Former CNN newscaster Don Lemon says the chances he runs for president in 2028 are now better than even, putting the odds at 65 to 70 percent during an interview on the “Uncloseted Media” podcast, in comments reported Oct. 7, 2026.
The figure came in response to a question from host Spencer Macnaughton, who pressed Lemon about remarks he made earlier in 2026 saying he was serious about seeking higher office in the next presidential cycle. Rather than back away from that answer, Lemon attached a number to it.
Journalism or the Presidency
Lemon framed the decision as a choice between two ways of doing the same job. He said he is weighing whether he can accomplish more as a journalist or by seeking the presidency itself — a question he described as still unresolved.
What nudged him toward the idea, he said, was watching candidates who have an easy rapport with crowds. Lemon said that when he is out on the road alongside those politicians, voters approach him and talk to him in much the same way they talk to the people actually on the ballot.
The Condition Lemon Attached
There is a caveat, though, and it is not a small one. “If the people want me, I’ll do it,” Lemon said.
He also acknowledged the sheer scale of a national campaign, saying a White House bid in this country demands full-time devotion from whoever undertakes it — and that he would prefer to spend much of his own time on reporting. In other words, the man quoting himself at roughly two-to-one odds is also the man explaining why he might not do it.
No Party Label, No Timetable
Even if Lemon does jump in, it is unclear what ballot line he would be seeking. Plenty of observers would assume a Democratic primary bid, given the political coloring of his years in cable news. Lemon has pushed back on that assumption. Told in September that people view him as a liberal, he insisted, “I’m an independent.”
That distinction matters. An independent run and a major-party primary campaign are entirely different undertakings in terms of ballot access, money and timing, and Lemon has not said which route he would take. Nor has he given any indication of when a formal decision might come.
The trial balloon first went up in July, when Lemon raised the possibility of running for higher office during an interview on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast. At the time, he insisted he had no personal political ambitions — while allowing in the same conversation that he believed he would make a genuinely good president, provided he could mount a campaign without having to plead with donors for cash.
That fundraising caveat is the kind of line that tends to end presidential flirtations before they begin. Modern campaigns are fueled by exactly the donor courtship Lemon says he would rather avoid, and the alternative — self-funding or relying on a groundswell of small-dollar enthusiasm — has worked for very few candidates.
Still, the trajectory of Lemon’s public comments has moved in one direction. In July, he was a broadcaster entertaining a hypothetical and disclaiming any ambition. By the “Uncloseted Media” interview, he was quantifying his own likelihood of running and describing the presidency as one of two serious options for the next phase of his career.
For now, no filing has been announced, no party has been chosen and no launch date has been floated. The only hard number Lemon has put on a 2028 campaign is the one he gave Macnaughton: 65 to 70 percent.