It all started during Barkley’s appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich,” when the NBA Hall of Famer was asked if Smith had a “shot to be president” after his name appeared in a February poll as a possible presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in 2028. 

“Hell no! Come on, stop it,” Barkley told the host. “Hey, Dan, knock it off right now. Stop it.”

Barkley also discussed all the appearances Smith has had on TV from Fox News to “Law & Order,” and he said it’s been “too much.” (23:50 for Eds)

“You are going to be on CNN, ‘Fox & Friends,’ now you’re on ‘General Hospital’ and ‘Law & Order,’ I’m like, ‘Yo man, knock it off,” he added. “Stop being on every TV show’ because at some point, people are going to get sick of you, and you are going to be like: “Yeah, I probably did too much. But once you do too much, it’s too late, and people don’t take you seriously, and I think he’s got to be careful in that aspect.”

During Monday’s “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast, Smith responded to Barkley, saying they are friends and anything he said critical of the NBA legend is “all in fun,” but labeled him a “flaming hypocrite.” Smith noted all the commercials Barkley has been in and his aspirations to go from playing basketball to wanting to run for governor of Alabama.

Smith said that he’s “making people very uncomfortable,” given the question directed at Barkley, and he doesn’t care if people are taking him seriously or not.

“And by the way, when you see me at other places, whether it be podcast or other shows, I don’t volunteer to go talk to these people y’all call and ask me to be seen,” the ESPN host said. “Could it be because I speak with substance? I have something to say that will draw viewers and listeners to your respective shows. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing in this business?”

“I have no desire to run for office,” he added. “I have no desire to be a politician. I love talking about politics. I love talking about social, giving social commentary on social issues. And I love talking about sports. And if that somehow, someway translates into me being in the mix and people talking to me about a potential political position, so be it.”

“It’s not where my interest lies, but I don’t rule it out because I believe I could win and I’ll be damned if anybody especially my friend and my brother who did nothing for years other than play basketball, yet repeatedly announced his desires to one day run for the governor of Alabama is going to sit here and tell me it’s a bit too much,” Smith continued. 

Well, here we go again. Smith has been all over the place on whether or not he’s interested in running for president, RedState reported.

During a past “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast, Smith said he has “no intention” of running for president.

On Fox News’ Sean Hannity,” he said, “I hope somebody from the Democratic Party steps up,” adding that “I hope I light a fire under them and get a more qualified individual in this mix, so people can stop asking me this stuff and I can enjoy my life.”

The comments appeared to somewhat contradict what he said during his appearance ABC News’ “This Week” when he told host Jonathan Karl he has “no choice” but to consider running for president, pointing out the Democratic Party’s lack of leadership and vision following President Donald Trump’s victory.