Dan Dakich: Stephen A. Smith has ‘become a useful idiot for the Republican Party’

Stephen A. Smith has spent the last few years expanding his reach beyond sports. Chiefly, he’s fashioned himself into a political pundit who may or may not (but defintely won’t) run for president.

When it comes to politics, the ESPN and SiriusXM talking head has occupied a strange space, at once claiming he’d want to run for president as a Democrat but spending most of his focus on how terrible the Democrats are. While he appears on shows across a broad spectrum, he tends to make more appearances on conservative-leaning programs, including Fox News’ Hannity, and even received an endorsement from Donald Trump. He also often makes waves for his admonishments of women, some of whom are frequently Black, which is the kind of thing more likely to appeal to conservative audiences than liberal ones.

All of which is to say that whatever Stephen A. Smith is trying to accomplish with his political forays, he seems to be appealing to one side more than the other. And that’s something OutKick’s Dan Dakich has certainly noticed.

“He’s been brilliant,” Dakich told John Mamola at Barrett Media. “He’s become a useful idiot for the Republican Party and has become a guy that has figured out how to appease the Democratic Party.”

The former ESPN college basketball analyst also offered kudos to Smith, expressing appreciation for the effort Smith has put into all his endeavors.

“I think he’s doing a wonderful job,” said Dakich. “Media finds people they can use to put on shows. Someone who will give their side or know where they stand on an issue. He’s been brilliant.”

Dakich has attempted his own balancing act over the years, with mixed results. While he currently splits his time between a show on OutKick and 1430 Indy’s Sports Ticket. He hopes to remain with the Fox Corp.-owned outlet after his contract ends in March 2026.

“My contract is up in March, so we’ll see,” said Dakich. “I hope they want to re-sign me. I think we’ve been pretty good.”