President Donald Trump said sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith would be one of the better candidates the Democrats could run if he were to enter the primaries.
Trump called in to a live town hall show on NewsNation hosted by former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who was joined by legendary host Bill O’Reilly as well as Smith.
During the segment, the president was asked about dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, funding historically black colleges and universities, trade deals, and more. After Smith finished asking the president about HBCUs, O’Reilly decided to sneak in a question about Trump’s thoughts on Smith as a presidential candidate.
“Stephen A. Smith may run for president, as you know,” O’Reilly said, as the panel groaned. “Do you have any advice for Stephen A., you know, if he launches the run?”
“No. Stephen A., he’s a good guy,” Trump replied.
Rather than give the broadcaster advice, the president decided to praise Smith as a captivating entertainer.
“He’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him,” Trump continued.
Perhaps handing him the biggest compliment of all, in Trump-esque fashion, the president said Smith was likely the Democrats’ best chance because their other candidates are so poor.
“You know, a lot of these Democrats I watch, I say they have no chance. I’ve been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you, I’d love to see him run.”
Host Cuomo then joked that he did not want Smith to run because he liked him too much.
‘What I have to do is save the country.’
The segment closed with Cuomo telling the president he tried to reach out to him following the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania. Cuomo said he wanted to tell the president he was embarrassed by news coverage that alleged he never actually got shot.
Cuomo then asked Trump how he planned to unify the country.
The president stated that the number of votes he garnered from the Hispanic population along border states was evidence that he had unifying support, but overall he explained that he needed to simply make America great again.
“What I have to do is save the country,” Trump explained.
As for Smith, his endorsements are often equaled by condemnations, even from assumed allies like fellow NBA broadcaster Charles Barkley.
In April, Barkley said on a podcast that at first he thought the idea of Smith running for president was a joke. As the idea gained more traction, he felt his friend Smith needed to “knock it off.”
“Come on, man. Stop it. Come on,” Barkley said about Smith. “It had to start out as a joke, and he started taking it serious. Come on, man. All I would say is, ‘Knock it off.’ And that’s the best way to phrase it.”
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Fearless, Stephen a. smith, Trump, President, Democrats, Endorsement, Sports
