--- title: April Fool's Day: George Takei Not Running for Congress description: George Takei jokingly tweeted that he will run against Devin Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee chair, in the 2018 midterm elections. canonical: https://time.com/4721896/george-takei-congress-april-fools-day/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-01T14:52:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:42:27.736Z og:title: George Takei Said He's Running for Congress. But It Was Just a Joke og:description: He later endorsed the actual person who is running og:url: https://time.com/4721896/george-takei-congress-april-fools-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f2d3312b7bf02a8/6988c0da8fd2eecc5b35664f/gettyimages-642432494.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Press Conference For The Japanese American National Museum's Exhibition "Instructions To All Persons: Reflections On Executive Order 9066" og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George Takei Said He's Running for Congress. But It Was Just a Joke twitter:description: He later endorsed the actual person who is running twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f2d3312b7bf02a8/6988c0da8fd2eecc5b35664f/gettyimages-642432494.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # George Takei Said He's Running for Congress. But It Was Just a Joke > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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George Takei attends the press conference for The Japanese American National Museum's exhibition "Instructions To All Persons: Reflections On Executive Order 9066" at Japanese American National Museum on February 17, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. Gabriel Olsen—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 1, 2017 2:52 PM UTC _Star Trek_ star George Takei may be a political activist, but he’s not going to run for office anytime soon. An article published on [The Daily Buzz](http://the-daily.buzz/a/george-takei-has-bombshell-announcement-and-washington-is-reeling?utm%5Fcontent=inf%5F10%5F1163%5F1&tse%5Fid=INF%5Fcfef57d0165511e798fc7bd31dd7c3e2) revealed the “bombshell” that Takei was moving to California and buying a ranch-style home so that he could challenge U.S. Representative Devin Nunes in the 2018 midterm elections. Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is under fire for turning over documents pertaining to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election to [White House officials](http://time.com/4715399/devin-nunes-russia-investigation-house-intelligence-committee/) before showing them to the Democrats on the committee. Takei appeared to be in on the joke, tweeting “Let’s do this!” on Saturday morning, which also happens to be April Fool’s Day. > [](https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/848023619414437888) The article quotes Takei as saying: “People are tired of his a\*\*-kissing of Trump. Can I say that? I think I can. These days you can say pretty much anything and not get in trouble.” And when the “reporter” asked him about his physical fitness for the job, Takei reportedly responded, “I still do 100 push-ups and sit-ups every morning, and I have family that has lived well past one hundred years.” On top of all of that, the post even spells Devin as “Davin” — as if the article didn’t seem suspect to begin with. As further proof that he’s not actually dipping his toes into politics, Takei then tweeted an endorsement of the candidate who is _really_ running. > [](https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/848150976737542145) Takei, who has more than 10 million followers on social media, has long been an outspoken LGBTQ and political activist. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4721896/george-takei-congress-april-fools-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4721896/george-takei-congress-april-fools-day/"},"headline":"George Takei Said He's Running for Congress. 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