Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings reportedly set off a political controversy Wednesday after taking to social media to weigh in on national politics, declaring he would support any 2028 presidential candidate who promised to prosecute members of President Donald Trump’s “regime.”
Jennings’ comments came in a series of online posts that quickly drew widespread attention. In a Bluesky post that went viral, the longtime game show figure wrote, “The ‘prosecute the former regime at every level’ candidate has my vote in 2028.” The remark marked a sharp political turn for a television personality best known for trivia rather than partisan commentary.
The online outburst followed a fatal incident in Minneapolis involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Just hours earlier, ICE agents shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an encounter that was captured on video. Footage from the scene shows a masked ICE agent firing into Good’s car as it moved forward, while another agent attempted to open the driver-side door.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good was engaged in an act of “domestic terrorism” and attempted to ram federal agents. According to Noem, the agents acted in self-defense when Good was shot. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rejected that characterization, calling it “bullsh*t.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, Jennings amplified criticism of law enforcement actions. Shortly before posting his statement about the 2028 election, he shared a post from writer Kashana Cauley that read, “They spent all that time complaining about crime in cities so they could implement their solution of killing people in cities.” Jennings offered no additional commentary beyond promoting the statement to his followers.
He then went further, posting a lengthy thread defending the idea that elections would continue in future years, as they have in the past, despite what he described as “one of the two major parties now harboring a lot of anti-democratic elements.” Jennings scolded other users for what he called “defeatism and nihilism” after they questioned whether a 2028 presidential election would even take place.
The posts placed Jennings squarely in the middle of a heated political debate, openly aligning himself against Trump and his supporters while endorsing the idea of sweeping prosecutions of a former administration. His comments did not cite specific allegations or cases, instead framing his position broadly around punishment of political opponents.
Jennings is a former Jeopardy! contestant who rose to fame after winning 74 consecutive games, a record that made him one of the most recognizable figures in the show’s history. He officially took over as host of Jeopardy! in 2022, stepping into a role that has traditionally been seen as nonpartisan and focused on entertainment rather than politics.
The episode underscores how cultural figures increasingly use social media platforms to inject themselves into political debates, often blurring the lines between entertainment and activism. For Jennings, the comments marked one of his most explicit political statements to date, drawing praise from some corners and criticism from others as viewers react to seeing a familiar television host take sides in a deeply divided national moment.
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