this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2025
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I mean, ideally we shouldn't be just running celebrities but after 8 months of this shit I don't give a fuck anymore. Mentally I am here:

If it works I literally could not care less. Clearly the people want vibes so let's just give them the fucking vibes and deal with THAT issue when things aren't actively on fire.

Whatever else Stewart is, he's knowledgeable, charismatic, willing to fight for a cause, and DOES genuinely seem to give a fuck about the average person. That's a damn good start at least.

And all of THAT is even under the assumption we get something at least vaguely resembling a normal election, which at this point I think is entirely dependent on when exactly Diddler on the Roof finally strokes out on the shitter.

[–] bigbabybilly@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I love Jon Stewart as much as the next guy. I think he could do a better job than Trump is doing, but that’s setting a very low bar. Surely there’s someone more qualified than comedy news host John Stewart.

[–] Ton@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Zelenskyy was also a comedian, they are both pretty smart.

[–] Montreal_Metro@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Why the fuck are people so obsessed with celebrities? Elect someone actually competent for the job. Idiots.

[–] drcabbage@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The competent people never get elected.

[–] EightBitBlood@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Unless they're competent AND popular. Zelensky was a comedian before getting elected as well. Now he's basically done the impossible and held his own against Russia despite overwhelming forces. Regardless of your political beliefs, a comedian has done better fighting off Putin than literally anyone else ever. That's an undeniable fact.

So Stewart should run. Because he's the closest thing to competent who's popular enough to win we'll likely ever get again.

[–] drcabbage@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Correct, Jon Stewart is a populist that could totally win. I would almost say it is his patriotic duty to run. As Donald Trump shows, you don't actually have to do anything once you are in the office, lol.

[–] SheepHerder@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

The election is a popularity contest, so skill has almost nothing to do with it.

[–] KingPorkChop@lemmy.ca 30 points 1 day ago (10 children)

It's so cute that Americans think there will be a 2028 election.

[–] Mandog@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

There will be.

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[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

I'd want someone to represent the populace, not the power. I'd want them to be competent in how society works more so than how money works. I'd want them to have both compassion and charisma. Changes should piss off the minority of the electorate, not the majority. Change should be progressive and forward thinking not the old..."How can we capitalize on this and produce a revenue stream?". I don't care if they are famous or not. That being said, I do like to be entertained. I am really tired of the sell, sell, sell business shit that goes on nowadays. Hell, you can't even write and perform a nice pop song anymore without automatically having a new scent and a clothing line. Hawks everywhere, picking apart the dying corpse of mother earth.

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 day ago

Well, the Ukrainians elected a comedian and got a true leader.

[–] tamal3@lemmy.world 50 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

A lot of people here are condemning celebrity in US politics, and I get it... but at this point in time we might need someone who is already famous yet consistent and trustworthy. Stewart has shown himself to be a good person for decades. He's also politically informed, progressive, and whip smart.

We need a candidate who wants real change for the betterment of the working class. Somehow people thought that was Trump... I guess because he said he would be, a few times? And people were hoping hard? And not looking at his track record at all? Also racism? More importantly though: people didn't think that candidate was Harris, who got pushed through by the Democratic party and ran an uninspiring campaign. Those people didn't vote. Those people were excited about candidates like Bernie, who's track record on class issues is indefatigable. Those people could potentially be excited about Jon Stewart tearing shit down for the actually betterment of the poor, and might trust that he would try.

That's my read, anyway. A Mamdani could come along and stir up some real enthusiasm, but I think it's harder for a no-name without a proven record to win a national election. Last time that happened we ended up with Obama, and people still feel burned by his lack of progressive action.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 37 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I'd normally say "hells no, stop electing celebrities!" but this is a person who is actually politically informed (savvy even) and at this point possibly bthenonoy person why might get the US out of this miserable shit it's in and on to a path towards an actual representative democracy.

If anything, Jon Stewart might be the only person able to get the US to stop electing celebrities in the first place

So yeah, Jon 2028!

[–] Scrizzle@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago

Let’s not forget his relentless lobbying in congress and the senate for the first responders of 9/11. He had the balls to tell politicians the truth without sugar and never gave up because it was the right thing to do and he could.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 10 points 2 days ago

I want to say no celebrities or billionaires so badly, but if you believe that nearly ALL politicians are irredeemably corrupt, then that's where we have to go for the people with the money and/or name recognition to win.

If you are going to vote for someone other than a politician, than an intelligent person who has spent the last couple of decades closely following politics and commenting on it every night might be a good option, provided they have the morals for it. I generally don't think much of the morals of billionaires or celebrities, but they're far better than MAGAs. At least they aren't enthusiastic traitors and pedophiles.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 45 points 2 days ago (10 children)

Can you stupid fucks stop worshiping celebrities for like FIVE MINUTES.

I don't get how mindless our population is.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Im not sure how this request is relevant to the topic. No one is talking about nominating Ashton Kutcher. This is not someone who's famous because they're pretty or act well, he's famous for his mind, and just happens to also be funny. So I have to believe all these comments calling him a "celebrity" are knee-jerk reactions or in bad faith.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

It's not at all bad-faith or knee-jerk, it's the premise behind the idea that just because you see a character someone plays on television for a long time that you trust them and think them capable and a more desirable outcome. This is the same brain-rot that got us Trump and fawning over someone more towards your "side" doesn't make the situation less rotten.

I think ANYONE would be better than Trump but if anything, that's where the bad-faith is happening here, the notion that just because shit is so bad right now that we can start selecting any clown and further this slide into bullshit nonsense political theater. Why not youtube streamers or late night talk show hosts like Colbert? Why are those LESS appealing than John Stewart even though they ostensibly have the same exact qualifications? Why NOT Ashton Kutcher then? The arguments for someone like him are the same arguments for Stewart. They are television characters.

There's probably no stopping it, our population has gotten too dumb to understand that recognizability does not equal best outcomes and policy power. Which Stewart has hardly any of; political capital is something Trump has tons of, and so do many less charismatic and less well-known politicians, and if you don't know how political capital works... then yeah, your best bet is electing someone based on how much you recognize their face. Democracy is cooked. The branches of government are over.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

But no one knows what any politician is really like off camera. We do know what Stewart's record is though, and he actually has fought for at least one political matter in court and before Congress, and successfully. He is at the very least a thinker. You can't possibly be a good comedian and not be, a legitimate debater, and he can rally a crowd. It is not the same thing as supporting your average Hollywood celebrity, because he isn't one.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Again, Ashton Kutcher has also done many of these things. I don't get why we are drawing a line between actor-activists when they're all just actors and play characters on television.

So far the issue of political capital has been going over everyone's head here. I would love to stand corrected and see someone like Stewart suddenly reveal he's been sowing the seeds of power for years in a deliberate manner AND has the actual desire to rally specific power groups in the nation. But it's VERY late in the game for that kind of surprise. Even Harris had more chips on the table.

This insistence that having the tepid support of moderate liberals who barely watch the news is somehow more valuable than dedicated, ideological activists is why we have Trump leading a literal warband of Orcs without opposition across the country.

[–] daddycool@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a standup comedian and I think he's doing a pretty good job as president.

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[–] BotsRuinedEverything@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Stuart Colbert 28'! My fingers would break I'd vote so hard for that.

No. I would actually like Jon to win if this really were to happen, not have a laugh at the irony. I love Colbert, but the vp would need to be an actual politician. So no. No fucking Stewart/Colbert. Please.

[–] Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 days ago

I'm just saying, his name is spelled correctly right there in the original post... lol

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[–] Steve@startrek.website 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)
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[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Eh, I trust Stewart's motivations, but not necessarily his judgment. I listened to him interview Ezra Klein and Stewart fell for his neoliberal Abundance bullshit without any pushback of critical thought. I could see him getting led astray by some of the same Democratic hacks that destroyed the party.

[–] ToadOfHypnosis@lemmy.world 37 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (13 children)

I don’t think Stewart has any desire to run for President honestly.

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[–] Draegur@lemmy.zip 226 points 3 days ago (14 children)

Zelenskyy did it. Ukraine would no longer exist as a sovereign nation today if he didn't; it would have been entirely annexed into Russia right now.

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[–] iamdefinitelyoverthirteen@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Jon needs to run as a Democrat, and he needs Colbert to be his running mate ars a Republican for teh lulz

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[–] Skyrmir@lemmy.world 171 points 3 days ago (13 children)

Jon could absolutely destroy anyone on a debate stage. Mainly because it's a popularity contest, and he's spent his entire life learning to be popular on screen and stage. He's also a smart guy with great insight into a lot of situations.

None of that means he would be a good president. It's a different set of skills.

The bottom line though, would he be better than the alternative? And I hear what you're saying. Those nazi crack monkey's put on a hell of a show, how could Jon possibly do a better job? I'm not sure, but given the option, I think I'd give him a shot.

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[–] ToiletFlushShowerScream@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (3 children)

The Venn diagram overlap of personality characteristics of modern politicians and celebrities is extraordinarily large. Pure charisma drives success in modern media-driven politics. It's sad, but I believe it's truth now.

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[–] owlboy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Whoa, this thread has the most comments I've ever seen on Lemmy, I think.

[–] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Literally 0 lessons learned. Lmao. The US is so fucked

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 60 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (29 children)

Or, hear me out: we abolish the presidency. There’s absolutely no need for so much power to be vested in one person.

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[–] DontRedditMyLemmy@lemmy.world 42 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Just have him be White House Spokesperson. Perfect role for him.

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[–] GaMEChld@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yes please. I've been wanting him to run for decades and I was hoping when he left the daily show he might end up on the path. I know he doesn't want to do it, but no one who SHOULD have the job really WANTS the job, because they know what it means to do that job properly.

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[–] Daggity@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Did I time travel to 2000?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Just an interesting observation I've had about the comments here: everyone against this is misspelling his name

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[–] pyre@lemmy.world 57 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Americans elect a non celebrity challenge (impossible)

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