Stephen A. Smith FLIRTS with Republican presidential bid

Stephen A. Smith has been making headlines lately, and it’s not for his reporting on ESPN. Rather, the sports commentator has been making the podcast rounds and teasing the idea of running for the presidency in 2028.

And on a recent episode of the “PBD Podcast” with Patrick Bet-David, Smith appeared to suggest that he wouldn’t be opposed to running as a Republican.

“100% that in 2028, if you run, you will run as a Democrat,” PBD said, addressing Smith.

“The only reason I say that, is because I don’t think that I’d have a snowball's chance in hell of running as a Republican. I think JD Vance, the Marco Rubios of the world, even the Ron DeSantises of the world have that on lock, number one,” Smith replied.

“Number two, the party is not as in disarray as the Democratic Party. Number three, even though I’m a centrist, and I’m a registered independent,” he continued, “I would have voted for Nikki Haley if Ron DeSantis hadn’t pissed me off with the whole slavery, ‘there’s good parts about slavery’ comment.”

“I might have voted for him. That was my issue with him. Trump, obviously, it’s behavior more so than anything else, but I had no problem with Nikki Haley. I’m friends with Governor Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey,” he added, before explaining that “if a third party had a chance of winning an election,” that would be how he’d run.

“I don’t like leaning far right or left, and I think both sides pull you dramatically in their direction,” he concluded.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock doesn’t like where he sees this going.

“That’s fascinating. Now, he’s just thrown in a new angle here, in my opinion, running as a third candidate,” Whitlock says, speculating, “so maybe his play is, and their play is, if we can get him out there as a centrist and pull enough men away from the Republican Party, it may open a door for the Democrats.”

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