What if Eminem took a page from Trump’s playbook and ran for president? A pair of journalists made a compelling case for his 2028 election campaign.
Could Slim Shady trade rap battles for political debates? That is the unexpected yet oddly compelling idea pitched by New Yorker writer Jay Caspian Kang and The Atlantic’s Tyler Austin Harper on their podcast Time to Say Goodbye. The duo suggested that if Democrats want a fresh face to shake up the party in 2028, Eminem might be the perfect wildcard candidate.
“He would win, wouldn’t he?” Kang asked.
“Of course he would win! Everyone likes him. Nobody doesn’t like Eminem”, Harper responded. Clearly, they have not been on X (formerly Twitter).
It might sound far-fetched, but the argument is not without merit. Eminem has been politically vocal before, most notably in his scathing 2017 freestyle “The Storm”, where he called Trump a “kamikaze that will probably cause a nuclear holocaust” and told his fans to pick a side. Beyond that, his appeal crosses demographic lines, making him a potential powerhouse in key battleground states — especially his home state of Michigan. And unlike traditional candidates, Eminem has already aired all his dirty laundry in his music, meaning opponents would have a tough time digging up anything the public does not already know. As Harper put it, “What’s the opposition research gonna be? We know! He put it on an album that sold millions of copies!”
If history has taught us anything, it is that celebrity candidates should not be underestimated. Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Donald Trump all went from entertainment to politics, proving that name recognition can go a long way in American elections.
Of course, there is one major problem: Eminem does not seem interested. He has spent years avoiding the spotlight when he is not making music, and politics is a full-time job. But who knows? In a political climate where anything can happen, maybe it is not as wild as it sounds.
