LeBron James Should Seek the Democratic Party Nomination for President of the United States in 2028
I am 100% serious
The Democratic party has faced an existential crisis since its election night flameout back in November, when despite a prognosticator consensus of a close election the Republicans picked up every swing state in the presidential election along with a federal trifecta thanks to Congressional elections. And while Donald Trump’s very Donald Trumpy behavior since then has eroded his approval ratings, the Democrats have not come up with anything resembling a coherent plan for taking power back. (They are, after all, the Democrats.) There’s no shortage of questions facing the party following their disastrous electoral performance, but none is more pressing than this: who should lead the party in 2028? I believe - I genuinely, truly, no-joke believe - that the best way to handle such a crisis is by selecting a game-changing presidential candidate. Here I don’t mean a presidential candidate who gives me everything I want in policy terms, which couldn’t occur principally because the Democrats would never allow such a candidate to emerge from the primary process. Instead, I mean a game-changing candidate in terms of one who would fundamentally change the electoral math of American presidential elections, much as Trump himself did by become our first celebrity president. And I sincerely believe that the best, most reliable way to return the Oval Office to Team Blue is by nominating NBA star Lebron James for the presidency.
I assure you, I’m not joking. This isn’t a gimmick. I’m not saying this to make some sort of point about modern politics. I genuinely believe James would be a good president and would handily win an election. And the Democrats, who should feel desperate, can’t afford to ignore the idea. Having lost the popular vote and all seven swing states, it’s time for them to look for real alternatives.
The timing is right. James’s Los Angeles Lakers flamed out in the first round of the playoffs, losing to the lower-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in five games this past week. And while the addition of star Luka Doncic has brought an exciting new vitality to the Lakers, the series demonstrated just how far the team is from serious contention; the Timberwolves, in particular, made Lebron’s squad look old, slow, and small. It’s hard to say that the Lakers are guaranteed a shot at the title next year without a serious roster shakeup this offseason, and the team is not in possession of particularly attractive trade assets.
Even aside from the immediate fortunes of his team, though, the question of retirement can’t be ignored. While I would never bet against James’s continued longevity, there’s little question that his basketball career is winding down. Recognized as a once-in-a-lifetime phenom since he was 13, James’s basketball legacy is absurd; just having wrapped up his 22nd season at 40 years old, he’s still putting together stat lines that would be the envy of most 22 year old. But he’s also clearly not the world-beating supernatural force he once was, particularly in terms of doing it every night, and no one would put him on the level of stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, or even his teammate Doncic. Already in possession of four championship rings, four Most Valuable Player awards, many major records, several Olympic gold medals, and more associated superlatives than you can count, James has very little left to prove on the court. It’s unlikely that he’ll want to still be playing basketball three years from now regardless of his future ambitions. He’s always talked candidly about wanting to start an empire after basketball; well, what’s a bigger goal for an empire-builder than the Oval Office?