EXCLUSIVEDonald Trump’s secret vendetta against the NFL made him run for president, reveals Stephen A. Smith

EXCLUSIVEDonald Trump’s secret vendetta against the NFL made him run for president, reveals Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith has lifted the lid on the conversation in 2014 when Donald Trump vowed to run for president due to a vengeful vendetta against the NFL.

In a wide-ranging interview with DailyMail.com in New Orleans, Smith teased his own run for the White House – a decade after Trump reached out before making a failed bid to buy the Buffalo Bills.

The president confirmed ahead of last year’s election that he offered $1billion cash for the NFL team in 2014, following the death of founder and Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson.

Trump was one of three known finalists in the battle to take charge of Buffalo. A group led by rock star Jon Bon Jovi also showed interest in acquiring the team.

In the end, however, the owners of hockey’s Buffalo Sabres, Terry and Kim Pegula, won the bidding with $1.4bn offer.

Smith can still recall what Trump told him before his offer was turned down.

Stephen A. Smith revealed he spoke to Donald Trump ahead of his bid to buy the Buffalo Bills

Stephen A. Smith revealed he spoke to Donald Trump ahead of his bid to buy the Buffalo Bills

Back in October, Trump opened up on his attempt to buy the NFL team back in 2014

Back in October, Trump opened up on his attempt to buy the NFL team back in 2014

Terry and Kim Pegula, parents of tennis star Jess Pegula, won the bidding with $1.4billion offer

Terry and Kim Pegula, parents of tennis star Jess Pegula, won the bidding with $1.4billion offer

‘I am the person that Donald Trump called in 2014 when he wanted to purchase the Buffalo Bills,’ the ESPN star said.

‘His exact words to me were – excuse my language: “If them motherf***ers get in my way, meaning the NFL owners, I’m gonna get them all back”,’ Smith said. 

‘”I’m going to run for president.” Those were his exact words. They didn’t let the sale go through, and he ran for president.’

Trump is set to become the first ever sitting president to attend the Super Bowl when he heads to New Orleans on Sunday to watch the Chiefs face the Eagles.

Back in October, ahead of his election win over Kamala Harris, the 78-year-old opened up on his attempt at becoming an NFL owner, insisting he was ‘not close’ to taking over the Bills.

‘I bid $1bn dollars and I put up a letter of credit. I thought I might get it because it was in Buffalo which was having some troubles… and (Pegula) bid $1.4bn – so it’s $400m more,’ Trump said during an appearance on the popular YouTube show ‘Bussin’ With The Boys’

‘I don’t think it was a very serious run but I gave them a guarantee of a $1bn so that’s always serious, right?’

He added: ‘The owner who got it is a very good man. I think he’s done a great job. Well, he made a great pick – he picked a great quarterback in Josh (Allen).’

'He made a great pick - he picked a great quarterback in Josh (Allen),' Trump said of Pegula

‘He made a great pick – he picked a great quarterback in Josh (Allen),’ Trump said of Pegula

Smith has more support than several big-name Democratic presidential hopefuls, a poll said

Smith has more support than several big-name Democratic presidential hopefuls, a poll said

The ESPN host was speaking ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl between the Eagles and Chiefs

The ESPN host was speaking ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Eagles and Chiefs

Smith also spoke to DailyMail.com about his own political ambitions and the controversy surrounding a ‘black national anthem’ being sung ahead of the Super Bowl.

A recent poll, looking ahead to the 2028 presidential race, revealed that that the ESPN star has more political support than several big-name Democrat hopefuls.

Remarkably, Smith polled only one percentage point behind Tim Walz – Harris’ vice-presidential pick – and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. 

Read MoreEXCLUSIVE STEPHEN A. SMITH: I’m considering running for PRESIDENT – here’s why I’ll sweep the floor article image

The 57-year-old claimed he had no desire to become entangled in the messy web of politics but he insisted: ‘ᴀssuming that I’m well off, that I have lots of money, and money is no longer a concern, if the American people came to me and looked at me and said “Yo, man, we want you to run for office”, and I had a legitimate sH๏τ to win the presidency of the United States, I’m not gonna lie. I’ll think about that.

‘But I gotta have my money. I’m not gonna go to the White House broke. I’m not gonna do that. I gotta have my money. I gotta have my home. I gotta have my financial situation completely taken care of. I have no concerns if that happens for me.

‘If they told me I had a legitimate, bonafide sH๏τ to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would entertain it.

‘Because the part that I’m not joking about is I believe I could beat every candidate on that poll. Every candidate that they mentioned, from Kamala Harris right on down to (Pete) ʙuттigieg and to Tim Walz. I’d beat all of them. I do believe that. I really do.’

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