Charles Barkley has been a Democrat and a Republic over his life, but regardless of whichever party Stephen A. Smith adopts, the ESPN host shouldn’t count on Chuck’s political support.
‘Calm down, Stephen A.—and Stephen A. is one of my friends,’ Barkley told Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina when asked about the ESPN’s potential future as a Presidential candidate.
‘C’mon, man,’ Barkley continued. ‘Stop it. C’mon. It had to start out as a joke and he started taking it serious. C’mon, man. All I would say is ”knock it off.” And that’s the best way to phrase it.’
And just in case Barkley left any room for doubt, he gave Traina a clear ‘no’ when asked if he could conceivably vote for Smith.
Despite a complete absence of any political experience, Smith recently said he’s genuinely considering running for President after being approached by ‘elected officials’ over a shot at the White House.
The ESPN analyst posted a link to a Barrett Media article where he revealed he is walking back on his claims he would never run for office.
Despite a complete absence of any political experience, Smith recently said he’s genuinely considering running for President after being approached by ‘elected officials’
Do not try and talk to Charles Barkley about Stephen A. Smith’s hopes at a presidential run
‘Time to stop messing around,’ he wrote on X. ‘Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney. Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess. So I’m officially leaving all doors open.’
In the Barrett Media article, Smith said: ‘Over the last few weeks, I’ve had no choice but to get more serious about it.
‘I’ve been approached by people on Capitol Hill. I’ve been approached by people who are elected officials in office, whether it’s governors or mayors or what have you. People have legitimately, seriously, asked me about it.
‘I have no desire to be a politician, but I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to close that door. I’m gonna keep my options open. I’m going to entertain the possibility.
‘If it comes in late 2026, 2027, where I look at this country and think it’s an absolute mess and there’s legitimate reason to believe … that I indeed have a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States. I am not going to rule it out.’
His comments come amid Donald Trump’s controversial tariff chaos, which has resulted in a number of international trade wars on top of severe market turbulence. Indexes such as the S&P 500 have lost around 5 percent of their market value over the last month as Trump has alternately installed and revoked varying tariffs on foreign goods.
Barkley (right) and Smith (left) are pictured on opposite sides of Marv Albert in 2004
Trump supporters, meanwhile, have argued the pains that come in the short-term – including slumping 401(k) savings – will be worth it in the end.
Smith spoke exclusively to Daily Mail during the Super Bowl in New Orleans about his White House aspirations back in February.
He said: ‘I will confess, like I said, I have no desire to do this, but assuming that I’m well off, that I have lots of money, and money is no longer a concern, if the American people came to me and looked at me and said ‘Yo, man, we want you to run for office’, and I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States, I’m not gonna lie. I’ll think about that.
‘But I gotta have my money. I’m not gonna go to the White House broke. I’m not gonna do that. I gotta have my money.
‘I gotta have my home. I gotta have my financial situation completely taken care of. I have no concerns if that happens for me.’
