Why General Hospital star Stephen A. Smith says he has 'no choice' but to consider running for president

On General Hospital, Brick takes orders from the man in charge, Sonny Corinthos. In real life, ESPN sportscaster and actor Stephen A. Smith is considering becoming the man in charge.

A General Hospital star in the White House?

Stephen A. Smith's Brick knows all for Sonny | Image: ABC

Smith, who has been recurring as Sonny's (Maurice Benard) West Coast enforcer, Brick, since 2016, has been vocal politically for years, criticizing both Republicans and Democrats almost equally. In recent months, there's been social media chatter about Smith even running for president in 2028.

In February, he said he might run for office one day, but by March, his agent insisted he wasn't going to run for president. However, that changed this past week when he said he wasn't ruling it out. On Sunday, April 13th, he appeared on ABC's This Week with Jonathan Karl. The TV personality said he now felt he had no choice but to at least consider it due to all the people clamoring for it to happen.

"I have no choice because I've had elected officials, and I'm not going to give their names, elected officials coming up to me," Smith said. "I've had folks who are pundits come up to me. I've had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires, and others that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature. I'm not a politician. I've never had a desire to be a politician."

He then offered an anecdote from a personal encounter. "Here's the reality: People, literally people, have walked up to me, including my own pastor, for crying out loud, who has said to me, 'You don't know what God has planned for you,'" Smith explained. "'At least show the respect to the people who believe in you, who respect you, who believe that you can make a difference in this country, to leave the door open for any possibilities some to three years down the line.' And that's what I've decided to do."

Port Charles Politics

Brick wants to date Deputy Mayor Jordan Ashford on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Perhaps Smith can get some practice in the real political world if Brick ever enters any part of the fictional Port Charles political world. Currently, the show has three major political characters. Laura Collins (Genie Francis) is the mayor, Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) is a congressman, and newcomer Ezra Boyle (Daniel Cosgrove) is a councilman. The three are all fighting over waterfront territory that belongs to Sonny, while Brick occasionally pursues Deputy Mayor Jordan Ashford (Tanisha Harper).

If Smith does run for president, he won't be the first TV personality who has appeared on a soap to do so. In 2005, President Donald Trump appeared as himself on Days of our Lives opposite Arianne Zucker (Nicole Walker).

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays in ABC and Hulu.