Stephen A Smith teases 2028 presidential election amid Democratic concerns

As sports media star Stephen A. Smith teased a 2028 presidential run this weekend, there’s one thing he and those advising him need to know: The Democratic Party doesn’t nominate outsiders.

This is a lesson that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., learned in both 2016 and 2020 when his populist socialist movement was blocked by party leaders at every opportunity. It is to his credit as a politician that Sanders and the Socialists, after ten years of hard work, have now virtually taken over the party.

The more relevant example of Stephen A’s potential grab for the gold ring in 2028 is not Sanders, but Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose mistreatment by the DNC led him to endorse President Donald Trump in 2024.

Smith tellingly told CBS News that he wants to “be on the debate stage” when Democrats compete for the nomination starting next year. This is exactly the question that RFK Jr. two years ago when he was told, not so warmly, to kick rocks.

STEPHEN A SMITH DEFENDS POLITICAL COMMENTARY APPROACH, SAYS DIALOGUE FROM BOTH SIDES ‘ENCOURAGES’

What Kennedy intuitively understood, and what Smith also seems to think, is that a heterodox, de facto centrist on the presidential primary stage is a nightmare for what we used to call the Party of Jefferson and Jackson.

At the center of the Democrats’ national narrative is the increasingly tense idea that figures like Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger or even former Vice President Kamala Harris are somehow centrists compared to Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and the Squad.

Thanks to the accommodating news media, this story worked, even though it is a lie. Immediately after being elected, Spanberger raised taxes and supported a slew of progressive bills. Anyway, she looks normal and sounds pretty normal too.

STEPHEN A SMITH SAYS TRUMP’S RIGHT TO SECURE THE BORDER, SAYS ‘EMERGENCY EFFORTS WERE NECESSARY’ AFTER BIDEN’S TERM

Part of the reason this ruse works is that it goes unchallenged within the party itself. But all that goes out the window the moment the combative Smith enters the fray.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Without Smith, for example, a would-be centrist could get away with a weak non-answer about men in women’s sports. But can you imagine Stephen A, with his arsenal of insults and pained facial gestures, just letting that slide?

When it comes to President Donald Trump, the Democrats’ entire identity is based on him being a criminal authoritarian. But Smit doesn’t see it that way. He calls balls and strikes, and that kind of common sense makes progressives on fire look downright stupid.

DEMOCRAT JAMES CARVILLE THINKS IT IS WORTH WATCHING IN 2028, WILL SURPRISE YOU

The Democrats have a real problem here, because if they use their usual backroom self-dealing tricks to deny Smith a seat on the debate stage, he could do exactly what RFK Jr. did, and say, “I tried, but these people are crazy. At least I can talk to the Republicans.”

When Kennedy pulled the trigger, he brought with him an army of Make America Healthy Again mothers from across the country, who may be the biggest reason why Trump lives in the White House today.

Smith also influences an important demographic: the original manosphere, that of sports talk radio and media. Forget the alt-right influencers on social media. Every 27 year old guy with a FanDuel account knows and respects Stephen A.

‘ROCK STAR’ NEWSOM STEALS THE SHOW AT DNC SUMMIT As Democrats Hunt for a 2028 Candidate to Take on Trump

There was even a point in the 2024 race when political sharpshooters knew it was over. It was then that internal polling from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters showed that President Joe Biden’s lead over Trump among its members turned into a more than 20-point lead for Trump, with Harris at the top of the ticket.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS ADVICE

Those kinds of shifts, so quickly, almost never happen. So how do the Democrats get Teamsters back? Well, Teamsters drive trucks a lot, and guys who drive trucks a lot also listen to sports radio a lot. Smith literally speaks their language.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Interestingly enough, the first public figure I heard say in 2015 that Trump would win, not that he had a chance, but that he would win, was Mike Francesa, the pope of sports radio in New York City. I later realized that these presenters talk to working class guys all day for their job, so of course it gives them insight into voters.

The Democrats are in a difficult situation here. They really can’t allow Smith to shine and expose how far they have deviated. But if they do him dirty, he is not without influence. In fact, he could very well give a killer speech for the nominee at the 2028 Republican National Convention.

CLICK HERE TO DAVID MARCUS