“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings has ignited fresh controversy — this time taking a blatant political shot at former President Donald Trump and the broader conservative movement.
In the midst of a fiery news cycle centered on an ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis, Jennings hopped on the liberal platform Bluesky and declared his political intentions for the 2028 election. “The ‘prosecute the former regime at every level’ candidate has my vote in 2028,” he boldly announced online.
The comment — thinly veiled as support for political prosecutions — came just a day after Jennings took another rhetorical swing at Trump’s foreign policy, posting: “America is always like ‘ok but the NEXT regime change will work,’ like when I ‘cut out carbs’ briefly every January.”
Jennings’ political activism hasn’t been subtle in the past. Critics point out a long history of anti-Trump commentary from the quiz show star, including a now-deleted 2017 tweet mocking then-11-year-old Barron Trump: “Barron Trump saw a very long necktie on a heap of expired deli meat in a dumpster. He thought it was his dad & his little heart is breaking,” he wrote, and later defended the joke by claiming, “The joke doesn’t mock Barron. It mocks using him for political cover.”
His timeline also includes poking fun at what he dubbed an “awful MAGA grandma” in response to a sentimental social media post, and a 2020 proclamation of support for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the Democratic primary: “Remember, defending champion Ken Jennings wants you to vote for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.”
Even when under consideration to succeed legendary host Alex Trebek, Jennings was forced into damage control over past comments. In December 2020 he offered a public mea culpa, writing: “Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry.”
Despite these numerous forays into political commentary, Sony Pictures Television — the producer of “Jeopardy!” — and Jennings’ representatives have remained silent on his latest controversial endorsement.
