Stephen A. Smith Reveals Why He Would Beat Every Dem in 2028

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Rubin Report

Episode: Stephen A. Smith Reveals Why He Would Beat Every Dem in 2028

Host: Dave Rubin
Guest: Stephen A. Smith
Date: February 26, 2026

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Overview

This lively episode features ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith discussing the speculation around a potential political run in 2028, his complicated relationship with the Democratic Party, critiques of current American political discourse, and his unapologetic, moderate stances. The conversation is wide-ranging, candid, and interspersed with humor, touching on race, political identity, policy, media authenticity, and the state of both parties' leadership.

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Main Themes & Key Insights

1. Stephen A. Smith’s Political Identity and the “Democrat” Label

• Smith clarifies he identifies as a “liberal” and “moderate,” not with the current progressive left.
• His alignment with the Democratic Party is more about tradition and history than affinity with current policies and personalities.

"I'm not identifying myself with today's Democratic Party. I'm talking about the Democrats that existed in the 80s and the 90s, the Clinton Democrats and stuff like that. I'm not talking about this strong progressive left with some of the nonsense that they've spewed and the positions that they've taken."
— Stephen A. Smith [09:27]

• Smith detests emotional blackmail or pandering, particularly toward the black community.

2. Policy Priorities and Issues with Both Parties

• On Social and Economic Policy:
  • Smith is pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ+, and favors entitlement programs for the disenfranchised, but also values free-market capitalism.
• On Race and Party Messaging:
  • Historically, the GOP has failed to engage the black community, causing longstanding distrust.
  • He criticizes the Democratic Party for pandering but not delivering tangible policy improvements.

"There's nothing about the GOP that says we as black people are invited... from an optics perspective, it just doesn't look like we are part of that party."
— Stephen A. Smith [06:39]

3. Problems with Modern Democrats and Progressives

• Smith is critical of the party’s focus on issues relevant to tiny minorities at the expense of core constituencies.
• He condemns the influence of the “progressive left,” arguing for a return to compromise and centrist policy.

"The left being pulled even further left by a small cadre of individuals... No, because what you gonna do, you gonna vote for the right where you're. The progressive left, where you at?"
— Stephen A. Smith [11:12]

• Thinks Democrats fail to unify around practical policies, and their leaders have weak electoral appeal.

4. Views on Republicans & Donald Trump

• He respects aspects of Republican philosophy, but finds the party insensitive to America’s less-advantaged.
• His biggest objection to Trump: lack of decorum and the instinct to divide for personal vindication.

"My issue with him, not respectful, doesn't have the proper decorum, the statesmanship that I'd like from the presidency..."
— Stephen A. Smith [17:16]

• Smith says any benefits for the black community under Trump are "byproducts" of other priorities.

5. Assessment of 2028 Democratic Field

• Smith is deeply unimpressed with the major Democratic contenders, including Newsom, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
• Argues their track records are ammunition for opposition; believes he’d “beat every Dem in 2028,” though he’s not actually planning a run.

“...it is tempting when I see those as the candidates, because I don't believe any of them have a chance of winning. We can go down the list…”
— Stephen A. Smith [22:15]

6. Political Authenticity and Debate

• Smith contrasts his straight-talking, confrontational style with what he describes as “chameleon” politicians like Gavin Newsom.
• Advocates for “emotional honesty” and transparency, citing his own career as an example.

“They trust that you do what's politically expedient in a moment, and they don't feel they can trust you. That's a big, big deal that you want to overcome. I know for me, for better or worse, you can trust me to be me.”
— Stephen A. Smith [43:00]

7. Why Smith Won’t Actually Run

• Cites his lucrative career and FCC rules as main reasons he won’t seek office, but jokes about being ready to debate for real if he could keep his day job.

“Come up with a way for me to keep my money, and I'm like, I'll show up.”
— Stephen A. Smith [35:01]

8. Critique of “Tax the Rich” and Fiscal Mismanagement

• Smith describes the “tax the rich” narrative as a distraction from governmental mismanagement and out-of-control spending.

“Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Somewhere along the way. Would you mind handling a budget? Would you mind doing your job?”
— Stephen A. Smith [47:23]

9. Common Sense and Compromise in Governance

• Advocates for bipartisan cabinet appointments and a return to legislative compromise.
• Believes extreme partisanship only fosters chaos and division.

10. Hot-Button Issues: Immigration, Law Enforcement, and Social Services

• Smith expresses frustration at policies that prioritize undocumented migrants over citizens, echoing widespread American sentiment.
• Criticizes anti-police rhetoric and “defund the police” stances that have undermined public safety and morale.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I debate every day for a living...You want some, come get some. If that's how it would be.” — Stephen A. Smith on handling debates [33:45]
• “You're not going to do a damn thing. All you're going to have to do is come at me and you're going to have to come at me and show that I have no business thinking that I can play in this lane. And I'm saying to you, you're absolutely right. I probably don't have any business playing in this lane. But what does that say? That I'm a candidate? Because y' all must be God awful if I'm sitting up here on this stage with you.” [37:15]
• "You didn't elect us to follow your lead. You elected us to lead, to do what we believe is in the best interest of this country. And that's exactly what we're doing." Recalling Dick Cheney's rationale, which influenced Smith's centrist convictions. [55:10]

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Key Timestamps

• [04:22] Stephen A. Smith—Why he (historically) aligns Democrat
• [09:27] Smith on not relating to today's progressive Democrats
• [13:26] The trust gap between black voters and the GOP
• [17:15] On why he finds Trump’s conduct disqualifying
• [22:10] His harsh assessment of the 2028 Democratic primary field
• [26:10] Critique of AOC’s foreign policy response
• [29:07] State of the Union—On standing for American citizens
• [33:42] Why his debate style would dominate the Democratic field
• [35:00] Why he would only run if he could keep his media career
• [43:00] On political authenticity and being emotionally honest
• [47:23] "Tax the rich" discourse and government waste
• [53:40] On immigration, social services, and prioritizing American citizens

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Flow & Tone

The episode is high-energy, sharp, and direct, with both Rubin and Smith leaning heavily into frank, sometimes comedic banter (“You want a cookie? But you didn’t beat me.”). Smith’s tone is combative but fair, emphasizing moral seriousness, policy realism, and a frustration with both parties’ leadership. While he jokes about running, there’s real critique behind why he sees the field as weak—and why authenticity, passion, and reason matter in American politics.

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Closing Thoughts

Stephen A. Smith delivers a candid, often provocative, but deeply thoughtful critique of today’s political culture, lambasting elite posturing and the lack of substantive policy leadership. He’s proud of his moderate, centrist ideals, and insists any real movement to save American democracy comes from authentic crossover candidates willing to call out nonsense on both sides.

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This summary captures all major topics and spirit of the episode. For the full debate experience and Stephen A.'s unmistakable delivery, the actual conversation is well worth a listen.

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Transcript

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[Stephen A. Smith]

All right, Sass.

[Dave Rubin]

Stephen A. Smith.

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You want an intro?

[Dave Rubin]

What do I say about you at this point? You're on every show, all the time, everywhere.

[Stephen A. Smith]

From telling people, I don't volunteer, I don't volunteer. They ask me. I'm just trying to be a nice guy, you know, I got love for y'. All. So, you know, when people ask me to come, I'm like, okay. You know, they wouldn't ask me to come unless they thought I could be of help. So I'm here.

[Dave Rubin]

Do you find that people start talking like you when they're talking to you because of the inflection that you talk with?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I think that. I think that it's people recognizing that I got away with it, you know, so they wish. They wish they could have gotten away with it all of these years, that kind of thing. It's all in fun, though. It's all good.

[Dave Rubin]

Did you. I think I asked you this once, but did you when you started broadcasting, was it really intentional to speak a certain way or it really was just coming out as it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I Had a background in mass communications at Winston Salem State University and HBCU in North Carolina. I get into the business as an intern, first with the Winston Salem Journal, then with the Greensboro News and Record, then with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and then back in Greensboro. So you go into the business, and ultimately you want to be a writer and what have you, because you're thinking that, you know, when it comes to television, you reading the prompt and all of that stuff, you don't understand all the stuff that goes with it. And I just knew that I didn't have that formal training, so being a reporter, getting intel information, I knew that was going to be a strength that I had to lean on. And then subsequently, you let's. You know, you get in front of the microphone for television or radio, and since you don't have that training, you're like, okay, my information will carry me. The things that I have to say will carry me. And it won't be held against me that I'm devoid of that Midwestern accent where you can't tell where you're from. You'll know where I'm from, the way that I speak, and it is what it is, and let's see where that goes. And for some reason, folks gravitated to me because I was unapologetic and I wasn't scared to say what I thought was correct, and I would go from there. And it has stayed with me in my career ever since.

[Dave Rubin]

So I mostly would love to spend the hour talking about those awesome kicks,

[Shopify/Prolon Advertiser]

which I will not ask you on it.

[Dave Rubin]

That's right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You got them.

[Dave Rubin]

That's right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Don't worry about it.

[Dave Rubin]

They're pretty freaking awesome. And it sounds like I cannot get them. Unfortunately, they're pretty freaking cool. But I thought we'd do something a little different. You know, last time I had you in here was proper sit down about your career and everything else, but you've been in the news a lot lately.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah, man.

[Dave Rubin]

They're saying them. You know, they. Those people, they are saying that you might run for president as a Democrat, so. Well, I guess let's do it this way. Why a Democrat? And then we'll dive into the other stuff.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, first of all, I've never considered myself conservative when it came to social issues. Anything outside of fiscal issues. You know, I've always considered myself a liberal. I'm pro choice instead of pro life, even though I'm not one who believes in abortion. I don't believe in telling a woman what to do with her body. Pro LGBTQ plus, not to say that there aren't people on the conservative side that don't feel that way, but for years, the Democratic Party has been more identified with that than the right. Then when you take into account free market capitalism, national security, these things are very, very important to me. But in the same breath, when I think about the desolate and the disenfranchised and I think some of the policies that have been pushed forth, at least verbally, you know, throughout the years, throughout the decades, whether, you know, it lends itself towards civil rights legislation, voting rights legislation, those kind of things, Fair Housing act, all of those different kind of things, I just looked at it from the standpoint that in my household, it seemed to be more identified with the Republicans and with the Democrats rather than the Republicans. As you move on and you grow, you learn more and more about what role Republicans played in this and how that was pretty much died down. But I think, if I'm being totally honest, David, I think the biggest thing is, and I said this in all honesty, to be as transparent as I possibly could be. I had the pleasure of interviewing the late, great John McCain, God rest his soul. I had a show, Quite frankly, on ESPN2 at the time, back in 2005, and I interviewed him before he obviously went up against Barack Obama for the presidency. And I remember when ultimately we had kept in touch periodically throughout the next couple of years, and I remember when he had some debate against Obama, and I just said to him one time when I ran into him at Reagan National Airport, I said, there's nothing about the GOP that says we as black people are invited. I'm not accusing you of that, meaning him or anybody specifically, but from an optics perspective, it just doesn't look like we are part of that party. And I think that that goes along, that lends itself towards Democrats, for the most part, throughout the years, viewing themselves as those that lean left as opposed to lean right. Because we never felt like we were a part of that party. And I think that's why I thought it resonated big time when Trump had said to a lot of folks within the African community, African American community, in 2016, when he said, what do you have to lose? That's what he was saying, because that was his way of saying, you guys have been giving them your vote for decades, and it's the truth. We have been.

[Dave Rubin]

So it seems to me that your attachments to the Democrat Party are of Democrat party, maybe of 20 or 30 or 40.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Absolutely.

[Dave Rubin]

Because everything that you talk about and the way That I actually love that you still describe yourself as a liberal, because I do consider my. I'm a real liberal. It just has nothing to do with the Democrat Party now. So when you talk about the gay rights, let's say, or abortion, we've been kicked back to the states. Republicans aren't really screaming about it. You don't hear them trying to reverse gay marriage or something, or the fact that Trump has really shifted the party when it comes to, let's say, minorities. It still seems to me you are more of a Republican. And I'm not trying to just throw you in a bucket. I'm just trying to understand the thought.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Listen, at the end of the day, it's fair is fair. If you see what I say and what I believe and how I conduct myself, I have no problem with people saying that. Patrick. Ben David has become a really good friend of mine. And he and I talk all the time. And he always says, excuse me, he always says, you are the most conservative Democrat.

[Dave Rubin]

They used to be. They used to exist. Yes, we see. Bulldog Democrats.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah, he doesn't know what to do. Excuse me, he says, I'm the most conservative Democrat he has seen. But I don't view it that way. I view. To me, if I was in office, I would be focusing on the desolate and the disenfranchised more than I see the Republican Party doing. I agree. And I believe in free market capitalism from a principled perspective. But in the same breath, I do believe there are people out here who need a helping hand, who need assistance. I do believe in entitlement programs for the disenfranchised, for the poor amongst us. I do believe in helping to uplift the little man and the little woman and giving folks a chance at the American dream. And I don't think that the GOP comes across nearly as much as saying that and thinking that way. I think what they do is they say, this is our system and there's a way to capitalize it. Go for it, y'. All. As opposed to being sensitive to the fact that there's a segment of our populace that has had an advantage, that has had a step up and a step forward. And as a result of that, you've got to scale things back to some degree to give the smaller person an opportunity, a fighting chance to have their piece of the American dream. And I don't think that the GOP comes across as a party that's ultra sensitive to that. But I will say this. I am in no way identifying myself with today's Democratic Party. When I'm talking about Democrat, I'm talking about me being a moderate. I'm talking about the Democrats that existed in the 80s and the 90s, the Clinton Democrats and stuff like that. I'm not talking about this strong progressive left with some of the nonsense that they've spewed and the positions that they've taken. Oh, no. If I were to ever run for office, I wouldn't listen to them at all. I wouldn't take that nonsense from them one bit.

[Dave Rubin]

Because do you think there's a way to do that? Like a genuine way to do that? Just seeing that the energy of the progressives seems to have taken over the party as opposed to Bobby Kennedy?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, Tulsi Gabbard, I'm glad you asked that question.

[Dave Rubin]

That moved over.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm glad you asked that question. So let's say, for example, you know, when you had folks within the Democratic Party on the progressive side talking about transgender, obviously that wasn't, quote, unquote, their focal point, but it was something that the GOP was able to market in a fashion that would favor them. But the bottom line is this. What the hell are you doing talking about less than 1% of the population like it's a very, very serious issue when 13.6% of the population, which was the black community, has been giving you more than 80% of its vote since the 1960s? How dare you do that? How dare you come at us with that stuff? How dare you be somebody that'll go on stage and will talk about a vote for us is against, you know, a vote for Trump is a vote against us. Well, wait a minute. We don't have a right to care about the economy. We don't have a right to care about our borders. We don't have a right to care about safety in the street. We don't have a right to care about the things. If we've decided to vote based on that premise, it's really not on that premise. It's really a vote against women. It's like, come on now, you can't. Because that's emotional blackmail, and that's not taking into account the potpourri of issues that affect us as a community. So I would be against stuff like that, and I would fight against that. And I think that the left being pulled even further left by a small cadre of individuals that describe themselves as the progressive left. No, because what you gonna do, you gonna vote for the right where you're. The progressive left, where you at? You all the way you all the way over here. What you going to do? Go all the way over there? I'm standing right here. You're going to bypass me and go all the way over here because you didn't get what you want. You better fly straight and get your. You get yourself right. I'm not capitulating to something like that. We're going to do what's reasonable and what's in the best interest of the country. That's my mentality, whether it's as a pundit or ultimately as an elected official. If some miracle happened and I decided to do that down the line, that is how I think. I think about looking out for everybody and I think about the important work that we throw out the window like it's not a part of the dictionary. And that's compromise. Nobody gets everything they want. I don't know who that person is. I don't care if it's in business, I don't care if it's in education, I don't care. What I don't give is in politics anything. No one gets everything. At some point in time you got to be willing to sacrifice and say, okay, this person has a point. I don't vibe with that. But that doesn't mean they don't have a right to and it doesn't mean that I shouldn't try to appease them in some way. Quid pro quo. Do it for me, I do it for you. Let's work together to understand what a reasonable conclusion may be. We don't have that in our politics today. And I think the State of the Union address showed that yet again last night.

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[Dave Rubin]

All right, so we'll get to a couple of the clips on the State of the Union, but since you brought it up the way. So it seems to me most of what you're saying that keeps you more on the Democrat side is related to how the Republicans perhaps in the past treated the black community. Right?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah. It's an absence of trust from the standpoint that I don't see anything you're doing that targets favorably the black community.

[Dave Rubin]

Can I show you something that they are doing? Sure. Connor. Let's jump ahead a little bit to that compilation that we have of how Democrats over the last few years have been talking to black people. What's something that you always carry with you?

[Commercial Announcer]

Hot sauce.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Really? Yeah, really. Are you getting information right now? Hot sauce. Hot sauce in my bag.

[Dave Rubin]

Swag.

[Commercial Announcer]

Hot sauce.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Really? Yes.

[Dave Rubin]

Now, listen, I just want you to

[Stephen A. Smith]

know people are going to see this and say, okay, she's pandering to black people.

[Dave Rubin]

Okay.

[Commercial Announcer]

Is it working?

[Stephen A. Smith]

You got more questions? But I tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, and you ain't black, Young black kids growing up in the

[Commercial Announcer]

Bronx who don't even know what the word computer is, they don't know. They don't know these things.

[Gavin Newsom]

I'm not trying to impress you. I'm just trying to impress upon you. I'm like you. I'm no better than you. You know, I'm a 960sat guy, and I'm not trying to offend anyone.

[Dave Rubin]

You know, I mean, that is hard to watch.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah.

[Dave Rubin]

Do you know what a computer is?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I think so.

[Dave Rubin]

You have one?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I think I have a few of them. Well, I think I have a few of them. But. But listen.

[Dave Rubin]

But hot sauce computers.

[Shopify/Prolon Advertiser]

You ain't black.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I mean, what is that message you're talking about? Individuals. Yeah, I'm not even talking about that. You can even be talking about a party. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about philosophical beliefs that I may have that fall in line with some of the things that I know that they push through. Don't talk to me like I don't get caught up in what they say, acting as if I trust them. It's just like when they bring up the word racist when they're talking about Republicans, as you view. You know what I always say. So I'm supposed to believe you're not. You think? Didn't Robert Burke. Wasn't he representing the KKK as a Democrat? He was in the West. Out of West Virginia. I mean, you look at Biden and what he pushed forward as it pertains to the crime bill in the 1990s, the Clintons and the role that they played in that, the incarceration of folks, you know, from a discrepancy standpoint, as it pertains to how it affected blacks compared to everybody else. You know, there's an abundance of things that we can look at the Democratic Party and raise our eyebrows about. You have black men compl about Kamala Harris during the 2024 election because of the inordinate amount of black men that was put in jail under her watch, and she was the attorney general. But you also have Democrats coming to her defense and saying that wasn't accurate. I get all of that. My point is this. They ain't innocent on the other side, and I don't get caught up in that. I get caught up in, okay, philosophically, from a policy perspective, what kind of things are you pushing forward that I might favor or I might not?

[Dave Rubin]

So you want Trump to do. If Trump was listening to this or if he's watching your show? No, no. What's a program that you would.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Let me say this about Donald Trump. To me, I don't even get in his policies, like, for example, 2028 election. I'm not ruling out the possibility that if I don't run that I wouldn't vote for a guy like Marco Rubio. I respect Marco Rubio. This man is a former senator. He's the present Secretary of State. He's the national Security Advisor. He's an adult in the room. I look at J.D. vance and I see somebody that aspires to be Trumpish engaging in populism as opposed to actually getting the done. When Trump congratulated Marco Rubio on the job that he did Tuesday night, he barely wanted to stand up and acknowledge the chance. He ain't got time for all of that. I can relate. I'm like, that he got time for all of that. I got a job to do.

[Dave Rubin]

I'm really glad you brought that up.

[Stephen A. Smith]

This fawning and this fawning over Trump by everybody, I mean, other than Marco, everybody that you see talking, it drives me crazy. It's little stuff like this, but it's a big thing. Every single person that speaks on behalf of Trump, the first word. I just want to thank the president, the great president that we have and the great leadership. Is all of this fawning. It's like it's a requirement. Before you say hello, you're just looking at them and saying, who are you? Are you really about doing the job? Or are you really about appeasing and pleasing him so you can keep your job? What the hell is going on? I don't have time for all of that. So what I'm saying to you is, when I look at a guy like Donald Trump, my issue with him, not respectful, doesn't have the proper decorum, the statesmanship that I'd like from the presidency, because I believe, believe he provokes chaos instead of galvanizing folks to come together. That's my belief about him. And it's very hard for me to say that because I had a good relationship with him before he was running for president. That's why you don't hear me calling him some of the names that some of these people on the left call him. I knew him before that, and I know a whole bunch of people from my community that knew Donald Trump before he ran for president. We never had an issue with that man. We didn't have an issue with that man at all. He runs for president now, and he seems to be addicted to the get back all the damn time. That's why I call his second term a vengeance tour, because everything is about to get back. Everything is about validating what he was proclaiming and what has happened to him. At some point in time, you got to move forward. And in the process of saying all of that, as a black man, I don't like the fact that you're trying to tell people what books we should have access to. I don't like the fact that you're trying to dictate to us what we should study, what we should learn, what we should know and want to know about our history. There are iniquities that took place in this country. It's happened to black people. It happened to gays and others in the LGBTQ community. It's happened to. You wouldn't go up to the Jewish community and try to tell them about what they should be studying about their own history and what they should know and what they should have access to, stuff like that.

[Dave Rubin]

Confused? Are you saying Trump is telling.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm saying when you have issues like the Smithsonian museum issue and what have you, you bring up stuff like that. I have a problem with it because I'm looking at an absence of sensitivity to stuff that doesn't concern you. In the end, you as a white man, shouldn't be telling black people what we should be studying about our history or what should have access to and stuff like that. These culture wars that are taking place, I'm uncomfortable with him with that stuff, and I don't view him as somebody that really, really prioritize appeasing the black community by showing us what you're bringing to the table for us. I think any benefits that may occur is a byproduct of him doing what he wants to do for his base of people as opposed to my community. And I have a problem with that. That's where I'm coming from.

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[Dave Rubin]

right, so all of that leads you to potentially, let's say being more in the Democrat camp, which if you were going to run, if somebody was going to run for president, that's the place to go. Because check out these numbers from Cuan.

[Shopify/Prolon Advertiser]

They're all running. And this is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side. I mean just take a look here. Top choices for the 2028 Dem Prez nominee. You have a leader, but it's not really a clear leader. It's within the margin area. You have Newsom at 19%. Then you have former Vice President Kamala Harris at 18%. Quite a weak number for her given that of course she was the nominee last time around. Pete Buttigieg who of course is run before 13%. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez at 12%. This is just a total clown car. It is a total mess. There is no clear frontrunner at this particular point on the Democratic side.

[Dave Rubin]

So when I watch that, to me that makes way that makes more of a rationale for why if you were ever gonna run or if anyone is thinking about running, you run as a democr because they've got nobody. Those ideas are thin. Like it's just an easy group to punch through.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I agree.

[Dave Rubin]

Putting aside whether I agree with you or not on the other stuff, I don't want to get lost in all of that. We could do that some other time, but that makes sense. Like, wow, it's a pretty freaking weak field. If you were doing. If there's an ESPN version of this, it's like, man, that's a shitty team.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Listen, here's the deal. You know, I've told people this on many, many occasions. I'm not an officiant, not on the issues. There's a lot more that I have to learn. I can be corrected at the drop of a hat. I'm quite sure. Sure. I'm a conscientious observer. I'm an American citizen. I'm a voter. Who cares. I've been very blessed and successful to have the career that I have. And I ain't about to give up this money and what I've achieved to run for the presidency of the United States. That is where I come in. But it is tempting when I see those as the candidates, because I don't believe any of them have a chance of winning. We can go down the list. Gavin News, here you are, and we saw what you just said. Whether people believe it or not or, you know, because you got folks on the left trying to defend them. Fine. Crime, homelessness, affordability, environment, debt in California. Please, you got to. You got to convince me. Oh, so you want us to let you run the country, but we see what's happening in California. Good luck with that. Kamala Harris. That's where you come from. You didn't even want to run for the governor's seat in California. You should have been able to win that one. You didn't want. Want that. Okay, we saw what happened during the election. You had 107 days. Biden put you at a disadvantage. That's all true. But your interview on the View sealed your fate. When they asked you, is there anything that you would do differently than Biden you like? No, I can't think of anything. Nobody's letting that go. And back to Gavin Newsom. Everybody talked about, you need to move to the center to some degree. Look at it that way. What do you do two weeks later you're seeing on TV talking about when it comes to transgender transitioning from male to female, even if they're children, you really have no problem with that without. With them doing such a thing without parental consent? I've said this to numerous people who would listen. If my child is underage, you can't come. You can't come to my child to tell my child to walk down the street to the store without my permission. How in God's name you think you can do something that serious without parental consent? Right.

[Dave Rubin]

They used to not let them go to a PG13.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you kidding me? That is just utterly ridiculous. That kind of sound bite is going to be held against them. So I think that those two right there, they hurt themselves immensely. And I don't think the Democrats wanted Kamala Harris. And I think that that has a lot to do. You know, as you. As you saw her writing her book, she didn't feel like she was completely supported. So how you gonna suddenly get the support for 2028 if you couldn't get into 2024? That ain't gonna work. Pete Buttigieg, as I said on Real Time with Bill Maher, he doesn't move us. He just doesn't move us. It's just that simple. All right, and then you have Alexandria Ocasio Cortez a o. See, I respect her. I respect her passion. I respect what she tries to do for her constituency in the Bronx, New York. That clip of her in Munich was one of the most embarrassing videos we may have seen. Would and should the US Actually commit

[Commercial Announcer]

US Troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move? You know, I think that this is such a. You know, I think that this is a. This is, of course, a very long standing policy of the United States. And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Listen, when Mitch McConnell, the former Senate Majority Leader, froze, ladies and gentlemen, we were wondering whether or not he had a stroke. We know he's old. We know there are health issues. That is a vibrant young lady. That is aoc. Yeah, okay. That was not a health issue. You were not prepared. You did not know what you were talking about, and the world saw it. Now, if they had walked up to you on center stage, you know, if they had walked up to you while you walk in the streets of the Bronx and just stuck a camera and a microphone in your face and you were caught off guard, that would be different. No, you flew across the world. You flew across the motion to attend

[Dave Rubin]

this conference specializing in that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Specializing in that. And that was your answer. You can't get around that. And the Republicans are going to have a field day playing that at every turn. Do I believe she has a shot to win the Senate seat over Chuck Schumer down the Line, yes. But her as a world figure, nah, they're going to hold that against her forever.

[Dave Rubin]

What is it that you respect about her? Because I've heard you say that before. People do this with Newsom a lot, too.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Like, he's wrong on everything, but I respect him. What we're saying is most. Most of the time, everybody ain't into the weeds like somebody like you are. That's why when you talk to somebody like you and others, you gotta know what you're talking about or admit that you don't. You see what I'm saying, which I, you know, you, Megyn Kelly, a bunch of others, I respect everybody because it's like, yo, you gotta know your stuff. And if you don't know, admit you know, don't walk around line and trying to hide like you know something you don't know. So I get that part. But when we talk about respecting somebody, what we're saying is you're listening to policies, you're listening to people spew their rhetoric about whatever their beliefs are, whatever their ideology is, et cetera. And you see the passion and the fervor and the fight that they have within themselves to go after the opposite side, trying to derail what we may perceive as them striving to do in the best interest of our community. That's all we mean by that. Okay. When you get into the weeds of.

[Dave Rubin]

Of.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Of policy and what have you, yeah, it could be a bit challenging because sometimes what they're saying may not make any sense when you really, really go through it.

[Dave Rubin]

Right. So you gotta know that she's playing. In essence, I was playing in a game, and she's playing.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, I don't know that she doesn't know. I know she didn't know that day. Yeah. But other I've seen her speaking on Capitol Hill, she didn't seem ignorant and oblivious to the issues. She had her position, and she would try to push it and she would attack the opposition, but she didn't seem lost like she did in Munich. I've never seen her like that before. That's the first time I ever saw her. And she looked completely lost. Now, I'm not watching a whole bunch of clips and footages of her, so I'm just speaking based off of the experience of me, what I've seen, but she's never looked like.

[Dave Rubin]

So I want to throw to a clip, you know, which one this is. Already. I feel like this is the moment to me at State of the Union, when Trump basically said, hey, if you're in this room. And you are for America, stand up. And for American citizens. And of course, watch what happened.

[Stephen A. Smith]

If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American. American citizens, not illegal aliens.

[Dave Rubin]

So not only did not one Democrat stand up, I think maybe Fetterman stood up. So. And it's hard to know what he is at this point. He wore a suit, thank God. Thank God his hoodies aren't as fancy.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's usually not in a sweatsuit this good. He's usually not one this good.

[Dave Rubin]

Definitely not shoes that good.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's right.

[Dave Rubin]

But okay, so nobody stand up. 73 Dems don't show up to the thing. And this again gets me to the first question, which is if someone like you, who is a moderate, again, putting aside some of the issues, if you were actually running, putting aside who the competition would be, to me, it's obviously a Republican, because you would have stood up. Would you not have stood up if you were.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I absolutely. I absolutely would have stood up. And here's the thing. Elizabeth Warren stood up when he talked about, about insider trading issues within the United States government with elected officials and how that needed to be eradicated. She stood up to support that. Why wouldn't you stand up to support what he said? And you have to anticipate. He's playing them like a fiddle. He knows they're not gonna stand up. He knows how bad it's going to make them look. I would have called this bluff and I would have stood up and I would have said, you're damn right. Because the bottom line is, you gotta remember, here's the key words that came out of his mouth. He said, American citizens. So there are plenty of people who are American citizens who are of the same ethnic consent, you know, you know, sent as. As the immigrants and migrants are. You know, you have people who are Hispanics, you have people who, wherever they're from, it could be Venezuela, it could be Guatemala, it could be Mexico, it could be anywhere, you understand, who are American citizens. So when he said American citizens and American citizens first, first of all, that's the right thing, because it should be American citizens first, number one. And number two, for people on the left, some of them, not most, not all, but some of them coming out and saying that what he said was racist. Well, how, how exactly? Because you're looking out for America and we gotta be. We gotta be mindful of what we mean when we say that. When people are coming into this country undocumented Documented, and they're crossing our borders illegally. It cost us money. You're using the emergency room as your own medical healthcare plan, you know, jobs and stuff like that, and how it could potentially have a detrimental effect. And, you know, where I'm from, I believe when white folks catch a cold, black folks catch pneumonia, it's always worse for us. So anything that works to the detriment of our country is going to work doubly worse for the black community. And I look at it from that standpoint. How could you? So I'm looking at it and I'm saying I can't vibe with that kind of thinking. Sure, you could stand up. Sure, you could sit up there and applaud his position on that. Or just stand up and don't applaud, just to let him know. I don't agree with you, but I agree with what you just said. There are ways to handle it, but the Democrats don't seem to have a plan because they're all over the place. You got some people that showed up to the State of the Union. You got others that had their own protests going on their own, whatever it is that you want to call it. And they're not on the same page. They're a house divided. And say what you will about the gop, but they're not a house divided. And the Democrats are. Where I would come in, where I would be a problem, is that in the end, when you talk about populism, it's about your impact with the voter. And no matter what these politicians want to say, they ultimately gravitate to those that have the impact with the voters on their side of the aisle, that is. And if I were able to pull that off, if anybody was able to pull that off, then you're going to fall in line if you're committed to making them do so. And that's exactly what I would do, because I'm not telling you that I'm not going. I'm not going to vote for you or with you on various issues. I'm just saying you don't get everything you want and you're not pushing me further left. We going to come back to the center and get some degree of normalcy back into our country's pocket politics. That's the way it's going to be.

[Dave Rubin]

It would basically be you and Federman with the hoodies going into the insane asylum saying, you guys aren't running the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm significantly different than Fetterman because I believe that, you know, my passion, the manner in which I articulate my thoughts and the feistiness that I would have with me. See, Fetterman don't want to fight. He's a good man, cares about this country, is committed to doing his job, and he's a reasonable, normal, normal person. And I get that part. But he ain't trying to fight. Had his health issues or whatever. I'm in the best shape I've been in in 30 years. You know, I'm 58, going on 38, if not 28. I feel great. I'm energized, I'm hyped. And most importantly, the fight don't bother me. It's something that I'm accustomed to every day. I debate every day for a living. It's what I do. So my attitude is, you want some, come get some. If that's how it would be. Now, again, I don't have any desire to give up my. So that's not happening. And I'm not. Don't plan on me running for office. But I'm just telling you, if there was a way for me to be on that debate stage and I didn't have to give up my money to be on that debate stage, my brother, you look out.

[Dave Rubin]

So part of. Look out, part of what you're doing here is a little bit of just like a media play, right? Like, you're not. You're like, are you really considering this,

[Stephen A. Smith]

or is the point that I'm trying to make to you is I'm saying what I'm saying, saying, Mr. Rubin.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Is this. Come up with a way for me to keep my money, and I'm like, I'll show up. Yeah.

[Dave Rubin]

I have no.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I have no.

[Dave Rubin]

I can't help.

[Stephen A. Smith]

What I mean by that is that I. I can't.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, I got you.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm not allowed to do it. Fcc, you know, the whole fairness thing. They just had this thing with Stephen Colbert and James Tico with Texas and all this stuff. Fair airtime, equitable airtime, that kind of stuff. They. I'd get pulled off the air immediately because of that, and I wouldn't get a chance check until I'm out of the race. That's not happening. I'm not doing that. But if you said to me, hey, you can show up on a debate stage, you understand, and still do your job. Wait a minute. Now. I'm telling you, I would look into the camera and announce to you that I'm running for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States of America, I wouldn't hesitate.

[Dave Rubin]

You Know, it sort of reminds me a little bit of Vivek in a way, because I don't think he really thought he was going to be president, but I thought he, he wanted to get on the debate stage.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And that's what, and that's where we're different. Because I'm on Chris Cuomo show on News Nation last Wednesday, I believe. And Bill O'Reilly is on there with me. And Bill O'Reilly is like, you should run for exactly that reason. He says, you're not going to win, but you could create this change. You call out the charlatans to use his word. And I said to him, that ain't my mentality. If I do it, it's because I believe, believe I'm gonna win. I'm coming to win. I'm not gonna step on a debate stage to lose. I don't do that. I'm not trying to, oh, let me have an effect, with the full intention of walking away and bowing out. You know, I'm not going to be somebody that, you know, you lose, but you can't accept losing like some people who remain nameless. Okay, I'm not going to do that. If I lost, I lost. But I'm telling you, if I were to decide to do it, it's because I'm coming to win. The candidates that you showed me, I, I believe I can take them. I'm not disrespecting them at all.

[Dave Rubin]

I would love to see you on.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But their record is their record. I don't have a record.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So my point is, what you going to do? Show clips of me yelling on first date or Sports Center? That's all you got. I mean, when you go show, you gonna pull up my SAT scores. Please don't do that, because it was horrible. It's worse than Gavin Newsoms and all that stuff because I wasn't studying. I was running the streets.

[Dave Rubin]

Probably made skin cry a couple times.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I was trying, I was trying to survive. In all seriousness, what is it that you're going to do? You have a record as the governor, you have a record as the former vice president or who was a former senator, who was a former attorney general. You have a record as a former transportation secretary. You have a record as a representative out of the, out of New York City for the United States, for the House of Representatives. I don't have that. There's plenty of things for me to point to. What you going to point to? Other than my attitude or some bogus headlines they try to put in and they're about to create negativity about me and all of this stuff. You're not going to do a damn thing. All you're going to have to do is come at me and you're going to have to come at me and show that I have no business thinking that I can play in this lane. And I'm saying to you, you're absolutely right. I probably don't have any business playing in this lane. But what does that say? That I'm a candidate? Because y' all must be God awful if I'm sitting up here on this stage with you. That would be my battle cry, y'. All because of Yalls incompetence and the fact that y' all ain't get it done. That would be the difference.

[Dave Rubin]

You know, I ha. I either hate to tell you this or I love to tell you this, but that's what Trump was saying back in the 80s. You idiots are going to force someone like me to run when he used to go on Donahue and Oprah and all those shows. It's going to be your fault.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But let's back up for that. Doesn't mean he was wrong.

[Dave Rubin]

Did you just say you're in your best physical shape at 58 because I beat you in the free throw contest last night?

[Stephen A. Smith]

No, you didn't. No, you didn't.

[Dave Rubin]

There's video of it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah, I saw this video of it. I remember that. I don't remember you winning. I remember us tying because I was surprised that you made a few. But listen, it's your backyard. You practice every day. I shoot once or twice a year, bro. You want a cookie? But you didn't beat me.

[Dave Rubin]

A cookie would be nice. But anyway, so the point is we can extend it to three point today, right? Okay.

[Stephen A. Smith]

If I have time, man, I'm sitting here with you talking.

[Dave Rubin]

Okay, okay.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Right.

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[Dave Rubin]

All right, let's do one more on Newsom because I think what people obviously would do respond to you is that they know what you think. You're not bullshitting them and it's free and it's real. I want to show you this clip from NPR with Newsom and I think it gets to the heart of what is just so awful about him.

[Commercial Announcer]

I want to understand who you are politically because I'm trying to understand your overall strategy here. On one hand you are bringing people like the late Charlie Kirk, like Steve Bannon onto your podcast. On the other hand you're trolling President Trump on X. Yeah, you mock his writing style, you mock his body. You are selling MAGA branded, we shouldn't be body streaming. How do you square those playground insults with the listening sessions that you're having with these conservatives on the podcast?

[Gavin Newsom]

Because I think you can be both. And but what if you people as

[Commercial Announcer]

to what you sincerely believe, like why not present just one Gavin Newsom, one consistent tone across all platforms?

[Shopify/Prolon Advertiser]

I am.

[Commercial Announcer]

What's the consistent tone?

[Gavin Newsom]

I'm who I am. I'm consistently me. I'm interested in other people. I'm interested in what makes them work. I, I don't wanna, I don't talk down or pass people. I believe all of us wanna be protected, connected and respected. All of us need to be loved and need to love. To me that's universal.

[Commercial Announcer]

But you don't think you're talking down to President Trump on your ex account?

[Gavin Newsom]

Well, I'm putting a mirror up to President Trump and I'm fighting fire with fire and I'm punching a bully back in the mouth.

[Dave Rubin]

Sass. I mean I just always say he's a lizard person cuz you just don't

[Stephen A. Smith]

know what he is.

[Dave Rubin]

He's a chameleon. You don't know what he believes on anything. Everything he touches seems to work for him, but not for the people that govern him. I mean that, that in some sense that's like the polar opposite of everything you've said here.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, I won't say this about why you would care. I will say this. He does have a point when he brings up the fact that he considers himself a multifaceted person. We're not one dimensional. You can get in front. I've seen you sitting here talking to me, but I've also seen you on other shows when you've been interviewed by. By Pierce and others. And that's not the person that I saw talking to me. You know, moments call for different elements of your personality to come oozing out. So I do agree with him and understand that part. The fact that when he's communicating about a president that calls him new scum instead of by his name, when he's a sitting governor in the United States, that, that, that can wow you up, that can agitate you. I do understand those things. But in the end, and you should, if you're Gavin Newsom, pay attention to people saying they don't trust your authenticity. They don't trust that you're real. They trust that you do what's politically expedient in a moment, and they don't feel they can trust you. That's a big, big deal that you want to overcome. I know for me, for better or worse, you can trust me to be me. You know, for better or worse, some people hate me, some people love me, and when I give a damn, I'll be the shield to let you know, because it is what it is. You know, my mother taught me this a long time. A hell of a lot easier for you to live with your truth than for others, to force others to live with your truth than it is for you to live with your own lies. You only got time for that. It's too much energy. And she was always right about that. And I've always held onto that because me being true, I've always said I'm one of the most emotionally honest people you will meet. What you see is what it is. I don't have time at all to entertain those kind of games. And do I believe that would bode well for me in politics? Sure, I believe. Now, I've never tried to govern. I've never tried to be an elected official. I don't know this stuff, man. You know, I told somebody the other day and they said that was a great idea. I said, you know what I would want to do if I was in office? I'd want to have two people for every single cabinet position, a Democrat and a Republican figure. It out and come to me with the best idea.

[Dave Rubin]

Oh, God. You want to grow the government.

[Stephen A. Smith]

No, no, no. What? I mean, I'm just talking about. I'm just talking about. Hey, no one gets everything. Stop this nonsense and stop being one party rule in a binary system. Because it's effect, I believe it trickles down to the streets and cause chaos amongst all of us. Because you're saying I got one or two choices. And neither side has it all, has all the answers. So whatever side you side with, riles up the other side and gets people against one another. And them damn people on Capitol Hill don't have to live with it. We do. The perfect example was the shutdown. So you're getting paid.

[Shopify/Prolon Advertiser]

Paid.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You still got your health care, but people being furloughed and people being laid off and they're not getting checks. But you are. And you the ones that can't negotiate a deal. Had that been me. We ain't going away. There ain't no Christmas vacation. That's like the lowest fruit.

[Dave Rubin]

If they're shutting it down, they gotta shut down their own paycheck. That's right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Exactly. We're gonna suffer together. You're not doing that to people. I'm saying you need somebody like that that gets down in the muck and mire of it all and handle the things that way.

[Dave Rubin]

Let's I want to show to this clip you may have seen. This is Mark Ruffalo, one of the Avengers, the not best Hulk ever, right? Talking about some of his policies that

[Stephen A. Smith]

we should tax billionaires and corporations to fund child care, housing and transit. Working people shouldn't be the ones always stuck with the bill. This Wednesday, February 25th, thousands of folks are going to Albany to send Kathy Hochul one and clear message. Tax the rich for New York that we can all afford. They can handle it. Trust me.

[Dave Rubin]

Stephen, I'm sure I'm not saying anything you don't know the 1% pay 46% in taxes. You live in New York, you live in la and now you live here in Florida. Florida. No state income tax. We're about to get rid of property taxes. We don't have to talk about the obvious tax crazy situations in those two states. Are you doing okay down here?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm loving it.

[Dave Rubin]

How have we managed to do it? You made it to my house. You didn't get assaulted or.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't know. All I know is that I moved down to Florida about a year and a half ago and it's the best move that I've Made in quite a long time in my life. I am in heaven. The weather. I moved down here for two reasons. Weather and no state income taxes. And I was unapologetic for it. I still have to go back and forth between New York and LA because of obligations. But make no mistake about it, I'm very, very happy here in Florida. I believe that. It's been a great state. It's been very, very, very good to me. I almost wanna sound like Sa. Betty. Betty good to me. I mean, I'm loving it, you know, so it doesn't, it doesn't bother me at all. But when you hear stuff like that, it's like, listen, people are entitled to their own passions. And there is this innate belief almost that the rich are getting away hand over foot because of loopholes that have never been closed and stuff like that. I get that part. But in the end, you know what? As a nation, we're over $38 trillion dollars in debt. Somewhere along the way, clearly there's been mismanagement. And when you're constantly going to the American people and you're saying, singing the same old song and dance every four years, we're not buying it anymore. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Somewhere along the way. Would you mind handling a budget? Would you mind doing your job? The fact is, that hasn't been done and it's real easy to point the finger. These folks that are, are rich, they manage a budget, they manage a payroll, you understand, they hire folks, etc. They know a thing or two about curbing spending. They know a thing or two about handling a budget. And so, you know, and, and, and you look at it from that standpoint and you say, wow, you're blaming them when in fact it's really, really you. Because you can't do what they do every day. Maybe you should go to them to get some, some lessons.

[Dave Rubin]

It's a spending issue, not an income.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yes. You know, so you don't want to

[Dave Rubin]

give them more of your money?

[Stephen A. Smith]

No, absolutely not.

[Dave Rubin]

You like your money?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Absolutely not. I mean, I pay enough in taxes. I pay enough in taxes. I've been paying, I've been paying boatload of dollars in taxes for years. I'm not even saying it should be less. I'm saying somewhere along the way you should show me that you know what you're doing. If you're insisting on taking more of my money, why is our deficit what it is? Why can't you manage a budget? Why don't you tell us where the money being allocated to. We can't have a situation where in California everybody's raving or going crazy about how there was supposed to be some rail that was, you know, some railroads that were built, billions of dollars in debt and we don't see evidence that it's been built. You got, I mean stuff like that can't happen. We can't have a mom. Donnie taking over as mayor of New York and, and talking about taxing the rich. Taxing the rich, taxing the rich. But then saying if Hoku doesn't do this, if she doesn't up on doing this, I'm going to have to raise your property taxes which will ultimately trickle down to the middle class and lower. The fact is that goes against what you said. Suddenly you get in the office and you realize what the deficit was. Me personally, I was always an Andrew Cuomo guy in that regard because say what you will, he was a three term governor. He was en route to a fourth term until the scandal derailed him. Now my attitude is I'm getting tired of these scandals that prop up and then the second year out of office they go away. If you really, really commit committed a crime, shouldn't your ass be suffering? Shouldn't you be in jail? Shouldn't something be happening to you even after you step away as opposed to, oh, it just disappears once you're no longer in office and the power belongs in somebody else's hands. This was going to be a fourth term governor. And when I interviewed him, he said something that just resonated the simplest statement, but it resonated with me. He said, I don't know how to do many things in life. I really don't. I wasn't a good athlete, I wasn't this, I wasn't this, I wasn't I wasn't that. He said, but I know how to run a government, I know how to do that. That's my thing, that's my gift. That was what Andrew Cuomo said. And I'm looking at all of these folks, respect to all of them, bright, smart, passionate, etc, but he was the only one that could say that. And so when you look at the situation that you're in in New York City, what's going to be required with our police forces, you understand, with safety in the streets, with transportation, with everything, you needed somebody that actually knows how to run a government. And mom Donnie is learning on the job, New York can't afford that. And so I think that that's what we're seeing right now. And it's Problematic.

[Dave Rubin]

So let's stick with two New York clips from Mom D. So you probably saw this with the snowstorm, and I'm curious to get your take on this.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah, From the videos that I've seen, it looks like a snowball fight. I. I think that there were two officers who were facing lacerations on their face.

[Dave Rubin]

Will you call for prosecution of those

[Odoo Advertiser]

who killed it, though?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Look, I. I've. I've seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight.

[Dave Rubin]

A snowball fight or assault? Assaulting cops?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I think it's a combination of both. They're law enforcement. They're not engaging in a snowball fight with you. They don't want to be bothered. If they're law enforcement, and that's not something that they were entertaining, then assault would be the way to go. Now, obviously, if you just hit them with some soft snowball or whatever the case may be, I mean, you didn't harm them or anything. That's entirely different. So there's different levels of assault, but nevertheless, you're not harmed until you're harmed. But. But nevertheless. Exactly. The act is the act itself. And the law enforcement wasn't capitulating to that kind of situation. Then we have to take that into consideration. And if they felt it was assault, then, damn it, it was assault, plain and simple. But once again, this is something that comes back to bite Mumdani, because he wasn't considered the strongest supporter of the NYPD as he was running for office. When you listen to some of his rhetoric in the past, some of the things that he had said about the police didn't seem to be that keen on being supportive about them. I don't recall whether or not he talking about the funding police, but I believe. Oh, yeah, I believe he did say that. I believe he did say that.

[Dave Rubin]

Defund police.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So. Because that's a reality. You know, when you see that kind of stuff, it sort of seems dismissive about concerns for law enforcement, and that is not a good position for him to be in, particularly when they're not getting raises or anything like that, because you don't have the money to take care of them, nor did you appear inclined to do so, even if you did. So all of those things definitely work against him, and that's the kind of thing that can turn officers against you. And with all the problems that New Yorkers have, the last thing we need is, you know, apathetic or indifferent police

[Dave Rubin]

department, which they've already, as you probably know, they've already had to lower the standards to get people in the physical standards. Because people don't want to do it. Because you don't want to be subjected to. Correct. Did you see this? This AOC Mamdani video in Spanish?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Hola, mi espanol. No sl? Meo no.

[Commercial Announcer]

De la familia de la ciudad de Nueva York seen in Portar Sooco.

[Dave Rubin]

Okay, so they're talking about childcare for all, meaning illegals. So they are talking about illegals, number one. Now, we live in Miami. We're in Miami right now. I hear more Spanish than English outside of the studio, basically all day long. So I don't have a problem with Spanish or Spanish speakers. However, speaking in another language while encouraging people who are not legal citizens to get city services. That seems a bit much for me. Am I just old and stodgy?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay, I can't knock that. What I would tell you is that if you're trying to cater to that particular audience, speaking their language doesn't hurt. So that's not a crime. You know, they're voted. There are folks in the Hispanic community that are voting, and when you talk in their language, it makes them a bit more receptive to you, receptive to you in terms of wanting to listen to what you have to say and what parent doesn't want, you know, free preschool for 3, 4 year olds, et cetera, et cetera. But I always hearken back, and it's very important that I bring this up because I remember when some people asked me when you became so moderate, somewhat of a centrist per se, when did that happen for you? And I can't remember the year. But I remember when George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were in office. And I never forget as long as I live. A reporter was talking, Dick Cheney, former vice President of the United States Congress of Soul. He was talking to him about the polls were showing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He looked at the report and said, sir. And I was eating my cereal. I was like, what? Because I had never seen. I had never seen, you know, a vice president do that before. He said so. And then he said, you didn't elect us to follow your lead. You elected us to lead, to do what we believe is in the best interest of this country. And that's exactly what we're doing. And then the reporter elaborated a little bit about something with Planned Parenthood and stuff like that. And she tried to accuse him of being against that. She said, I'm not against that at all. I'm against you asking the governor government to pay for it. And all of a sudden it opened my eyes and reminded me what all of this is really, really about. Most people in this country have a live and let live attitude, live your life, et cetera, et cetera. So what's the uproar about? The uproar about is about the fact that you're going into the pockets of the American people and asking them to subsidize it. And when you do that, now you've got them up in the tizzy because. Because you're saying this is where your taxpayer dollars is going to. And when that happens, all of a sudden that gives everybody the right to speak up and say, wait a damn minute here. How is that possible? I know of a young lady that's a friend of mine that got in a car accident in LA and literally needed to be treated, et cetera. And her bill was very, very exorbitant when she got treated at the emergency room and stuff like that. And she was trying to get on the phone, get some assistance, et cetera, et cetera. They literally told her, if you were a migrant, it would be easier to take care of you. But the problem is, is that you're an American citizen, so you have to wait in line.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Now think about that.

[Dave Rubin]

Suddenly you go, oh, I have a while.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You're an American citizen.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And you're being told you have to wait in line in the United States of America in favor of somebody who's not an American citizen, who crossed the border illegally that is going to be treated better because it's a sanctuary city that is LA and a sanctuary state that is California. How do you think that's going to vibe with most Americans? I don't care what city you in, I don't care what state you in. Basically what nation you're from. If you are a native of that country and you're being told you have to wait because they're. Thirdly, somebody who's not a native who crossed the border illegally, you're going to have a problem with that no matter who you are or where you're from. So understanding those kind of things is what I'm talking about when I'm talking about common sense. You can't have stuff like that happening and think that there's not going to be major, major noise and friction and polarization in the country when you let something like that happen. There is no way that that's going to fly. I think most Democrats, Democrats know that the problem is they've surrendered to the extreme progressive left because they're fearful that they will lose their power positions if they don't. I think that's what the problem is more so than anything else, and that's what's going on in our nation's capital.

[Dave Rubin]

If that's a reclamation project you can handle, I wish you a hell of a lot of luck.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't know if anybody can handle it.

[Dave Rubin]

We'll keep doing it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't know if anybody can handle it, but we got to try. We got to try. We can't sit idly by. There are a lot better things you can do with your time to doing what you're doing with this podcast, but it's important because you know that you're making a difference. You got millions of followers, millions of listeners listening to you spew what you spew because they know you know what you're talking about, and they know you care. And the same is going to be with me, and the same is going to be applicable to everybody else. We all got to do our part, whatever that part is. What we can't do is sit idly by, mind our own business, and say, hey, we ain't getting involved in any capacity because the fact is, whether we like it or not, we're all involved. Because all of our lives are being affected whether we. We like it or not.

[Dave Rubin]

Well, I'm glad you moved down here to the free state of Florida. And how many threes are you going to hit out of 10, right?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah, man. I don't know, man. I haven't shot, Dave. I haven't shot.

[Dave Rubin]

The last.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The last time I shot was when I was here. You know, this is the kind of stuff that you do.

[Commercial Announcer]

You.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You set it up this way. You practice every day, you're shooting after every such a basketball once a year, then you going to hold me. You going to hold it against me.

[Dave Rubin]

Plus, we give you tequila and we spin you around.

[Stephen A. Smith]

There you go. There you go.