No joke: Jon Stewart would ‘win in a slam dunk’ if he ran for president, Howard Stern says

The Democratic Party’s bench may not be that deep, but Comedy Central’s sure is — according to the self-styled “King of All Media.”

Howard Stern said Monday that he knows whom the Democratic Party should nominate in 2024 should President Biden decide not to run.

“His name is Jon Stewart” and he would “win in a slam dunk” Mr. Stern said on his Sirius XM show.

“That guy is so f—ing smart, and bright, and also witty and really measured when he takes on a debate,” Mr. Stern told listeners about the former “Daily Show” pioneer who now hosts the Apple TV show “The Problem with Jon Stewart.”

“He knows how to talk. And you know, he would work his ass off to be a good president,” said Mr. Stern, according to an account of Monday’s program in The Hill.

Media friendliness and politics is also something Mr. Stern understands — when he called himself the “King of All Media” as a shock-radio host in the 1980s, one of his regular guests was a New York real-estate tycoon named Donald Trump.

“I’m telling you, he could also win, because people like Jon Stewart,” Mr. Stern said, also noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been a comedian and comic actor before running for political office in a national-crisis situation.

While Mr. Stewart has regularly expressed frustration with politicians — last year he said watching politicians is like watching a drunk driver drive and knowing you can do a better job — he has poured cold water on previous electoral-office speculation.

“Ummm…No thank you,” he wrote on Twitter last year in response to an op-ed saying he would be “better positioned” than anyone to run in 2024 if Mr. Biden retired.

Still, Mr. Stern noted Mr. Stewart’s success when he has dipped his toes into the political world.

“Remember when Jon went to Congress and lobbied for the 9/11 first responders?” he said.

“Watch when he talks to politicians and he confronts them,” Mr. Stern said. “Watch the guy. He just makes a lot of good points.”