Is Howard Stern Really Going To Run For President? 》

It’s an open secret that we’re living through weird political times right now. The country is in an uproar over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, Congressmen are pulling out all the stops to win the 2022 midterm elections.

Of course, many people are looking farther ahead to the presidential election in 2024. Many Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have hinted that Joe Biden may not seek re-election as president. And while Harris might run for president, since she currently has low-approval ratings, this could be anyone’s game.

In this case, “anyone” might include famous shock jock, Howard Stern. He recently announced his intention to run for president, but is that really going to happen? Let’s find out!

Howard Stern wants to run for president

Stern made his surprise presidential announcement in late June. “I said to (longtime co-host) Robin (Quivers), and I hate to say this, but I said to her, ‘I’m actually gonna probably have to run for president now,'” Stern revealed on his Sirius XM show (via USA Today).

The longtime radio host made it very clear that he felt the need to run due to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. He offered a stringent critique of Justice Clarence Thomas, calling him a “lightweight” who sat “dormant” on the Court until enough conservatives joined him on the bench.

“”He all of a sudden (goes) to them in some dark hole and (goes), ‘So I know you guys promised a bunch of these senators you would never go back on precedent, that you would never go back on Roe v. Wade. But you guys were kidding. Right?'” Stern said, refering to Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s Senate confirmation hearings.

Stern said his goal as president would be to “make the country fair again.” And Stern’s plan to make the country fair again involves a very controversial move.

Howard Stern would abolish the Electoral College

Every would-be president needs a platform, and Stern intends to “make the country fair again.” So, how does he plan to do that?

“I went into a long-winded speech over the weekend to Robin about how I am going to do the very simple thing that’ll set the country straight,” Stern said. “One vote, one person, no more of this Electoral College.”

That’s right, if Howard Stern became president, he would get rid of the Electoral College. Stern’s idea seems to have become increasingly popular in recent years, and it would certainly change the landscape for elections.

For example, under Stern’s system, presidents would be effectively chosen by the popular vote. Under a popular vote system, George W. Bush would have lost his first election and Donald Trump would have lost the 2016 election, both of which would have dramatically changed the shape of the country.

Of course, getting rid of the Electoral College isn’t the only drastic change Howard Stern would make as president. He has other controversial plans too!

Howard Stern plans to stack the Supreme Court

Ending the Electoral College is not the only thing on Stern’s agenda. It’s not hard to see why: changing how we elect politicians won’t do anything about those currently serving on the Supreme Court. Those justices are appointed for life, and a conservative majority on the Supreme Court means we may be seeing other shocking decisions (including repealing everything from gay marriage to contraception) over the coming decades.

If elected president, Stern has a simple solution to this. “The only other thing I’m going to do is appoint five more Supreme Court justices,” Stern said. “I’m not afraid to do it. As soon as I become president, you’re gonna get five new Supreme Court justices that are going to overturn all this.”

However, Stern is a bit misinformed on executive powers. It’s Congress who would need to expand the Supreme Court before a president could appoint additional justices. But while several high-profile members of Congress back this idea, including New York’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, President Biden himself does not approve of expanding the court, according to NBC News.

Could Howard Stern beat Donald Trump for president?

As part of Stern’s presidential announcement, he had a mixture of bravado and contempt when it came to the subject of Donald Trump. There is still a significant chance that Trump will run for president again in 2024. What does Stern think will happen if Trump does so?

According to Yahoo!, Stern was quick to declare “I’ll beat his ass.” The radio host squarely blamed the the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Donald Trump, which Stern claimed is “Trump’s legacy” (via USA Today). “I hope he’s happy — back alley abortions,” Stern added.

It’s worth noting that Stern has always had a complicated relationship with Donald Trump. In earlier years, before Trump became president, Trump was a frequent caller to Stern’s show. Stern’s ratings soared as he and Trump discussed many lewd topics.

But after Trump won the 2016 election, Stern was happy to speak out against him and seemed pleased that his radio chats with Trump painted him n such a bad light. This includes, as CNN reports, Trump reassuring Stern during a 2004 interview that it’s okay to call Ivanka Trump “a piece of ass.”

So, if Stern is so sure that he could beat Trump in a presidential election, who would he pick as his running mate? The answer is quite surprising!

Howard Stern’s vice president would be Bradley Cooper

When someone runs for president, their pick for the vice presidential nominee is very important in helping them reach other demographics they might not appeal to strongly. And since Howard Stern has a reputation for alleged misogyny on his talk show over the years, he believes he has the perfect running mate to help him appeal to women voters.

So, who will be Stern’s running mate? According to Variety, Stern revealed, “My vice president: Bradley Cooper. I know, it sends chills up your spine.”

In fact, not only has Stern had conversations with Bradley Cooper about a presidential run, but he claims that Cooper has agreed to be his running mate!

“Early this morning I was texting back-and-forth with someone I was interested in potentially being my vice president when I run,” Stern said before he revealed it was Bradley Cooper. “This person texted me and said, ‘I want to congratulate you and you have my vote.’ Very lovely conversation. And I said, ‘How would you feel about being my vice president?’ And you know what he said? ‘Done. Done. Done.’ In other words, ‘I’m in.’”

Apparently, though, Cooper had reservations about the viability of their ticket, claiming, “I’m in, but you know, I’m another white male,” according to Stern. Still, the shock jock is confident that Cooper is the perfect pick for his vice president. “This guy is gonna bring in the female vote like you wouldn’t believe,” Stern said.

Is Howard Stern really likely to run for president?

Howard Stern knows better than most that the old phrase “talk is cheap” is very true. So, it’s easy to say he’s going to run for president, but how likely is it to happen?

The honest answer is “not likely.” The closest Stern came to a political bid in the past was running for governor of New York back in 1994. He was on track to be a strong Libertarian candidate but then withdrew from the race when he realized he’d have to disclose his finances.

But this isn’t the first time Stern has mentioned he wants to run for president. As Newsweek reports, Stern made some noise about running for president back in 2021 because he wanted to square off against Trump. However, he didn’t really bring up the idea again until June 2022.

Put it all together and it seems like the desire to be president is just a fleeting fantasy that Howard Stern entertains from time to time. And if he didn’t want to disclose his finances for a gubernatorial race back in 1994, it seems unlikely he would want to disclose them now under the greater spotlight a presidential race shines. (Though, that didn’t stop Trump from running and winning in 2016.)

Finally, if Stern attempted to run as a Libertarian, his campaign would be dead in the water. His only real hope would be to win out against another potentially-crowded field of competitors and triumph in a Democratic primary. It sounds impossible, but you never know what could happen.

What do you think? Would you vote for Howard Stern and Bradley Cooper?