ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made a surprise appearance on NewsNation’s coverage of Thursday’s presidential debate.
Viewers were surprised to see the 56-year-old sportscaster on the panel alongside host Chris Cuomo and radio personality Adam Carolla.
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Smith tuned in to the nation to watch Donald Trump take on Joe Biden in their first in-person meeting of the campaign.
Stephen A. appears every weekday on ESPN’s First Take and is the face of the network’s basketball coverage.
He discussed the upcoming election on his podcast The Stephen A. Smith Show for weeks.
But that didn’t stop viewers from expressing their surprise at seeing him on NewsNation for Thursday’s CNN debate.
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“Nah, what is Stephen A Smith doing here,” gasped one viewer on X in response to the filming.
“I would never respect a news organization that didn’t have Stephen A. Smith covering a presidential debate,” joked another.
“ESPN had Stephen A. Smith covering the draft a few hours ago and now he’s covering the Debate. THIS MAN IS EVERYWHERE,” said a third.
“Stephen A doing side missions now,” joked a fourth.
Smith came out after the debate and called on Democrats to “help” Biden.
“So you guys finally want to stop arguing with me about Biden now???” Smith wrote in X.
“Were your fears confirmed? @MichelleObama. @VP.
“Someone. Please help! Biden’s team WANTED this? His team, his loved ones… How could you put him out there like that! How could you!”
Trump and Biden will participate in another confrontation presented by ABC News in September.
A quick poll after the debate had 67 percent of viewers saying Trump won the night, with 33 percent opting for Biden, for CNN.
Stephen A.’s future at ESPN is unclear as he continues to negotiate a new contract.
Stephen A. Smith’s journey through the media
STEPHEN A. Smith is now the face of ESPN and executive producer of First Take, having initially started working for the company in 2003.
Smith has held numerous roles at the network, including radio show host, contributions to SportsCenter and appearance on NBA Countdown.
He was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1994 to 2010.
He started as an NBA writer before becoming a general sports columnist.
Prior to that, Smith worked as a reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and the New York Daily News.
The 56-year-old’s current contract with the network expires at the end of 2025.
Reports suggest that Smith wants to become ESPN’s highest-paid sportscaster, for Puck.news.
“ESPN made its initial offer of $18 million per year for five years last week,” the report states.
In total, the mega money supply would amount to around 90 million dollars.
Despite the exorbitant sums, Smith is seeking around $25 million for his next deal, per Fox Sports.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
