Joe Exotic, running for president, says he's more 'authentic' than Trump, Biden

Joe Exotic is positioning himself as “more authentic” as he prepares to take on President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden in this year's presidential election.

Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado, rose to fame in 2020 as the star of the Netflix documentary series. tiger king, and in March 2023, he announced the campaign on social media. Exotic is serving a 21-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2019 on multiple charges, including two counts of hiring a hitman to kill wildlife activist Carole Baskin. He was also convicted of killing tigers and selling them across state lines.

In an email exchange, Exotic said: Newsweek He spoke from the FMC Fort Worth prison in Texas about why he believed he was the better candidate compared to Trump and Biden, the Republican and Democratic candidates, respectively.

“I'm more pragmatic than either of them,” Exotic, who initially announced he would run for president as a Libertarian but switched to the Democratic Party a few weeks later, said of his fellow candidates.

“Trump doesn't know when to shut up and Biden can't tell the truth to save his own life,” Exotic continued. “Neither of them know exactly what the average American goes through to live here and pay the bills.”

He added: “People like Trump and Biden will always put themselves first, and that's why hundreds of millions in donations to their campaigns should be illegal, because they come into power. and put the interests of donors first. That's why I won't do that.” I don't want to take people's money, and if I can't do what I promised, I don't want to do the job. ”

Exotic spoke in early May, after the Federal Election Commission's closing report was revealed and reports began to circulate that Exotic's campaign had been quietly canceled. newsweek Through a voice message, he said his campaign was “not over yet.” He also criticized the team for its FEC filing.

The TV personality admitted he still intends to run in 2024. “I'm not giving up. Right now I'm a 'no' vote. People are tired of politics right now, so the 'no' vote is pretty strong,” she said.

Exotic previously said a “no vote” meant his candidacy offered the option of not voting.

newsweek has reached out to representatives for Trump and Biden for comment via email.

In announcing his candidacy in 2023, Exotic said in a statement: “I'm here because we have a global platform to get politicians to listen to your and my concerns and give us answers once and for all. What they're doing is They just lie to all of us.'' They take our hard-earned money as taxes and give it to a foreign country without getting anything back. ”

Election funds

Since then, Exotic's campaign has been on an unconventional journey. News site Raw Story recently reported on a closing report Exotic's campaign committee, Joseph Maldonado, submitted to Free America, which said it had raised just over $16,000, with only $1,400 left. He said it was less than a dollar.

exotic story newsweek He said in an email that he plans to move forward with his campaign but “will no longer be fundraising.”

“There's no need to take money from people during these difficult times when you have social media platforms and outlets like mine,” Exotic said. The number of followers on Exotic's X (formerly Twitter) is just under 70,000 at the time of writing. “I always [believed] “We need to put a $3 million cap on campaign spending so that people can't run for political office. That's what's wrong with American politics — the rich always get their way.”

Raising funds for a campaign may be difficult for Exotic, especially as he is serving a lengthy prison sentence. There is no legal barrier to running for president from prison; in the 1920 presidential election, socialist Eugene V. Debs ran from prison and won more than 900,000 votes but no electoral votes.

Exotic has long maintained he was “wrongfully convicted” and has made futile appeals to Trump and Biden for a pardon.

ask for pardon

Exotic, who described himself as a “political prisoner,” said: newsweek He said he doubted Biden would pardon him because of Vice President Kamala Harris' involvement in the Big Cat Public Safety Act. In April 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harris suggested that people practicing social distancing “catch up on the COVID-19 pandemic.” tiger king”, before adding that she was a “co-sponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act.”

The Big Cat Public Safety Act, passed in December 2022, makes it illegal to privately own or breed big cats as exotic pets or for commercial purposes. The law prohibits public contact with these animals, including by children.

The law also imposes new restrictions on the breeding, possession, and use of certain big cats, including for commercial purposes, in the United States.

As Trump's hush money criminal trial continues in New York, Exotic said: newsweek He said he expects Republicans to respond favorably to his pleas if they get his way in November, given their shared legal challenges.

“No matter how innocent the Department of Justice thinks you are, I still believe that Trump will save it for me if I win this election because he now knows.” [Department of Justice] They want to force you into their plan, no matter how many charges they put on you, until something works,” he said.

Exotic's campaign website describes him as a candidate who is “passionate about criminal justice reform” and believes:[p]Politicians and lobbyists have too much control over everyone's lives and rights. ”

Exotic, whose fame coincided with his imprisonment, said: newsweek He felt that participating in the Netflix docuseries was “more of a curse” than a blessing. He said the purpose was to “make me into this horrible person” and as a result “I went to prison and my life was ruined.”

“Everyone became greedy and no one cared about the truth or the animals,” Exotic said. “Everyone on the internet is making money off me but me, but I can't find anyone to help me with my case because the goal is to be famous. The truth is because it's a TV show. is ignored.”