Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse “The Body” Ventura told the Daily Beast that he is eyeing a third-party run at the presidency should Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders lose the nomination to Hillary Clinton.
“They’re setting the groundwork for me because if Bernie loses, by the time we get to June, how sick are the people going to be of all these people?” said Ventura.
Technically, Ventura has the credentials to run for president. He was a Navy SEAL, and the governor of a state. He was also a professional wrestler and commentator for a number of years.
However, Ventura has come under fire in the last couple of years for a lawsuit he brought against the estate of the late Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle.
The Washington Post reported in 2014:
Jesse Ventura just walked away from a defamation lawsuit against late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle with $1.845 million[…]A Minnesota jury decided Tuesday that Ventura had been defamed when Kyle alleged he had punched Ventura in a bar in 2006 over comments he made. The sniper claimed Ventura disparaged Navy SEALs and said that they “deserved to lose some” for their actions in the war. Ventura, in turn, insisted the whole event never happened, and the majority of the jury — it was an unusual split 8-2 decision — appeared to agree with him.
Ventura, who currently host his own show for the ultra-liberal news organization RT America, gave his take on the 2016 presidential race:
See, I’m an independent and I despise the two parties. I love what Trump’s doing to the Republicans. He’s got them in complete disarray. In fact, it looks like the WWE when you watch their debates[…]I support the revolution of what’s happening here. There’s three things where I stand with Bernie on more so than Trump. Number one is campaign finance reform.
Ventura also defended GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s delayed denouncement of former KKK leader, David Duke:
Anyone can endorse you. Why is it up to the candidate to denounce any endorsement? In our country you are free to vote for whoever you want to vote for. If David Duke wants to vote for Donald Trump, he’s welcome to do that. I think the media is out of line to think a candidate immediately has to denounce somebody.
Does Ventura’s possible run for president hurt the Democrats or Republicans in a general election?