Stephen A. Smith Dismisses Idea Racism Could Tank Potential Presidential Run: Americans ‘Don’t Give a Damn’

Sean JamesFeb 16th, 2026, 2:17 pm
 

(Photo Credit: CBS Sunday Morning)

ESPN star Stephen A. Smith said he is not worried about racism hurting his chances of becoming president if he chooses to throw his hat in the ring come 2028.

Smith told CBS News’ Robert Costa that despite what left-wing pundits and politicians may claim, most Americans “don’t give a damn” about race during an interview on CBS Sunday Morning.

“Do you worry about racism if you ran for president?” Costa asked.

“No. I know it exists. I know that you can’t escape it, but I do not believe it is as prevalent as some on the left would like us to believe,” Smith answered. “I do believe a vast majority of Americans judge you on the content of your character, rather than the color of your skin.”

He continued:

I think a lot of people in America, especially in this day in age, now more so than ever before, it’s not about race. It’s about the fact they don’t give a damn about it, because they got their own problems.

That’s entirely different than believing they are superior to you and want to hold you back from ascending. That’s not what’s going on to the degree it was decades ago.

Smith would become the second Black president if he were to run and be elected in 2028, twenty years after Barack Obama became the first.

His name has been thrown around as a potential ’28 candidate more and more in recent years as Smith has begun to take on a wide variety of political and social issues, and during that same CBS interview, Smith teased he was looking to follow President Donald Trump and move from the entertainment world into the political realm.

“I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027,” Smith told Costa. “I’ve got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues.”

His answer on racism was not included in the CBS segment that ran on Sunday. But it was included in the extended interview posted to YouTube; watch his answer above, and you can check out the full interview by clicking here.

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