ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith voiced a brazen confession on Real Time With Bill Maher on a recent Friday, stating that he, along with numerous Harris voters, felt like the proverbial ‘fools’ for casting their vote for her in the elections. This blunt admission came about during a heated dialogue comparing Harris’ campaign to Obama’s in 2008.
Smith, the sports commentator, continued to assert that Harris’ lack of nomination via a legitimate primary process, and her dismal performance during the brief period of involvement in the 2020 Democratic primary, hardly appealed to the electorate. Even before she got close to the Iowa caucus, Harris took her exit from the 2020 primary in 2019. Notably, she didn’t secure a solitary primary vote before her unceremonious anointment as the nominee in 2024.
Playing on this oddity, Smith highlighted, ‘Kamala Harris, with no resonance during the 2020 primaries, couldn’t even get to Iowa, yet turns out to be the Democratic nominee? People gather at the convention in Chicago applauding her like a superstar!’ His incredulous question—’How’d that happen?’—echoed the confusion of many.
Despite castings his vote for Harris, Smith shared a sense of dissatisfaction, ‘Yes, I voted for her, like several others. But, we end up feeling deceived, having fervently supported her, fallen for the trickery, so to speak. Given a proper primary, she likely wouldn’t have been nominated by the Democrats.’
Smith didn’t hold back in criticizing the Democratic Party during the 2020 elections and afterward. On Maher’s show, he chastised liberals for their failure to campaign on issues resonating with the American public—a strategy Trump adopted, positioning him closer to the mainstream political belief.
Directly tackling Vice President Harris, he questioned her noticeable evasion of serious media interviews since her campaign’s commencement. Displaying a stark candidness, Smith stated, ‘Despite facing two impeachments, being convicted on 34 felony counts, Americans still felt, He’s more mainstream than what the left offers.’
Reflecting on the election results days after the polls on Fox News Channel with Sean Hannity, Smith strongly asserted that the electoral outcome was essentially a judgment of the Democratic Party. He expressed, ‘This election should be seen as America’s verdict on the Democratic Party. Clearly, Americans are not onboard with where you stand or your envisaged direction. Their rejection is starkly clear—they want no part of it.’
Smith didn’t shy away from presenting a critical dissection of the Democratic National Committee and its pre-election messaging. Specifically pointing to the engagement with transgender issues, he noted this as a weakened aspect in the Party’s narrative. ‘There’s been a marked lean to the progressive left, frequently drumming about culture wars, identity politics, and such. The public has grown weary of this.’
Despite not voting for Trump, Smith showed a level of acceptance, even understanding, for the progressive sector’s dissatisfaction. ‘The world isn’t going to end just because the person I backed didn’t come out victorious,’ he stated, indicating a pragmatic view amidst criticism.
In a rare move within liberal media circles, Smith has time and again expressed his willingness to consider a run for public office. Post the election results, he was unusual in welcoming Trump’s success and also openly discredited the portrayal of Trump by left-leaning personalities such as Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Jimmy Kimmel.
Smith suggested that he may not entirely dismiss the prospect of making a bid for the highest office in the land, post-election. ‘I have no ambition of being a congressional figure or a senator. However, if there was a reasonable chance to win the United States presidency, I would definitely think it over,’ he asserted.