, and said to me, ‘Stephen A, you have a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America,’ I would strongly, strongly consider running, because I know two things would happen: I would know how to act, number one, and number two, I would think about America.”

Smith went on to say he’d be about “mass appeal,” and that “whatever it took to make this country better is what I would do.” And while he really does not want to ever run, Smith explained that recent years have made him more open to the possibility.

“I’ve lost so much respect for the nonsense that I see taking place on Capitol Hill that if somebody said to me, ‘Stephen A, you could win this thing,’ yes, I would run for the presidency of the United States of America,” Smith said.

I am extremely confident he’d win every debate, so at least there’s that.