Bomani Jones warns politicians who might debate Stephen A. Smith: ‘You’re gonna lose’

You might find someone who can beat Stephen A. Smith in a presidential election, but you’ll have a hard time finding someone who can beat him in a debate.

Bomani Jones appeared on this week’s edition of CNN Saturday Morning Table for Five. During the show, CNN played a clip of Smith labeling it an “indictment” of the Democratic Party that he’s gaining legitimate traction as a presidential candidate, prompting host Abby Phillip to ask, “why not?” regarding the ESPN personality running in 2028.

“Bless the hearts of anybody that tries to get on television and argue with that man about anything. I’m telling you right now, you are probably going to lose.” – Bomani Jones on Stephen A. Smith’s political interests pic.twitter.com/cekWZIFBXn

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 24, 2025

“To be fair to him and everybody else at this point, if I’m Stephen A. Smith and I look around, ‘why not me?’ does seem like a fair question,” Jones responded. “That is an indictment of not the Democrats, that is an indictment of everything much broader. But bless the hearts of anybody that tries to get on television and argue with that man about anything. I’m telling you right now, you are probably going to lose. I might not lose, you’re gonna lose.”

That’s really what we’re all hoping for, right? Get him on the debate stage. That’s what Stephen A. Smith is hoping for. Sean Hannity has already experienced the wrath of Smith on Fox News, but the First Take host really wants to have his day on the debate stage with politicians and presidential candidates.

Smith doesn’t want to absorb the pay cut and deal with the day-to-day responsibilities of being a politician. Despite his hesitations, others are legitimately pushing for him to run, believing he has the personality and bravado to revitalize the Democratic Party.

And Jones definitely isn’t thrown off by any potential political interest from Smith. Maybe Jones didn’t see the White House in Smith’s future. But during an appearance on the Awful Announcing Podcast two years ago, Jones suggested he would be more surprised is Smith didn’t eventually run for office, citing the magnitude of his fame, which has only continued to grow.