Stephen A. Smith clarifies he has no desire to be a politician… but is keeping door open

Stephen A. Smith does not want to be the President of the United States, or hold any political office for that matter.

But he would run if asked.

But please don’t ask him.

Unless you really want to.

Like a 12-year-old boy flirting with a girl he likes, the high-priced ESPN talent continues to tug the ponytails of the most important job in the world and run away when it turns towards him.

Smith appeared at Front Office Sports’ “Tuned-In” Summit on Tuesday as part of a discussion with OutKick’s Clay Travis. Amid that riveting discussion, the First Take host was asked for the 1,000th time if he actually has political aspirations or if he’s finally gotten that out of his system.

Stephen A. Smith says he has “no desire whatsoever to be a politician.”

But @stephenasmith‘s pastor and people in the media have asked him to keep an open mind about running for president.

“You never know what the state of affairs in this country will be in a couple years.” pic.twitter.com/PbTjLAqoak

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 16, 2025

“I have no desire whatsoever to be a politician,” said Smith. “Life is really, really good, and I don’t really want to compromise it at all.

“But I’ve been asked by various people, including my pastor, including people in this business and others, to keep an open mind because you never know what the state of affairs in this country will be in a couple of years. As a result, they said to me, ‘Could you at least stop saying no? Could you at least say, I’ll leave the door open, even if you are willing to admit you sincerely 99% doubt that you would ever run for office?'”

We’d love to know who these sports media svengalis are trying to sway Smith towards the political spectrum. We want to meet the masterminds looking around at the world in this moment and thinking to themselves, ‘You know who could fix all of this? Stephen A. Smith.”

Smith’s penchant for discussing politics has become an ongoing habit for him throughout the year. He has maintained, chiefly, a status similar to what he described on Tuesday, often saying he doesn’t want to run but would do it if asked. Also, while he has no desire to be president, he is certain he’d win if he did run. And even when it sounds like he’s closing the door, he always leaves it open just enough to keep getting asked about it.