'Jeopardy!' Host Ken Jennings Teases Contestants After They Struggle to Answer Political Clue

Ken Jennings managed to stump Jeopardy! contestants with a clue in the category "My Would-Be VP" on the Monday, July 24, installment of the hit game show.

Players were tasked with identifying vice presidential candidates in failed presidential election campaigns, but all three found themselves unable to answer the $800 clue that Paul Ryan was in fact Mitt Romney's VP pick.

Two contestants did not buzz in at all, and the other stumbled on his words and wasn't quick enough to provide an answer. Once the timer ran out, Jennings jokingly quipped, "How soon we forget."

Romney famously ran for president in 2012. Although he won several primaries and appointed Ryan as his running mate, he lost the overall Republican nomination to late Senator John McCain.

Jeopardy! fans flocked to social media to poke fun at the players. One Redditor wrote, "Mitt Romney being a triple stumper is wild stuff."

"As a big presidential and political history nerd I was excited for the VP category," a second added. "So that performance had me internally yelling at the screen a little lol."

Jeopardy! fans on Twitter also chimed in, with one penning: "True sign that the politics of my college years are dead and buried is that none of the Jeopardy contestants could name Mitt Romney as the guy who ran on a ticket with Paul Ryan."

Jennings' playful quip comes after the game show host admitted that while he loves his job, there is one part that he doesn't enjoy — contestant interviews.

"I never liked that part. It's a little cringey," he explained. "And, even if the players tell an amazing anecdote perfectly, I mean, that's just not the time for it, like when they interrupt a football game for Jennifer Lopez or to salute the troops or whatever. Like, why is this happening now?"

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"I don't think Alex [Trebek] loved the interviews," he noted, referring to the show's former longtime host who passed away in 2020. "I think he was kind of ready to get back in the game."