Don Lemon may be plotting his most audacious comeback yet — from ousted cable news anchor to commander in chief.
The former CNN host revealed that he is seriously considering a 2028 presidential campaign and has already spoken with political insiders about what it would take to launch a credible bid.
“People keep asking me if I’m running for president,” Lemon said Wednesday during an interview at his New York City home with the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast. “And I don’t know. I might. I’m serious.”
Lemon, 60, insisted he was not joking when he declared that he could handle the nation’s highest office.
“I actually think I would be a really good president of the United States,” he said, according to Mediaite. “I’m being totally serious.”
Lemon argued that a lack of government experience no longer disqualifies someone from the White House, pointing to President Donald Trump’s successful transition from businessman and reality-television star to president.
The longtime Trump critic also took a swipe at the potential 2028 field.
“I look around, you know, and I see the folks who are possibly in the running, and some of them are impressive,” Lemon said. “Many of them — most of them — are not.”
Lemon claimed Trump is failing working-class Americans while benefiting wealthy allies, adding that he believes he could do a better job.
The former anchor acknowledged that his interest has gone beyond idle daydreaming. Asked whether he had assembled an exploratory team, Lemon said he had “stuck my toe into it.”
“I’ve talked to people about it, people who have been in politics before, and asked, what would it take? When would I have to get in to do it?” he said.
Lemon said his ideal campaign would be powered by small-dollar contributions instead of wealthy donors. He also admitted that his notoriously unfiltered personality — including what he called his “potty mouth” — could create problems on the campaign trail.
“I would like it to be a voter, citizen-driven campaign for as much as it can be,” he said, envisioning supporters contributing five or ten dollars at a time.
It was not Lemon’s first public flirtation with a White House run. During a March appearance on “Pod Save America,” he said he believed he “could be president” and could run the country better than Trump, although he acknowledged that an independent bid would be extraordinarily difficult. Mediaite reported that Lemon suggested he might have to run as a Democrat.
Any campaign would put Lemon’s turbulent exit from CNN back under a national spotlight.
CNN fired him in April 2023 after 17 years with the network, though it never publicly identified a specific reason. The dismissal came two months after Lemon ignited a firestorm by declaring that then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who was 51, was no longer “in her prime.”
“When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s,” Lemon said at the time, prompting co-host Poppy Harlow to challenge him on air. Lemon later apologized and called his remarks “inartful and irrelevant.” CBS News reported that the comments were widely condemned as sexist.
Lemon later accused CNN management of racism and homophobia, claiming executives wanted to remove him as “the gay Black guy.”
He also remains entangled in a federal criminal case stemming from an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a January worship service at a Minnesota church. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to federal civil-rights charges and maintains that he attended the event solely as a journalist. Nine people were charged in connection with the protest.
Lemon is hardly the first television personality to test the political waters.
ESPN star Stephen A. Smith said in February that he was giving “strong consideration” to joining the 2028 Democratic primary debates. One month later, however, Smith appeared to shut the door, telling Sean Hannity he was unwilling to sacrifice his lucrative media career.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has also generated presidential speculation. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly urged Carlson to run earlier this year, arguing that the influential conservative commentator could command a powerful following. Carlson subsequently ruled out a campaign, saying he has never wanted political office. Axios reported that Carlson would be more likely to influence the race from outside it.
Other television figures have made the leap. Former Phoenix news anchor Kari Lake became the Republican nominee for Arizona governor in 2022 and Senate in 2024, losing both races. Television physician Mehmet Oz unsuccessfully ran for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in 2022 before joining the Trump administration as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS identifies Oz as the agency’s 17th administrator.
For now, Lemon has not launched a committee, hired campaign staff, or declared a party affiliation. But he made clear that the idea is not going away.
“As we get closer to 2027 or 2028, I’ll see, I’ll decide,” Lemon concluded. “But I have enough on my hands right now.”
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