Stephen A. Smith Says He Feels Like A ‘Damn Fool’ For Voting For Kamala Harris

TV personality Stephen A. Smith told comedian Bill Maher’s live audience Friday that he felt foolish for supporting former Vice President Kamala Harris’s failed presidential run and that Harris was unlikely to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination had the party held a primary election.

“I voted for her, a lot of people voted for her, but in the end, we end up feeling like damn fools, because we supported it, we fell for the okie doke, as they say. You know she didn’t — if they’d had a primary, the likelihood is that she would not have been the Democratic nominee. And you can’t say that about [President Donald] Trump,” Smith said, a video shows.

Stephen A Smith feels like a damn fool for voting for Kamala Harris and declares she would have not been the Democrat nominee for president if a primary was held:
SAS: “So Kamala Harris – who didn’t resonate during the primaries in 2020, couldn’t even get to Iowa – suddenly is… pic.twitter.com/cQzLrMIILU

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) January 25, 2025

The ESPN pundit made the remarks in rebuttal of Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna’s argument as they both compared Harris’s campaign with Obama’s. Khanna argued that celebrities wanted to appear with Obama on the campaign trail because he had established a connection with people, whereas Harris needed the celebrities so as to gain a connection with people. Smith suggested that Khanna’s argument was disingenuous.

“Let’s be honest here: first of all, one could argue that Obama resonated more because the people chose him to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of America as opposed to somebody backdooring their way into the position. Let’s just be honest about it,” Smith said, drawing applause.

Speaking of Trump, Smith said, “Here’s the deal: The man was impeached twice, he was convicted on 34 felony counts. The American people still said ‘He’s closer to normal than what we’re seeing on the left.”

Stephen A Smith stuns the Bill Maher crowd into silence as he articulates how Democrats have no one left fighting for the American people:
SAS: “The man was impeached twice, he was convicted on 34 felony counts. The American people still said ‘He’s closer to normal than what… pic.twitter.com/BTHt6ZKIqa

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) January 25, 2025

He also took Khanna to task for his claim that former President Joe Biden was mentally fit for a second presidential term. “I know that you supported Biden, obviously you spoke about his mental acuity and all of that other stuff. But we all saw what we saw,” Smith told Khanna. (RELATED: ‘Exactly Why Trump Is In’: Stephen A. Smith Tears Into Rep. Ocasio-Cortez After She Posts Video Calling GOP Fascists)

Smith was referencing Khanna’s comment on CNN in February 2024 that Biden was “completely mentally sharp.”

Biden’s performance in the summer debate against Trump left many Democrats stunned and galvanized them to push for Biden to step aside. A press conference afterward kept him on for a while despite being a gaffe-strewn showing — but 10 days later he dropped out and endorsed Harris. The Democratic Party did not hold a primary.

“Kamala Harris, who didn’t resonate during the primaries in 2020 — couldn’t even get to Iowa — suddenly is the Democratic nominee. And then you all go, and then you roll up at the [Democratic National] Convention in Chicago, and everybody’s like, ‘She’s a rockstar!’ So, it was like, wait a minute, how’d that happen? How’d that happen? I don’t know how that happened,” Smith said.