As Democrats scramble to figure out who should represent their party in the 2028 presidential election, President Donald Trump suddenly weighed in and gave a ringing endorsement to a lifelong Democrat that is suddenly surging in popularity.

Longtime ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has become a popular, non-establishment, choice among many Democrats to considering running for office in 2028.

One of those supporters is Trump.

During NewsNation’s CUOMO Town Hall this week, event host Chris Cuomo, co-host Smith, and Bill O’Reilly took a phone call from Trump on his 100 days in office and asked him about the sports broadcaster running for office.

“Stephen A. Smith may run for president, as you know,” O’Reilly told Trump as the ESPN host hid his face. “Do you have any advice for Stephen A. if he launches a run?”

“No, Stephen A,’s s a good guy,” Trump replied. “He’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him. You know, a lot of these Democrats I watch, I say they have no chance.”

“I’ve been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you I’d love to see him run,” the president added.

Watch for yourself:

In February, the ESPN host said he had “no intention” of running for president when his name appeared in a poll as a possible presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

“I have no desire whatsoever to compromise my quality of life for this,” Smith said on his podcast.

“But I’ll say this much about myself, I don’t blame millions of Americans if they want me to. Because what the hell is the alternative. Look at you all … I’m talking to the Dems specifically.”

Smith, who has been critical of the Democrats since the 2024 election, also posted on X that he is “leaving all doors open” about a presidential bid.

Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney. Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess.

So I’m officially leaving all doors open https://t.co/n6BmAOKjiv

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 7, 2025

“Time to stop messing around,” the ESPN host wrote. “Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney. Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess. So, I’m officially leaving all doors open.”

During a recent appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” Smith told host Jonathan Karl he has “no choice” but to consider running for president, pointing out the Democratic Party’s lack of leadership and vision.

“I have no choice, because I’ve had elected officials, and I’m not going to give their names, elected officials coming up to me,” the sports host said. “I’ve had folks who are pundits come up to me.”

“I’ve had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires and others that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature,” he added.

“I’m not a politician. I’ve never had a desire to be a politician.”

However, shortly after that interview, Smith reversed course about rumors of a possible run for president in 2028 and said he hopes “somebody from the Democratic Party steps up” in a new interview.

Smith told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that “I hope somebody from the Democratic Party steps up.”

“I hope I light a fire under them and get a more qualified individual in this mix, so people can stop asking me this stuff and I can enjoy my life,” Smith added.

Smith continued, “But if it continues to get worse, all hands on deck, all of us should consider running, for crying out loud, rather than dealing with this nonsense.”

In the meantime, Smith has a supporter in President Trump.