How does President Stephen A. Smith sound?

Stephen A. Smith for President.

Really?

Who the hell knows, but his name is out there, such as on CNN’s Sunday State of the Union show, hosted by Philadelphia’s Jake Tapper. 

It’s really odd when Smith himself thinks he’s neither qualified nor prepared,  and I’ll tell you more after some background.

Could electing a Black, Bronx-born sports commentator be any more zany than electing a Queens-born developer, TV star, and felon?

In the unlikely event of Smith, 57, being elected, he would be the first President from The Bronx. (Teddy Roosevelt lived in the Riverdale section of The Bronx in his youth, but he was born in Manhattan.)

It happens that I, too, was born in The Bronx, and it was something Smith and I discussed during a rare conversation.

Rare because even though we both worked at 400  N. Broad Street, I worked days (usually) for the Daily News, while Smith worked as a sportswriter for the Inquirer, and sportswriters usually work at night, or are traveling with the team.

But I have followed his career, probably more closely than he has followed mine, which was tethered to the Daily News for 47 years.

I was demoted at the Daily News three times, but always rebounded. Veterans nicknamed me Lazarus, for my ability to come back to professional life.

Smith got fired once, and also came back, after our union, The Newspaper Guild, took his case to arbitration — and won.

After winning, but basically remaining on the S-list because of poor performance, according to an inside source, he went to ESPN fulltime, where his career blossomed, largely on the back of his over-the-top personality and his booming voice.

He was quickly nicknamed Screaming A. Smith.

There are two Smiths — the docile, thoughtful Smith, and the inflammatory, arrogant Smith. 

One of them, probably the latter, was recently praised by President Donald A. Trump: “He’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him . . . I’d love to see him run.”

How do you feel about that endorsement?, asked Tapper.

“I was aghast, to be quite honest with you. I wasn't looking for any kind of endorsement from anybody, especially him, but he is the President of the United States. There’s a bit of flattery that comes with getting such words,” says Smith.

But Smith figures Trump thinks he would be a loser, “So I’m not falling for it, but it was nice.”

In case you are wondering how someone like Smith — he started covering high school basketball for the Inquirer — got into the national political conversation, it’s because now he’s aired on ESPN, Sirius/XM, and his podcast, reaching an estimated 5 million people daily. ESPN just signed him| to a five-year deal worth an estimated $100 million.

Not bad for a Black kid from The Bronx, and potential millionaire President.

Had he stuck to sports, people would be talking about his fashion sense — he has always been more GQ than IQ — not his political sense.

But he has expressed opinions that make him sound like a Black James Carville, meaning a Democrat who attacks the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party.

Smith says he is a registered Independent, but would run as a Democrat, if he were to run.

“I’m a centrist and a moderate at heart,” Smith told Tapper, sounding very much like Your Favorite Columnist. He says he leans left, is fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. 

Well, not that liberal. He condemned Open Borders, identity politics, and cancel culture. Woke culture has “ravaged our nation,” making people fearful of losing their jobs “if they pronounce the wrong pronoun,” he says.

On a NewsNation two-hour town hall last week, he defined DEI as “Didn’t Earn It,” which is a highly controversial statement, especially to many Black people.

He has been accused many times of pouring gasoline on racial fires. Such as here and here.

Smith has repeatedly denounced the Democratic Party. “As presently constructed, it would pretty much have to be purged in order for me to assume that I would want to be associated with that.” He bemoans the divisiveness in American life.

Trump didn’t win the last election, he sees it as Democrats “absolutely, positively blowing it with some of their actions,” by “leaning extremely left.”

He feels Trump’s 100 days have been “haphazard,” correct on closing the border, which was “absolutely necessary,” not happy about tariffs, tax cuts being ignored, or the way Elon Musk has gone about making cuts. “That gave me cause for pause.”

He also has cause for pause about his own candidacy, he told Tapper in unusually soft tones.

“I’m not prepared, I’m not qualified, I have no political history whatsoever. I’ve never been interested in politics a day in my life. How did I come to this conclusion where I’ve left the door open? I’ll tell you how. Elected officials have come up to me, folks in the streets of America come up to me every single day,” and even his pastor has said he should leave the door open out of respect for his supporters and because God might have plans for him. 

“And then I look at our politics,” Smith says. “How worse can it get?”