Don Lemon reveals he’s ‘totally serious’ about considering a presidential run

Former CNN host Don Lemon revealed he was “totally serious” about considering a presidential run during a podcast on Wednesday and said people kept asking him if he’s going to run.

“Can’t be Censored” hosts Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong asked Lemon if he had political ambition, to which the ex-CNN host said no, but revealed people had been asking him to and that he was thinking about it.

“I actually think I would be a really good president of the United States,” Lemon said.

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“Okay, like you’re being serious?” Dhanraj asked.

Lemon said he was being totally serious and was asked what it would take for him to run.

Don Lemon accepts an award during the 30th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 11, 2026. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

“For the people to want me. What it would take is if I ran a political campaign, a presidential campaign, I would like to run it, and I don’t know if this is realistic or not, without having to beg for money. I would like it to be a voter-citizen-driven campaign for as much as it can be. Maybe at some point I might have to take a donation. I would rather not do that, but I would rather the people of the United States to say, ‘That’s the guy that we want. I’m gonna give him five dollars or $10’ or something that doesn’t break the bank because I know that the economy is tough,” Lemon said.

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Lemon criticized President Donald Trump and argued he was “not doing a great job for the working-class people, for the American economy.”

The former CNN host said Trump’s economic policies only benefited the rich and people who happen to have 401(k)s.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Lemon’s statements and his possible plans to run for president. 

When pressed on whether he’s seriously explored what it would take to run and such, Lemon said he’s dipped his toe into it.

“I’ve stuck my toe into it, if you want to put it that way, or I’ve dabbled, I’ve talked to people about it, people who have been in politics before, what would it take? When would I have to get in to do it? And I’d have to be really serious about it,” he said.

He added, “So as we get closer to 2027 or 2028, I’ll see. I’ll decide. But I have enough on my hands right now.”

Lemon previously floated the idea during an episode of “Pod Save America” in March.

“Do I ever think about it? Yes,” Lemon said on “Pod Save America” on March 29. “Could it happen? Yeah, it could happen if the opportunity presented itself, the right opportunity presented itself. Look, if I wanted to, I know people are going to think I’m crazy. This is going to be the headline, and people are going to laugh about it. I think I could be President of the United States. I could definitely run this country better than Donald Trump.”

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Lemon said at the time that he did not have any interest in running for office, arguing that it could “ruin” his life and pointing out that White male candidates “get away with” far more than female or minority ones. He also argued that he would have to change his party affiliation from independent to Democrat.

Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on January 30, 2026 (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

However, he pushed back on the idea that it was impossible for him to consider running.

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“Am I at that point now? No. And I know people are going to say Don Lemon is crazy. But yeah, that’s…look, why can’t I think about running for office? Why can’t I think about being president of the United States when look at what we have?” Lemon said.

He continued, “Did anybody think Barack Obama, as he says, this guy with a funny name is from a mixed background, did anybody ever think that he would become president, that he had that aspiration? I don’t have an aspiration to become president, but I do think that I could run this country a lot better than Donald Trump.”