ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith is warning that Democrats could find themselves in a political and cultural bind if former Vice President Kamala Harris is not their standard-bearer in 2028.
As reported by WND, Smith raised the alarm during an interview with podcaster Megyn Kelly, arguing that the partys identity politics and reliance on racial and gender symbolism may corner Democrats into backing a candidate who has already failed on the national stage. Harris lost the 2024 presidential election to President Donald Trump after stepping in for Joe Biden, who abruptly exited the race in July 2024, and Smith suggested that the same dynamics that handed her the 2024 nomination could propel her to the top of the ticket again.
Essentially by default, that means Kamala Harris could be at the top of the heap, Smith told Kelly, before bluntly questioning the wisdom of such a move. I dont, I dont, I, I think that would be a mistake, obviously, because I think that shes had her chance, or bites at the apple, not just once but twice in 2020, she couldnt even make it to Iowa. In this last election, you had 107 days, thats true, but you also had $1.5 billion you understand, and you were to upgrade from Joe Biden and you still managed to lose that.
Smith went on to cast doubt on whether the Democratic Party could credibly rally behind Harris yet again after such a record of underperformance. I dont know how the Democratic Party will rally behind her being the candidate yet again, particularly after her book was calling out Josh Shapiro one minute, Gavin Newsom the other, etc., etc., but who knows, he added, alluding to her public jabs at other prominent Democrats.
The ESPN host argued that Democrats are trapped by the very racial and gender calculations they have long used to mobilize their base. So heres the interesting thing, the Democrats are going to be in a position if they dont select her, which is the same one they tried to avoid when Biden was forced out: They did not want to be seen as stepping over a black woman, given how important black women are to Democrat elections, Smith continued.
According to Smith, party insiders effectively concluded they were obligated to elevate Harris regardless of her electoral weaknesses. So they, there was a large segment of the Democrat, you know, political class saying, we have no choice, weve got to give it to her, shes the sitting vice president, like, if we try to bypass her for a Josh Shapiro or somebody like that, were gonna get killed, he said, describing the fear of backlash from the Democratic base.
Harris announced on July 30, 2025, that she would not run for governor of California, quashing speculation that she might seek a reset in her home state. That decision leaves her national ambitions as the central question, even as her 2024 defeat to President Trump continues to loom over the partys future.
Smith underscored how deeply race and gender politics complicate Democratic calculations heading into 2028. You cannot bypass a black woman, female, like the, the, the VP for a Josh Shapiro, white guy, he said, before turning to the implications of a contested primary.
Well, now were gonna have a primary this time around and If she gets bypassed, in other words, doesnt win, and she loses to the guy whos in the number two position, who is a white straight male Christian, Gavin Newsom, are they in the same position of having to look like they cast her aside? Smith asked, suggesting Democrats could again be accused by their own activists of betraying their rhetoric on diversity. Potential alternatives to Harris already being discussed include former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, but each of them would have to navigate a party base conditioned to prioritize identity politics over performancean approach that has already failed once against President Trumps second administration.
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