Jon Stewart at long last addressed whether he’d consider a run for the nation’s top office.
Stewart, 63, was asked if he would consider it during a Q&A with the Daily Show audience, in a clip posted to YouTube on Sunday. The comedian didn’t exactly say no, but he did joke that he is a “f--- it” candidate.
“‘I think you should be president’ is the line that comes right after ‘F--- it,’” Stewart said. “Because most people go like, ‘I’m watching this. I’m doing this. These guys aren’t doing that. You know what? F--- it. That guy should, he’s on TV!’”
For years, the longtime Daily Show host has been asked by fans to run for president. Last year, Stewart even inspired a Change.org petition begging that he run for president in 2028, and a co-sign from Breakfast Club cohost Charlamagne tha God.
Stewart has been relatively dismissive of the public requests, pointing out that his on-air colleagues, such as Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, receive similar comments.
“This is a question that comes up a lot,” Stewart said, regarding people asking for late-night hosts—who are frequent targets of President Trump—to run for the country’s top office. “And I think it speaks to—if I may, and I don’t know the motivation—it speaks to this desperation and dissatisfaction that we have with the status quo."
But while calls for all of the late-night hosts to run for president have been made, Stewart’s name has been floated most frequently. Stewart has been a dogged critic of the 79-year-old commander-in-chief.
Stewart said this is because “you see somebody on television who’s saying some of the things that resonate with you.”
“It’s almost like you’re cursing me with, like, a Twilight Zone—Like, ‘Make him!’" the host continued. “I so understand the feeling. I think what’s happening right now with all of us, myself included, because having the ability to have a catharsis, or talk about it, or work with people every day is emotionally sustaining.”
Stewart said Trump’s policies “ain’t flying in a lot of places where you think it might be flying,” echoing the drop in approval ratings the administration has recently seen.
“People keep saying, ‘Oh, this guy is Hitler,’” Stewart continued. “No, he’s not. And I’ll tell you why he’s not. Hitler was popular. This guy’s not.”
The host believes that people are only interested in him running for office because of a “shared feeling of helplessness.” However, he said that people are still a source of hope as institutions fail, as the comedian has witnessed even Trump diehards drop their support for the president.
“The one institution that I think has been the bulwark in a way that nothing else has been the people,” Stewart said. “And that’s been really heartening to me.”
Stewart, who returned to the Daily Show after nearly a decade to host part-time in 2024, was recently honored with a coveted journalism award for his ability to eviscerate Trump.
He received the Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism in a new category: Comedic News and Commentary. The awards recognize members of the free press who are “protecting constitutional principles, defending the rule of law, and holding power to account.”
