The horrific attempts to replace Alex have led some to wonder what the host himself said about who he wanted to replace him after he stepped down or died. As it turns out, Alex provided an answer to this question when he was asked, and it was pretty specific. He suggested that CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates and NHL sportscaster Alex Faust would both be good candidates.
Alex made these suggestions during a 2018 interview with Harvey Levin for OBJECTified. “The fellow that does play-by-play for the Los Angeles Kings, they should consider him,” Alex said of Faust. “There is an attorney, Laura Coates,” he continued. “She’s African American and she appears on some of the cable news shows from time to time.”
At the time, both Laura and Faust said they were honored to have been mentioned.
“Incredibly honored & humbled @Jeopardy Alex Trebek 1) knows who I am 2) thinks I’d be a great host of my fave game show ever that I grew up watching w/ my family & still watch w/ my own kids (who saw him say this & now think I’m a genius),” Laura wrote on Twitter.
“I guess there are worse ways to randomly see your name show up on TMZ!” Faust wrote. “I’m flattered by Mr. Trebek’s kind words, and delighted to hear he’s a big @LAKings fan!”