Stephen A. Smith bemoans 'binary system' while leaving door open to run for U.S. President

Stephen A. Smith still isn’t ruling out a 2028 presidential bid as mid-term elections draw closer. Joining the Paul Finebaum Show on Monday, Smith revealed recent conversations with his pastor have helped him to “leave the door open” regarding a possible run at the presidency.

Smith said he has “no desire” to become a politician or elected official. He admitted he’s no aficionado in the various issues that comes with the position, both foreign and domestic, but he has a passion to see the United States flourish.

“I hate the way that things are,” he told Finebaum. “And I think that there needs to be some common sense brought to the equation.”

Smith called the country polarized in its current state. The political landscape in 2026 has become “so belligerent and so childish at times” that he believes there should be a fresh face brought into the mix.

That’s where Stephen A. Smith believes he’ll step in. He wants to challenge those who he sees as having let the United States become so divided on virtually every issue across the aisle.

“I would actually love to be on the debate stage, going up against these people — going up against these people that I believe have done a disservice to our country by conducting themselves the way that they’ve conducted themselves, and dividing us the way that we are,” Smith continued. “I think that if we talk with one another, we find out as Americans that we have far more in common than we do differences.

“It’s hard to get to that point in a binary system where it forces you to pick one side or the other, and both sides are so busy, you know, denigrating one another that you can’t imagine defending the side that you don’t agree with or you don’t support because of the vitriol that’s exchanged. I think that needs to come to an end, and I think that somebody like me definitely will bring attention to it.”

Smith himself said he’s a moderate. He leans to the right fiscally and leans to the left on social issues. However, he’s a capitalist at heart. If he does pull the trigger and run for president, no one needs to worry about him changing what he called the fabric of America.

“That is why people look at me and they say, ‘Who the hell does he think he is? While other people are saying, ‘Run, run, run,” he said.

“I get it. I understand it, and I accept the responsibilities that come with it.”