Stephen A. Smith won't be bolting from the ESPN airwaves for the White House ... 'cause SAS tells us he ain't running!

TMZ Sports caught up with the famed sports commentator out in the streets of NOLA last week, and with a recent report indicating 57-year-old Smith was getting looks from Democrat party leaders as a potential candidate for the 2028 election, we had to ask if he was interested.

Before we could finish the question, SAS made it clear that running for U.S. president was not in the cards.

"I ain't trying to run for office or anything like that," Smith said. "I love talking politics. I love talking about things not just sports. If the American people want to sit up there and say 'Yo we want Stephen A. to run' I'm not going to be mad at that."

"I don't know what the hell they're thinking. I ain't qualified, but if you want to go ahead and entertain it, you can go ahead and entertain it."

If history is any indication ... these days, you don't need any political experience to win an election -- just ask President Donald Trump.

"He's inspired all of us because if he can be president, a lot of us could be president," Smith said.

There's always 2032, Stephen A.!