Should Jon Stewart Run for President in 2028?
I was skeptical about a Stewart candidacy, but maybe ‘The Daily Show’ host is the right person to shake up the Democratic presidential primaries.
Last month, I ticked off an item on my bucket list. I was finally interviewed by the one and only Jon Stewart.
I’ve had the opportunity to interview ‘The Daily Show’ host before, but this was the first time he was asking me the questions. On his podcast, ‘The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart,’ the comedian and I discussed corporate media, the Gaza genocide, and Donald Trump, and Stewart wondered aloud whether “the Democratic Party is ripe for a takeover” and “they just need to find the right reality host.”
My response? “Please, please, no reality hosts, I beg of you. Unless Jon, you’re thinking of throwing your hat in the ring, which I know many people want.. If that’s what you’re suggesting, we can talk about that.”
Stewart laughed. He didn’t deny that was what he was suggesting. He didn’t rule out throwing his “hat in the ring.” He didn’t recite some version of: “Don’t be crazy, Mehdi, I have no intention of doing that.”
There was a glint in his eye as he simply leaned his head back and… chuckled.
The clamor for a Jon Stewart presidential candidacy is growing. And I’m far from the only person raising the tantalizing prospect of ‘Stewart 2028.’ Last November, two days after the Democrats lost to Trump, for a second time, the popular progressive YouTuber Kyle Kulinski tweeted: “JON STEWART 2028.” Last week, Kulinski said he continued to believe that “very few people are so uniquely positioned” to run for president “and I genuinely think he's one of them."
“I would love to see Jon Stewart run in 2028,” radio host Charlamagne tha God told Lara Trump, of all people, on her Fox show earlier this month, describing ‘The Daily Show’ host as “a change agent coming from the outside that’s really going to shake things up and somebody that I feel like can speak to all people.”
Stewart is not just a celebrity, Charlamagne explained to the president’s daughter-in-law, but a celebrity who has gotten “legislation and stuff passed before. We know where his heart is.”
Democratic Party voters seem open to the idea of a Stewart presidential bid, too. Remarkably, in a poll in April, ‘The Daily Show’ host was tied with Gretchen Whitmer, JB Pritzker, and Josh Shapiro and ahead of Andy Beshear – all sitting Democratic governors who have been touted as possible presidential heavyweights come 2028. Imagine what those polls will start to look like if Stewart formally declares for 2028, or even announces one of those “exploratory committees.”
Full disclosure: I’ve been skeptical of a Stewart presidential candidacy in the past. Earlier this year, in an interview with ‘The Vanguard’ podcast, I said that “I remain to be persuaded. I am not against it. I’m not for it.”
But I am coming around to the idea. Yes, part of me wants Stewart to stay in comedy, to continue as the host of ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Weekly Show’ where he educates and entertains, and platforms vital voices. And part of me would love to see Stewart primary the Kushner-confirming, crypto-backing, genocide-supporting, war criminal-hugging, AIPAC-texting Cory Booker in his home state of New Jersey next year. But part of me now also thinks Stewart should consider running for president in 2028.