Charles Barkley wants Josh Shapiro to run for president, not Stephen A. Smith

The 2028 presidential election is still more than three years away, but in a surprise to no one, Charles Barkley has some thoughts.

During an appearance on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast, the former Sixers great and current TNT analyst discussed the network’s last season covering NBA games and his apprehension about doing the show on ESPN next season. But the conversation swung into politics thanks to Stephen A. Smith’s flirtation with a presidential run.

Smith has been doing something of a media parade touting his presidential prospects, claiming people on Capitol Hill have approached him in the wake of Donald Trump’s second term. The former Inquirer columnist and reporter even appeared as a guest on ABC’s This Week, where he reiterated his interest in a possible run for the White House to George Stephanopoulos.

“Calm down, Stephen A.,” Barkley said. “It had to start out as a joke, and he started taking it seriously... All I would say is, ‘Knock if off!’”

Barkley is no slouch when it comes to politics. A former Republican, the Hall of Famer came close to running for governor of Alabama as an independent in 2008, but couldn’t due to residency requirements. He backed Democrat Doug Jones’ unlikely Alabama senate victory in 2017, was an early supporter of Barack Obama, and already has some thoughts about the 2028 election.

“As an independent, if the Democrats don’t get Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, or Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, if they’re not the leaders of the team up for the Democratic Party, I would not consider voting for anybody else,” Barkley said, adding Trump wasn’t his “cup of tea.”

“I think Josh Shapiro is amazing, I think Wes Moore is amazing,” Barkley added. “If the Democratic Party does not pick one of those two, they’re going to lose my support forever as an independent.”

Barkley has said he voted for Kamala Harris, but thinks her decision to bypass Shapiro to make a presidential ticket with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz doomed her campaign.

“We lost the election fair and square, because... she picked an awful running mate,” Barkley said. “Awful running mate.”

Shaprio and Barkley do share one strong connection — a love of basketball. Shaprio is a devoted 76ers fan and was captain of his high school basketball team at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr. The governor also jumped into the world of sports broadcasting briefly earlier this year to call part of a Pitt—Syracuse basketball game in Pittsburgh. He’s also a regular on Philly sports talk radio, where he calls in as Josh from Juniata or Josh from Abington, depending on what station he’s talking to.

“I’m not trying to hide, man. I just want to talk about sports,” Shapiro told former Eagles players LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackon on The 25/10 Show in January. “I enjoy being about to talk about how great the Eagles are doing and lament the fact that the Sixers just suck right now, unfortunately.”

So is Shapiro running? It’s a bit early for official announcements — former President Joe Biden didn’t declare he was running for reelection until the year before, while Trump announced his bid for the White House two years ahead of the 2024 election.

But Shapiro has long been rumored to have ambitions for higher office and has also been hitting media outlets in recent months, including an appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher last month and an interview with Smith in February.

“I’m not thinking about 2028. I’m governor of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said on the Men at Work podcast last week. “I love what I do, I love this job, and I’ve got a lot more in me to keep working on it.”

That includes combating the Trump administration. Last week, Pennsylvania joined 15 states in a lawsuit over federal funding revoked from schools by the U.S. Department of Education, which Trump is working to shutter. Pennsylvania had been granted an extension to March 2026 to spend $185 million in remaining COVID relief money, and the lost funds would impact 116 Pennsylvania school districts and other education centers across the commonwealth, according to the administration.

Ahead of a possible presidential run, Shapiro still faces re-election in Pennsylvania in 2026, where a host of Republicans are considering running against the popular governor. That list includes Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Republican U.S. Rep Dan Meuser, and state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who lost to Shapiro in 2022.

As for way-too-early polling of the 2028 Democratic primary, Harris appears to be the early front-runner, largely off her name recognition following her loss to Trump in November.

In a new Echelon Insights survey of likely voters, 28% of respondents said they’d vote for Harris, with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker — fresh off his record-breaking Senate floor protest of Trump — in second place with 11%. Shapiro garnered 3% support, behind former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but ahead of Moore and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

For what it’s worth, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman also garnered minimal support for a presidential run, about on par with Smith at 1%.