ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith dismissed “CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent Robert Costa’s question about whether he would be concerned about racism if he sought the White House.
Smith said during the interview that he would run as a Democrat if he decided to launch a presidential bid. When Costa asked during the extended interview posted to YouTube on Sunday whether he would “worry about racism” if he ran, Smith said he did not believe it was as significant of an issue as the political left portrays it.
READ: Indonesia Announces 8,000-Troop Commitment For Trump Project In Middle East
“I know it exists. I know that you can’t escape it, but I do not believe it is as prevalent as some on the left would like us to believe. I do believe a vast majority of Americans judge you on the content of your individual character rather than the color of your skin,” Smith said. “I think a lot of people in America, especially in this day and age, now more so than ever before, it’s not about race. It’s about the fact that they don’t give a damn about it because they got their own problems.”
“That’s entirely different than believing they are superior to you and they want to hold you back from ascending. That’s not what’s going on to the degree that it was decades ago,” he continued. “What’s going on now is that we have more white Americans and others suffering and worried about the state of our nation. And because they’re concerned about that, that’s where their worries lie.”
Smith also explained his thought process on deciding whether he would ultimately run in the 2028 election during the interview that aired on television.
READ: From Pews To Prison: St. Petersburg Duo Convicted In Multi-Million Dollar Retail Theft Ring
“I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027. I’ve got this year coming up, 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues, etc,” he told Costa. “‘Cause I don’t know everything. But I am going to spend this year thinking about that before I make a decision as to what I want to do.”
While Smith said he would run as a Democrat, he has repeatedly criticized Democrats over hot-button issues pertaining to their rhetoric, strategy and policy.
Moreover, Smith hung up on and rebuked a caller for claiming every Republican was racist during a December episode of his SiriusXM show “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.”
“Goodbye, man. Have a nice day. We’re not doing that … I’m not letting anybody on either side of the aisle castigate an entire party of people like that,” Smith said. “I’m not doing that. That gets us nowhere.”
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
