Judy Sheindlin, television's "Judge Judy," said a Michael Bloomberg presidency is the only way to bring the nation back together again.
Her comments came Wednesday in a column posted by USA Today.
Sheindlin recalled that during a speaking engagement in Great Britain earlier this month, she was asked her opinion about the 2020 presidential election.
"I said our American family has been fractured in recent years. The only way we can begin to come together again, I said, is if Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, becomes our next president."
Sheindlin said she understands she is taking both a personal and political risk in making the statement.
"I have carefully stayed away from politics for 50 years, except to vote," she said. "But times have changed in our country, and I believe the moment has come for me to step out from behind the curtain.
"Unlike those on the far right and the far left who use their bully pulpit to divide us, [Bloomberg is] a pragmatist, a man who has shown time and again that he knows how to get things done and cares more about results than ideology.
"Most important, he's the only person out there who seems to understand that screaming at one another gets us nowhere."
And she added: "I strongly urge Michael Bloomberg to run for president."
According to news reports, Bloomberg has told associates that he was reconsidering a run as a Democrat if former Vice President Joe Biden quit the race early.