Bill Maher encouraged sports pundit Stephen A. Smith to run for the 2028 Democratic Party presidential nomination, arguing the Democrats need an “outsider.”
On Smith’s Straight Shooter show on Thursday, Smith asked Maher whether there are any Democratic frontrunners for 2028 that he sees as strong candidates and Maher pointed right to Smith.
“I see somebody right here in my Zoom camera,” Maher said, calling Smith an “outsider” who could save the “ghost brand” that is the Democratic Party.
Smith pushed back on the idea, saying he would “lose too much money” running for office, though he has teased a potential run in the past.
“I think somebody with that kind of abandon is the only person who is going to win back former Democratic voters who have switched over,” Maher argued.
Earlier on his Straight Shooter show, Smith named Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) and Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) as his top 2028 picks.
Check out the exchange below:
STEPHEN A. SMITH: Who’s the candidate on the left that can somehow derail [Donald Trump]? Because I don’t see anybody with a national presence that can pull that off. Where are you on that?
BILL MAHER: I see somebody right here in my Zoom camera. And by the way, only for you Zoom. I hate Zoom. But for you — where’s the Stephen A. Smith presidential bubble.
SMITH: No, no. I’d have to give up too much money, Bill.
MAHER: No?
SMITH: I’d have to give up too much money. I’m not giving up my money, man. I’m not giving up my money.
MAHER: Money. Go get a free plane from Qatar. Are you kidding? Don’t worry about money. You don’t need money when you’re the president! You think the president carries money? He doesn’t need money.
SMITH: Not for eight years. Probably don’t need that for that.
MAHER: The Democrats, you know the reason I’m taking you a little more seriously for this is because the Democrats definitely need an outsider. I mean, I’ll give you a little preview of something we’re working on that’ll be on the show one of these weeks at the end. It’s an editorial. To me, the Democratic Party is a ghost brand. You know what a ghost brand is? It’s like Sears or, you know, General Electric. It’s still a company, Abercrombie and Fitch, but they’ve really fallen on hard times. But they’ve been around for a long time so there is value. It’s an asset, right? Because there are still people who know of the company and if you could have somebody take it over who is not sentimental about that company, and relaunch it and rebrand it, but tt would have to be somebody who is unapologetic about calling them out. People have lost faith in the Democratic Party for very good reasons, and you’re the only one I hear who doesn’t look like he cares what the other Democrats will say.
SMITH: I don’t care. I really don’t. I don’t give a damn what they say. I really don’t.
MAHER: I know. And it’s somebody — I don’t either. I’m right where you are. We’re very close on all of these things. And I think somebody with that kind of abandon is the only person who is going to win back former Democratic voters who have switched over.
Watch above via Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Smith.
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