Charles Barkley doesn’t know who he’s going to vote for in the next presidential election, but he wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Stephen A. Smith on the ticket.
Barkley joined a recent episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show and during the interview, the Basketball Hall of Famer lamented the idea of a Joe Biden vs Donald Trump rematch later this year. Recognizing the less than stellar options, Smith offered Barkley one more possible candidate.
“If I was running, would you vote for me?” Smith asked.
“Yes,” Barkley answered quickly. “Let me tell you why, because I know you don’t have an evil bone in your body and I don’t think you have an agenda. That’s all I want. Even if you vote for somebody, you’re not gonna agree on every subject.”
Barkley, who hosts a cable news show with Gayle King every Wednesday night on CNN, said if he could influence the election, he would support California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the Democratic candidate for president should the party look to replace an 81-year-old Biden. The decision was somewhat surprising considering Barkley railed against San Francisco’s “homeless crooks” during the NBA All-Star game earlier this month.
But even if Newsom was tabbed to run against Trump, Smith might still be Barkley’s preference, as unrealistic as it may be. “As long as you don’t have a hidden agenda, you can have my vote,” Barkley said, noting he doesn’t worry too much about policy because he’s not going to agree with any candidate on everything.
Smith previously teased the possibility of running for president, although he’s since claimed to have soured on the political landscape, withdrawing his name from any future consideration. Sorry, Chuck. Stephen A. Smith isn’t going to run for president, but he still might get more involved with politics. Last week, Smith claimed people in the “political stratosphere” have been “clamoring” for him to get more involved. Add Barkley to the list.
