Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run
The Louisiana Republican told NBC's Meet the Press he might run if the field lacks strong candidates.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

John F. Kennedy
Photograph: Cecil W. Stoughton via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
What this story says
- Senator John Kennedy said he is considering a run for president in 2028.
- Kennedy stated his current priority is his Senate re-election campaign.
- He indicated he would consider a presidential bid if he felt ineffective in the Senate or if "a bunch of goobers" entered the race.
- All thirteen outlets reported Kennedy's consideration of a 2028 presidential run.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 5 of the 15 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
85/100
Hype
15/100
15 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 2 of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Senator John Kennedy has stated he is considering a run for president in 2028. The Louisiana Republican made the comments during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." Kennedy said his immediate plans are to seek re-election to the Senate. However, he indicated that he would consider a presidential bid if he felt he could no longer be effective in his Senate role or if he believed the field of potential candidates was weak.
Kennedy described a scenario where he might run if "a bunch of goobers" entered the race and he thought one of them might win, believing he could do a better job. At the time of the interview, no candidate had formally announced a bid for the 2028 presidential election. Kennedy also confirmed he had not yet made a decision about running.
Coverage comparison
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention other potential candidates like Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio, details that were included in the left-rated NBC News report.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 4 Oct 2026, 20:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
2 rated outlets
- The left-rated report from NBC News, which published the full report, led with Senator John Kennedy considering a run for president in 2028. It quoted Kennedy saying, "Yeah," when asked if he was thinking about running. The report detailed his conditions for running, including if he did not think he could be effective in the Senate and if "a bunch of goobers" entered the race. It also mentioned other potential candidates like Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and noted that the 2028 election would be the first time since 2012 that Donald Trump would not be the Republican nominee.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from WDSU and WBRZ both highlighted Senator John Kennedy's consideration of a presidential bid. WDSU's digest stated the Louisiana Senator "won't rule out a presidential bid," while WBRZ's digest noted he "mentioned that he is considering a run for president." Both digests indicated his current focus remains on his Senate re-election campaign.
Right
6 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports from The Gateway Pundit, The Free Press (Tampa), WND, Washington Times, Breitbart, and Washington Examiner all focused on Senator John Kennedy's potential 2028 presidential run. Several digests included his remark about "a bunch of goobers" entering the race. The Gateway Pundit and WND confirmed he is considering a run, while The Free Press noted he "weighs" a bid if "goobers" enter. The Washington Times reported he is "weighing" a bid, and Breitbart quoted him saying, "I'm Thinking About Running for President." The Washington Examiner mentioned he "teases" a run if "a bunch of goobers" enter the field, while also noting his focus on re-election.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 20% are rated left, 20% are rated centre, 60% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 15. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run biased?
- Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run is one event reported by 15 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Senator John Kennedy considering 2028 presidential run?
- 15 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Has Senator John Kennedy announced he is running for president?
- Senator John Kennedy has stated he is considering a run for president in 2028. He told NBC's "Meet the Press" that his current priority is his Senate re-election campaign, and he has not yet made a final decision about a presidential bid.
- Under what conditions would Senator Kennedy consider running for president?
- Senator Kennedy indicated he would consider running for president if he felt he could no longer be effective in the Senate or if he believed the field of candidates was weak, specifically mentioning a scenario where "a bunch of goobers" entered the race.
- When would Senator Kennedy's Senate re-election campaign take place?
- Senator John Kennedy is up for re-election to the Senate. While the reports do not specify the exact year of his next re-election campaign, they indicate it is his current focus and would occur before the 2028 presidential election cycle.
Read it at the source
15 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
2Centre
2Right
6- Sen. John Kennedy Says He is Considering Running For President * The Gateway Pundit * by Ben Kew (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy Weighs 2028 White House Bid If ‘Goobers’ Enter The Race (opens The Free Press (Tampa) in a new tab)
The Free Press (Tampa) — is The Free Press (Tampa) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘Bunch of goobers’: Sen. John Kennedy thinking of running for president in 2028 * WorldNetDaily * by WND Staff (opens WND in a new tab)
- Sen. John Kennedy says he's weighing GOP presidential bid in 2028 (opens Washington Times in a new tab)
Washington Times — is Washington Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Sen. John Kennedy: I'm Thinking About Running for President (opens Breitbart in a new tab)
- John Kennedy teases 2028 presidential run if 'a bunch of goobers' enter race (opens Washington Examiner in a new tab)
Washington Examiner — is Washington Examiner biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
5- Sen. John Kennedy Says He is Considering Running For President - Politics, Policy, Political Views (opens Politics, Policy, Political News in a new tab)
- Kennedy's 2028 Presidential Candidacy (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- John Kennedy Is Considering Running for President in 2028 (opens VG in a new tab)
- Kennedy's 2028 Presidential Candidacy (opens snn.ir in a new tab)
- Kennedy's 2028 Presidential Candidacy (opens asriran.com in a new tab)
asriran.com — is asriran.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

