Stephen Colbert Reveals Whether Running for President in 2028 Is in the Cards
What To Know
- Stephen Colbert firmly stated he has no intention of running for U.S. president in 2028.
- Colbert humorously reflected on his previous satirical presidential campaigns in 2007 and 2012.
- He expressed deep admiration for America’s founding ideals and joked about considering greater service after his Late Show tenure ends.
Stephen Colbert for U.S. president in 2028? Don’t count on it. In a recent panel discussion, the Late Show host tempered hopes of him running for office.
“Absolutely not. Yeah, absolutely, I should not run for president,” Colbert told John Dickerson, David Plotz, and Emily Bazelon, hosts of Slate’s Political Gabfest, at a live taping of the podcast this month.
“I understand why you’d want me to,” a deadpan Colbert added as the audience laughed and cheered. “That is something I’m going to have to discuss with my faith leader and my family to see if, once my service on [CBS talk show] The Late Show ends in May, if I could be of some greater service to this nation that I love so much.”
He continued “Because what I believe is, America’s the last best hope of mankind, and if there’s anything I can do to forward the mission of our Founding Fathers, whose love of freedom and belief in the rights of man abides in my heart, like the very blood in my veins and the strength in my arm, why, who am I to say that I should run? But if I hear the call, obviously, of the Lord…”
At this, the audience started chanting Colbert’s name, and the comedian rose to his feet to receive the adoration before saying, “Please sit down. Please sit down.”
Colbert reminded the Political Gabfest hosts that he ran for president twice, once in 2007 and again in 2012. “I ran as president of the United States of South Carolina, because I only ran in South Carolina,” he said. “And they got mad — everybody, Democrats more than Republicans, I’ll tell you that. They got super mad at me.”
Dickerson, who recently ended his own run at CBS, recalled attending Colbert’s satirical rally for Herman Cain in 2012. The former CBS Evening News host called it a “massive outdoor event, well attended.”
Colbert said, “Seven thousand people. Absolutely beautiful. The College of Charleston. It was beautiful. And Herman Cain? [Shrugs] He was fun. We closed the rally by singing the Pokémon song, ‘Gotta Catch ’Em All.’”
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