Will Jon Stewart Moderate A Presidential Debate? Former 'Daily Show' Host Responds To Popular Petition

Jon Stewart fans hoping the former "Daily Show" host will be moderating one of the upcoming presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton might not want to hold their breaths.

The author of a petition calling for Stewart to moderate one of the debates posted Friday that she had received a response from the beloved comedian. Unfortunately for the over 341,000 people who signed the petition, Stewart is not interested.

"This squeaky wheel finally got a response from the Stewart camp," wrote Mariel Waters, the petition's author. "It was a 'this is not something Jon is able to add to his schedule' and 'thanks anyway for the thought,' but at least it was something."

Waters, like Stewart a New Jersey native, posted the original petition in August 2015. The letter, titled "We Want Jon Stewart to Moderate a 2016 Presidential Debate," was addressed to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

"Over the last 16 years, Jon Stewart has played an influential and iconic role in covering US politics and media. We believe he should continue that tradition as a moderator at one of the 2016 Presidential Debates," Waters wrote at the time. "Jon Stewart is more than qualified to tackle the moderating job. Mr. Stewart has interviewed 15 heads of state, 22 members of the United States Cabinet, 32 members of the United States Senate, 7 members of the United States House of Representatives, and scores of other political leaders from this country and around the world while establishing himself as the most trusted person in (satirical) news."

While Waters is disappointed that Stewart is choosing not to pursue moderating a presidential debate — the comedian has largely stayed out of the spotlight since relinquishing the reigns of "The Daily Show" — she says the petition was not a lost cause.

"It is a pretty amazing feeling to have well over 300,000 people explicitly agree with something you put out into the world," Waters wrote. "Thank you all for supporting this idea and, in a very tiny and silly way, contributing to the dialogue of this incredibly strange election cycle."

While Stewart seems intent on staying out of the 2016 election cycle, his "Daily Show" successor is not. Comedy Central announced Friday that "The Daily Show," with Trevor Noah, will air live episodes on the final nights of both the Democratic and Republican conventions.