Stephen A. Smith ‘feels presidential’ after Donald Trump interview: ‘I belong here’

Credit: Straight ShooterStephen A. Smith entered the White House to interview Donald Trump as a podcast host, and he left feeling presidential.The once-growing belief that the ESPN host will eventually run for president has faded in the last year or so. Partly because Smith has insisted he will not give up his highly lucrative media gigs, and partly because he’s built a political platform without being transparent about where he stands on many issues.To Smith’s credit, his political platform landed him at the White House twice in the last month. After joining Bill Maher and Kid Rock for a dinner with Trump at the White House several weeks ago, Smith returned this week to interview the president for his YouTube show. And while reflecting on the interview during a segment with Skip Bayless on his SiriusXM Radio show Friday afternoon, Smith admitted his latest visit to the White House has him feeling like he belongs there.“Once I was leaving, I don’t even know if I should admit this on the air, but it’s true. I kind of felt like I could be here, like I could do this,” Smith told Bayless.As he left the White House, reporters closed in on Smith to take pictures and get comments before he was ushered over to a designated stakeout position to answer questions. And in that moment, Smith really began to feel in his element.“I felt kinda presidential. I really really did. I was like, this is kinda cool,” Smith said on his Mad Dog Sports Radio show. “I wasn’t scared to answer any questions. And then Trump’s staff came running out to get me away from there. I’m thinking they didn’t want me talking until the interview came out. I come to find out once I had left, they were trying to get me out of there so I didn’t have to talk to the media cause they thought I minded. And I didn’t mind at all.”“I departed outside looking at the backdrop of the White House feeling like, ‘Yeah, I kind of belong here. I think I can do this.’”While Smith maintains he could win a presidential election, he also claims wading into the political waters in recent years has rekindled his love for covering sports.“I do believe that I could win the presidency if I ran, Smith insisted to Bayless. “I genuinely believe I could win the presidency. But here’s the thing…the more I do it, the more I’ve fallen in love with sports. I love doing this radio show. I love doing First Take. I love talking about sports. As much as I’ve loved doing what I’ve done for decades, this experience in the world of politics has made me love sports even more.”Smith has been criticized for being too soft during the interview with Trump. But he is a sports personality interviewing one of the most polarizing and divisive presidents in United States history.The question should be: why is Stephen A. Smith interviewing the president about politics, rather than why didn’t Stephen A. Smith do a better job interviewing the president? Smith explained he was focused on balancing tough questions with not wanting Trump to walk out of the interview. Although if you’re looking for clicks and engagement, Trump storming out of an interview might have set records.Recognizing he covers sports for a living, Smith said it’s not his mission to fact-check or debate when interviewing Trump or any political figure. Instead, he tries to get answers that can then be assessed and analyzed by political pundits.The post Stephen A. Smith ‘feels presidential’ after Donald Trump interview: ‘I belong here’ appeared first on Awful Announcing.