Stephen A. Smith feels sorry for political pundits on TV: ‘How y’all could be subjected to this stuff.’

Stephen A. Smith isn’t a political analyst, he just plays one on his podcast. But that doesn’t mean he has any interest in doing it full-time.

Smith made one of his many cable news appearances Thursday night, joining CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip. Usually, when Smith joins a cable news network, it’s to promote something or discuss a topic that intersects sports and politics.

But Thursday night, Smith was breaking down George Santos, Elon Musk and Donald Trump. And after running the gamut of political topics with host Phillip, Smith realized cable news pales in comparison to sports television.

"These folks on Capitol Hill seem to get away with everything." pic.twitter.com/HVAiuq9Uon

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2023

“I look at somebody like you and others, and I gotta tell you something,” Smith said to Phillip. “Me talking politics from time to time, I actually find myself feeling sorry for y’all. How y’all could be subjected to this stuff on a day-to-day basis, listening to these folks act like a bunch of damn hooligans for crying out loud.”

But what really resonated with Smith is the fact that politicians are able to repeatedly embarrass themselves despite supposedly acting in the best interest of citizens, while athletes are the ones being held to a higher standard.

“I know there is no way that that would be tolerated from young athletes who have no impact on anybody,” Smith said after ranting about the belligerence carried out by politicians on Capitol Hill. “You can turn off the TV, you don’t have to patronize the product or the brand and go to games and all this other stuff. And the litany of criticism and the vitriol that is aimed in their direction for the slightest thing, but these folks on Capitol Hill seem to get away with everything.”

Smith has been making appearances on cable news networks for years. But with the ESPN personality showing more of a political interest on his personal podcast in the last 15 months, there has been a thought that Smith could eventually seek a bigger role on a cable news platform.

Smith put that thought to rest Thursday night. Attempting to police Capitol Hill by running for president might still appeal to ESPN’s foremost daytime personality, but it sounds like he’ll pass on having to talk about those “damn hooligans” on a nightly basis.

[CNN]