Jesse Ventura Says He May Run for President If Clinton Is Nominated Over Sanders

Jesse Ventura Says He May Run for President If Clinton Is Nominated Over Sanders

"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 former professional wrestler, Navy SEAL, and independent Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.

By Barry Donegan -

Mar 1, 2016

Jesse Ventura, July 2014. Photo: Jim Mone/AP/NPR

Former independent Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, who says he is leaning towards supporting U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders for president in 2016, indicated that he is considering getting into the presidential race if Sanders fails to win the Democratic primary. In a Monday interview with The Daily Beast, Ventura said that he will likely launch a run for president by June if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeats Sanders.

“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,” he said.

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Ventura has claimed in the past that he might seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination for president and said that he considers former Republican New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s best-known currently-announced candidate, a personal friend. The Libertarian Party’s nominating convention is set to take place in May of this year.

Last year, Gary Johnson said in an interview with The Daily Caller that he would welcome a head-to-head matchup against Ventura for the Libertarian Party’s nomination “because that potentially could be a televised-kind-of-a-debate situation.”

In a Monday interview with The Associated Press, Ventura described the conditions under which he would be most likely to run for president, “If it’s Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio, the chances are better. I don’t want the revolution to die if Bernie gets beat.”


Incidentally, while Ventura has stopped short of fully endorsing any particular candidate during the primary season, he says he is somewhat torn between Trump and Sanders when trying to identify a favorite.

[RELATED: Exclusive: Jesse Ventura Says American Sniper “Falls Short in Honor Department”]

“People give them no PAC money, no special interest money. To me, that’s the most important thing,” said Ventura.



“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,” the former pro wrestler added.

However, Ventura said that he leans more towards Sanders than Trump due to the Senator from Vermont’s positions on campaign finance reform, foreign policy, and ending the War on Drugs. Ventura said that he has concerns with the hawkish tone Trump uses when describing his approach for dealing with ISIS.