Jon Stewart: 'I'll never run for office'

Jon Stewart has vowed that he will never seek public office.

The Daily Show host appeared on Oprah on Tuesday and told host Oprah Winfrey that he does not believe he could handle mounting an election campaign.

"I would lose my mind almost immediately. My job is I make jokes," he said. "I don't solve problems. If my job became solving problems, I would suddenly become a lot less good at what I do, unless the problem being had by the country was a lack of jokes."

Stewart also insisted that critical acclaim for his talkshow does not make him a powerful political figure.

"I deny that I am powerful. Power implies an agenda that's being acted on," he said.

"Every generation has had its people who stand at the back and make fun of those in charge. When the Nazis came to power in the '30s, it created an incredible underground scene of satirical comedy. [Comedian] Peter Cook once said with a straight face, 'Yes, they really showed Hitler'.

"That's how I see it. I'm not saying I'm powerless and in a vacuum. But if I really wanted to change things, I'd run for office. I haven't considered that, and I wouldn't - because this is what I do well. The more I move away from comedy, the less competent I become."

Stewart and fellow Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert are planning dual rallies in Washington DC on October 30 to protest at the current political climate in the US.