As Stephen A. Smith continues to wade into political waters, others will gauge his statements with a keen eye. One of those individuals is Van Lathan.
The Ringer podcast host and occasional CNN contributor has been vocal about the ESPN pundit’s various comments about Donald Trump, Jasmine Crockett and others. When asked on a recent episode of the “Press Box” podcast about potential Republican candidates in 2028, Lathan laid out why Smith would have a far better shot as a Republican than as a Democrat, placing him eighth on a mythical GOP depth chart behind current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and outgoing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“He should run as a Republican. He’s clearly a Republican,” Lathan told host Bryan Curtis. “I think the reason why I’m so sure that he’s a Republican is because of something that I explore with my therapist … about identity. The reason why people defend things so robustly when they’re attacked, even if they’re not directly a part of them, is because they see themselves as that and they feel that attack. They personalize that attack. You identify with that; that is your identity.”
Lathan circled back to Smith’s back and forth with Crockett over the past number of months, mostly about her tactics when it comes to critiquing Trump and the Republican party at large and how Smith, on occasion, has not gone after Trump with the same venom as he has with Crockett or other noted Black figures. In his critique, Lathan labeled Smith’s advocacy for the Democratic Party and support for Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election as “synthetic.”
“The reason why Stephen A. Smith would take the side of Donald Trump in a back and forth with Jasmine Crockett, when Jasmine Crockett is being called dumb, a black woman being called dumb by the president, and he’s telling her how she should respond and not telling Trump the way he should be talking to that black lady is because he’s one,” Lathan said.
Lathan finished his critique, understanding that some people have a genuine affinity for the ESPN host, but concluded that Smith would be “very successful” as a Republican.
The ESPN host has frequently positioned himself as a possible candidate for the Presidency, telling anyone within earshot that he would be considerate of such a moment. During a conversation with Fox host Sean Hannity earlier this year, the 58-year-old Smith finally admitted he wouldn’t run for president solely because of the financial implications.
Last week, Smith started another firestorm after his appearance on Cam Newton’s “Funky Friday” podcast. When discussing his foray into politics, Smith mentioned a speech he gave at Vanderbilt University about the power of the Black vote.
“I wish for one election that every black person would vote Republican,” he recalled saying at the time, much to the shock of his audience. “I said, it’s simple. Since 1964, black people, black folks, have been giving our vote to the Democratic Party at an exorbitant rate. Therefore, they know they got our vote, and they don’t have to cater to us as much as we need them to. The Republicans know they’ll never get our vote, so they don’t give a damn about us. And as a result, we’re the only community in America devoid of representation, which is why we’re considered disenfranchised.”
He added, “I’m tired of that. What I want is to put ourselves as a community in a position where both parties have to work to get our vote.”
