Like most Americans, Dustin Eby is unhappy with the prospect of a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
But unlike most of us, he decided to do something about it.
The 35-year-old Texan caused a sensation this week when he legally changed his name to Literary Anybody Else and announced his candidacy for the White House.he said the goal reason Thursday, “giving a unified voice to the idea that we deserve better.”
”[Biden and Trump] They have their platform and their stance. “If he doesn't fit into those categories, he has to decide for himself,” Els says. “There are some people who are a perfect match, but it's definitely not the majority.”
In fact, a Gallup poll released this week found that about one-third of Americans believe that neither Trump nor Biden would be good presidents if elected to another term. found. Other polls show that support for both men is low and that a majority of voters want them not to run again. At 77 and 81 years old, respectively, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden are the oldest pair of presidential candidates from a major party in history, breaking the record set four years ago.
Are Americans literally looking for someone else?
In an interview, Mr. Els described himself as a generally apolitical centrist who was increasingly concerned about the state of the country's major political parties. He said he couldn't bear the choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016 and voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, and in 2020 he voted for Trump. He says he came to regret this decision after the January 6 riot. Els, a seventh-grade math teacher and Army veteran, said the national debt is the biggest problem facing the country.
“If we don't get debt under control, there's very little that can save us,” he says.
Mr. Els filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (initially, some did not believe he was serious about this) and entered the Texas ballot as an independent candidate. The difficult task of collecting the thousands of signatures required has begun. .
Els has been shocked by the outpouring of support he has received via social media, claiming he has received dozens of calls and emails from volunteer candidates and people interested in campaigning. He said a more professional campaign website is currently being built and concrete policy proposals will be published in the coming months.
He admits that his efforts were the ultimate aspiration and that it took an “act of God” to get him into the White House.
Still, there's no denying that his decision to commit to this part reflects a brutal truth about the landscape of the 2024 election. And there's no question that Els' candidacy offers something that neither Trump nor Biden can offer. So Mr. Els is literally not them.
reason I spoke to Literary Anyone Else on Thursday night and asked him about the origins of this outlandish idea, his political ideology, and how he feels about already being labeled a spoiler for the two major parties.
reason: First we have to ask the obvious question. why are you doing this?
literally someone else: Have you seen who's running for president lately?
reason: I have. Fair point.
Literally anyone else: If you think about it, there are some very big drawbacks. [it].
If you look at Donald Trump, even if you take away all of his policy gaffes, Trump represents 0.1 percent of the wealth just because he's a billionaire. That's not something many of us can relate to. In Biden's case, he's been a politician for 60 years, but his ability to even sympathize with what's going on here on the ground level is questionable. I want something better. I want things that are close to me and close to those around me.
reason: How did this idea come about, and was there drunkenness involved?
Literally anyone else: Actually, I don't really react to alcohol. Actually, I don't drink that much. I had a glass of wine today, but I'm having a hard time finishing half of it.
If literally anyone else was on the 2020 ballot, I would have chosen it. With that in mind, I thought, “I'm sure this concept will pay off.” So I bought the domain LiterallyAnybodyElse.com with the intention of using it as a gimmick to sell T-shirts. It was a commercial decision. As the year progresses and election season approaches, we hear more and more rhetoric and divisive opinions in the news. I began to wonder if it was possible for literally anyone to put another person on the ballot.
However, they quickly discovered that many states do not allow alternate names to be listed on the ballot. So I came to the conclusion that for this to actually happen, someone would have to legally change the name to literally “Anybody Else”, which is just plain stupid. Who would go that far when it's a really serious issue? As time passed, things became more serious.
reason: Are there any unexpected complications?
Literally anyone else: I filed the paperwork online, paid about $330, and within a few days went in front of a judge to tell him I wanted to change my name. she looked at me. She was like, “Are you going to be that person?” I didn't even know if I would pass or not. And she allowed it. She said, “Yeah, it’s part of your First Amendment right to protest.”
And I thought, “Okay, this is happening.”
reason: Are your friends and family calling you “literal” now??
Literally anyone else: No, the name has a practical function. Look at it like this. You and I are talking. If I had run as Dustin, it wouldn't have been a story.
reason: That's a good point. What is the marketing pitch for the literally “everyone” campaign aimed at the American public?
Literally anyone else: Unity is key in the current first phase. I am the candidate who stands to unify America in a way that the other two candidates no longer can.
They spend so much time demonizing the other person that any perception of empathy is perceived as betrayal. If I'm going to be president of the United States, I need to represent the American people, not just those who agree with me, not just those who fit my mold. They have their own platform and their own stance. If none of those apply to you, you'll have to decide for yourself. Some people are totally in tune, but it's definitely not the majority.
reason: How would you describe your political ideology?
Literally anyone else: Not possible at this time. It will be released in June or July. I don't want to focus on a platform without proper development. I'm a political outsider.
reason: Who did you vote for in the recent election?
Literally anyone else: When it was Trump vs. Hillary, I couldn't take either opinion seriously. I ended up voting for the third party, Gary Johnson. He was an odd candidate, but again, it was more of a “I don't like Trump or Hillary” vote.
In 2020, I was very, very busy and didn't have time to research candidates. My family was Trump supporters, so we ended up voting for him, but ended up regretting it immediately after January 6th happened.
I still can't understand how we got to this point. has no meaning. No one wanted this in 2020. How did this happen again in 2024? Can someone please explain how the system made it possible?
reason: What is the most important issue facing this country right now?
Literally anyone else: The most important problem facing this country is definitely debt. A lot of things derive from that. If we don't get our debt under control, there's little that can save us.
I do not approve of spending that does not balance the budget. Under the Trump administration, $7 trillion was added to the national debt, and under Joe Biden, $2 trillion was added to the national debt. My 3 year old daughter has to contribute to that repayment in some way. If we don't take action now, what will happen in 20 or 30 years when the interest on the national debt exceeds the amount we can pay? What will happen to America's credibility? What happens to our ability to take care of ourselves if people can't trust our words?
reason: What does success look like?
Literally anyone else: To give a unified voice to the idea that we have a right to be better, and to actually let that influence the way we do politics. You know, if we can move the needle from the polarized ends back to the center and back to a state of sanity, we can narrow the Overton window to some degree so that the most extreme people have the least voices and then the most aligned. I think the majority of people in the country can have a way to represent us. That's all I want.
Literally, “Anybody Else” stands for an idea. We just want representation. Someone needs to step up to provide it. Since no one else would step up, I decided to put myself out there.
reason: Last thing. Third-party and independent candidates are often exposed as “spoilers” for the two major parties. Are you worried about the election being ruined for either Biden or Trump?
Literally anyone else: not much.
But it's interesting to watch social media because I'm called President Trump. I've been called a Biden plant. I've been called a liberal hack. I've been called a conservative. But I intentionally stay in the middle, and I'm a centrist, so it's not that difficult. I'm somewhere in the middle on average. I think we'll see more of that in June or July when he starts announcing policy.
The boxes are all over the place so it was honestly fun to see where people were going to put me. But right now it's all about unity. It's all about bringing people together. I should say build the chorus before you start singing the message.
This interview has been condensed and edited for style and clarity.
