Ventura, J gov

<h1 class="print-title" style=" margin-bottom: .2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></h1><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">off the grid com ctr tv?</font></div><h1 class="print-title" style=" margin-bottom: .2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></h1><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">action hero movie w/ arnold/</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; font-family: " chronicle="Chronicle" text="Text" g1="G1" a="A" b="B" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" em="em" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">f a man so assured and so powerful could be picked off so easily by the Predator, then everyone is vulnerable – even Arnie. Added to this, Blain’s death makes the ensuing hunt personal, and allows for a rare moment of sentiment from best friend Mac (Bill Duke). If you didn’t get at least a small lump in your throat during his “Same kinda moon, same kinda jungle…” speech, you’re made of sterner stuff than us.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; font-family: " chronicle="Chronicle" text="Text" g1="G1" a="A" b="B" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" em="em" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">The story of the making of Predator is almost as renowned as the film itself, thanks in part to the documentaries which accompanied the film’s DVD release in the early 2000s. The cast would compete to look the best on camera, waking up early to squeeze in an extra work out. Ventura was particularly keen to prove his dominance, boasting about being the first to handle ‘Old Painless’ and placing bets with Schwarzenegger to see whose arms were bigger. Such off-camera antics are what cult heroes are made of, with the notion of an overlap between actor and character making the performance that much more fascinating.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; font-family: " chronicle="Chronicle" text="Text" g1="G1" a="A" b="B" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" em="em" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Blain is the kind of character who could only exist in an ’80s action movie, and one who could only have been played by the type of outlandish star that existed around the same time. While Ventura has insisted that his experiences as a Vietnam veteran informed the character, his previous profession as a wrestler also played a big part. The larger-than-life presence that made him such a success in the WWE ring slots perfectly into the over-the-top world of ’80s action cinema, where anyone can succeed with the right amount of bravado. That same charisma would later see Ventura elected Governor of Minnesota four years before Schwarzenegger launched his own political career.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; font-family: " chronicle="Chronicle" text="Text" g1="G1" a="A" b="B" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" em="em" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Predator is also a perfect time capsule of America under Ronald Reagan, and no one epitomises this more than Ventura (although the 40th POTUS was more of a Rambo fan). <b>This was the decade of Hulk Hogan, Mr T and Sylvester Stallone, whose distinct brand of hyper-masculinity became ubiquitous on American cinema and TV screens. The MTV logo emblazoned on Blain’s t-shirt is another clear indicator that this character was absolutely a product of his time</b>. None of the Predator sequels or Alien vs Predator cross-overs managed to recapture the brilliance of the original, and that’s partly because they forgot that the real star(s) of the show was not the hunter, but the hunted.</p><p class="published" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16px; font-family: Replica-Heavy; font-size: 0.75em; vertical-align: baseline; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">PUBLISHED 9 NOV 2017</p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=-</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2020 run?!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/11/01/former-minnesota-gov-jesse-ventura-calls-comparisons-with-trump-hogwash"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/11/01/former-minnesota-gov-jesse-ventura-calls-comparisons-with-trump-hogwash</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura calls Trump comparison 'hogwash'</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Laura McCallumDellwoodNovember 1, 2018 12:00 p.m.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Share story</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Listen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Trump and Jesse Ventura</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Trump, left, greets Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura in Minneapolis in January 2000.Richard Drew | AP 2000]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It's been 20 years since Minnesotans elected the flamboyant pro-wrestler turned politician Jesse Ventura, who clashed with the media and called them jackals.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But any comparison to him and the also combative President Donald Trump is nonsense, Ventura said during a wide-ranging and reflective interview this week with MPR News host Tom Crann.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It's hogwash," said Ventura, now 67. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> Governor-elect Jesse Ventura in '98</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson applauds Governor-elect Jesse Ventura in 1998.Jim Mone | AP 1998</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">His former chief of staff, Steven Bosacker, was more pointed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">  "Jesse Ventura is colorful. He's not corrupt," said Bosacker, now the Principal of Public Sector and Partnerships at Living Cities in Washington, D.C.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura may have forgotten he welcomed Trump to Minnesota as a friend in January 2000 during a fundraising event.  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>It would be only a month later that Ventura announced he was leaving Ross Perot's Reform Party. And "in making his decision he conferred with New York developer Donald Trump, who has been considering a presidential run as a Reform or independent candidate,</b>" according to a  New York Times article.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related:C-SPAN video of Ventura and Trump 2000 press conference]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Ventura then led the Minnesota Reform party to rename itself the Independence Party.  </b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But today, Ventura, who also has a home in Mexico, differs with Trump on the president's immigration policies and his push for a border wall with Mexico.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"I'm offended worse than the Mexicans are, I think, over what he says, calling them all criminals, calling them this, calling them that," he said. "<b>These are refugees as a result of the blowback of United States policies in Central America. Yet mainstream media won't go that deep, will they?"</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bosacker said a key difference with the president was Ventura's embrace of the state's increasing diversity. He said the governor worked with new immigrant populations and believed marginalized groups should be included in policy making.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another difference with President Trump? </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura said he's never owned a smartphone. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And, he doesn't tweet.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jesse Ventura</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jesse Ventura during the People's Inauguration in Minneapolis in January 1999.Jim Mone | AP 1999]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">'My god, you're governor' </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura, who was seen as both a breath of fresh air and a boisterous showman, still takes great pride that Minnesotans elected him to the state's top government role two decades before Americans would put Trump in the White House. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The third-party candidate, former pro wrestler and<b> talk radio host</b> beat political heavyweights Republican Norm Coleman and DFLer Skip Humphrey to become Minnesota's 38th governor. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">His election night party at the Canterbury Park racetrack in Shakopee turned into a jubilant celebration with body surfing supporters and Ventura's famous declaration, "We shocked the world!"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The victory apparently shocked his wife too, as Ventura told MPR's Gary Eichten three days after the 1998 election.  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"My wife, Terry, looked at me and said, 'My god, you're the governor,'" said Ventura, recounting her reaction when they were back in their hotel room, protected by the security entourage reserved for the new governor-elect. "I looked at her and said, 'And you're the first lady.'"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gov. Ventura</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary Eichten talks with Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura at the MPR News studio.Minnesota Public Radio]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> Never doubted winning</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During this week's interview at his Dellwood home, Ventura said he went into Election Day thinking he could win.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"I don't do things to lose," Ventura said. "And I knew that if the chips fell right, and we did things a certain way, that opportunity always existed out there. Plus<b>, Minnesota is very progressive, which is good. We have same-day registration. I couldn't have pulled this off in another state probably that didn't have same-day registration."</b>  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jesse Ventura]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura talked to the media in 2011 during a demonstration in Minneapolis.Genevieve Ross | AP 2011]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura's election garnered national attention, which continued through his term from 1999 to 2003, much of it focused on his activities outside of government. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">During those four years, Ventura refereed a World Wrestling Federation match, was a TV analyst for the now-defunct XFL. He also had a cameo appearance on the soap opera "The Young and The Restless" and appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman,"  "The Jay Leno Show" and other shows during which he promoted several books he wrote as governor, including "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed."  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>On the governing front, he picked a bipartisan Cabinet, pushed the Legislature to enact property tax reform and to fund the state's first light rail line. He also led trade missions to China and Cuba and sent some of the state's budget surplus back to taxpayers in what were called "Jesse checks."</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Still critical of media</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura said the media scrutiny never focused on those policies, only his outside activities.  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Because my policies were so sound, they needed to find the Achilles heel," said Ventura. "You notice they never wrote anything when I spent the weekend baling hay for $3 a bale helping my wife with the ranch. There was no publicity on that all weekend when I'd work baling hay, was there? But if I took a high-profile job, then they were all aghast. 'How could he do this?' And it never cost Minnesota a penny."  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura did need extra security, resulting in unexpected overtime costs.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coverage of that and his outside activities led to Ventura's combative relationship with the media. The governor gave political reporters a special nickname.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Official Jackal" press passes to the Capitol press corps</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gov. Jesse Ventura nicknamed the media "jackals". His office distributed "Official Jackal" press passes to the Capitol press corps, who then created media jackal t-shirts for themselves. Laura McCallum was MPR News' Capitol Bureau Chief at the time, and an official jackal.Tony Saunders | MPR News]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Like a sports team name," he said during one of his weekly radio shows. "Go, jackals go! Write some bs, jackals! Write some bs!"  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura's office issued "Official Jackal" press badges with Ventura's photo on them to the Capitol press corps, which included KSTP political reporter Tom Hauser.  </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The people in the press corps who got along the best with him were the ones who could tell when he was joking and when he was not. And most of the time, he was joking," Hauser said this week. "But people would take it very literally &mdash some members of the press corps — and he had no time for people like that."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Plaques next to portraits of past governors, including Jesse Ventura.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New biographical plaques went up this month next to portraits of all 38 past governors, including that of Jesse Ventura.Brian Bakst | MPR News]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RIPE FOR SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS] CApt]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b> Regrets, only a few</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Ventura said he regrets that he didn't seek a second term. </b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>He said he wanted to continue his push for a unicameral one-house Legislature like Nebraska's. </b>But he said the one term he did serve was an honor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">  "I'm the 38th governor of the state of Minnesota. Nobody can take that from me, I can put it on my gravestone," Ventura said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"And I just say to the people of Minnesota: 'Thank you, it was my pleasure.'"</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura</a></div><div>
</div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Ventura</b> (born <b>James George Janos</b>; July 15, 1951) is an American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_personality" class="mw-redirect" title="Media personality" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">media personality</a>, actor, author, former politician and retired <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestler" class="mw-redirect" title="Professional wrestler" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">professional wrestler</a>, who served as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Minnesota" title="List of Governors of Minnesota" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">38th Governor of Minnesota</a> from 1999 to 2003. He was the first and only member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America" title="Reform Party of the United States of America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Reform Party</a> to win a major government position, but later joined the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Party_of_Minnesota" title="Independence Party of Minnesota" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Independence Party of Minnesota</a>, and then joined the<b> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_the_United_States" title="Green Party of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green Party of the United States</a>.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ventura was a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Navy" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Navy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. Navy</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Team" title="Underwater Demolition Team" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Underwater Demolition Team</a> during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vietnam War</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Military_People:Jesse_Ventura_4-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-Military_People:Jesse_Ventura-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup> After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career from 1975 to 1986, taking the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_name" title="Ring name" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ring name</a> <b>Jesse</b> "<b>The Body</b>" <b>Ventura</b>. He had a long tenure in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wrestling_Entertainment" class="mw-redirect" title="World Wrestling Entertainment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Wrestling Federation</a> (WWF) as a performer and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_commentator" title="Color commentator" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">color commentator</a>, and was inducted into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Hall_of_Fame" title="WWE Hall of Fame" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">WWE Hall of Fame</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Hall_of_Fame(2004)" title="WWE Hall of Fame (2004)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">class of 2004</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-OWOW_1-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-OWOW-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup> In addition to wrestling, Ventura also pursued an <b>acting career, appearing in films such as <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predator(film)" title="Predator (film)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Predator</a></i> and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Running_Man(1987_film)" title="The Running Man (1987 film)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Running Man</a></i> (both 1987).</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ventura first entered politics as Mayor of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Park,Minnesota" title="Brooklyn Park, Minnesota" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Brooklyn Park, Minnesota</a>, from 1991 to 1995. Ventura was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Party(United_States)" class="mw-redirect" title="Reform Party (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Reform Party</a> candidate in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_gubernatorial_election,1998" title="Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1998" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998</a>, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual ads that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". Ventura's campaign was unexpectedly successful, with him narrowly defeating both the Democratic and Republican candidates. The highest elected official to ever win an election on a Reform Party ticket, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office amid internal fights for control over the party.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_tax" title="Property tax" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">property tax</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives taken under Ventura included construction of the </span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Line(Minnesota)" class="mw-redirect" title="Blue Line (Minnesota)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">METRO Blue Line</a> light rail </b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">in the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis%E2%80%93Saint_Paul" title="Minneapolis–Saint Paul" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Minneapolis–Saint Paul</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> metropolitan area, and cuts in income taxes.</span><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Ventura left office in 2003, deciding not to run for re-election. After leaving office, Ventura became a</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visiting_fellow" class="mw-redirect" title="Visiting fellow" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">visiting fellow</a> at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University" title="Harvard University" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Harvard University</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F.Kennedy_School_of_Government" title="John F. Kennedy School of Government" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">John F. Kennedy School of Government</a> in 2004</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. He has since also hosted a number of television shows and has written several political books. Ventura remains politically active and currently hosts a show on </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ora_TV" title="Ora TV" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Ora TV</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and on </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_America" title="RT America" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">RT America</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> called </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Off the Grid</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> As of September 2017, Ventura is hosting a variety news show on </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT(TV_network)" title="RT (TV network)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">RT</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> called </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The World According to Jesse</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Ventura has repeatedly floated running for </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">President of the United States</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> on a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_the_United_States" title="Green Party of the United States" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Green Party</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> ticket.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="direction: ltr; position: absolute; opacity: 0; display: none;" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Early_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early life</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Post-Navy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Post-Navy</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Professional_wrestling_career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Professional wrestling career</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Early_career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early career</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Singles_and_tag_team_success" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Singles and tag team success</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Retirement_and_commentary" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Retirement and commentary</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Litigation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Litigation</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Return_to_the_WWF/E" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Return to the WWF/E</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Acting_career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Acting career</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Filmography" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Filmography</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Other_media" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Other media</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Political_career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Political career</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Mayor_of_Brooklyn_Park" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Mayor of Brooklyn Park</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Governor_of_Minnesota" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Governor of Minnesota</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Political_positions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Political positions</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Views_on_political_parties" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Views on political parties</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Wellstone_memorial" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Wellstone memorial</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Political_criticisms" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Political criticisms</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Consideration_of_bids_for_other_political_offices" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Consideration of bids for other political offices</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Potential_2016_presidential_campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Potential 2016 presidential campaign</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Potential_2020_presidential_campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Potential 2020 presidential campaign</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Electoral_history" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Electoral history</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Post-gubernatorial_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Post-gubernatorial life</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Bush_Administration_and_torture" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Bush Administration and torture</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Questions_regarding_9/11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Questions regarding 9/11</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Conspiracy_Theory_with_Jesse_Ventura" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;"><i>Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura</i></span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Books_written_by_Ventura" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Books written by Ventura</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Lawsuit_against_the_TSA" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Lawsuit against the TSA</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#We_The_People" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;"><i>We The People</i></span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#2016_presidential_election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.7</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2016 presidential election</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-31" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Controversies</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Navy_SEAL_background_controversy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Navy SEAL background controversy</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Chris_Kyle_controversy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Chris Kyle controversy</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-34" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Lawsuits_against_Chris_Kyle_and_HarperCollins_Publishing" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Lawsuits against Chris Kyle and HarperCollins Publishing</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-35" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Personal_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Personal life</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Family" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Family</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-37" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Steroid_use" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Steroid use</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-38" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Health_problems" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Health problems</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-39" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Religion" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Religion</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-40" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Books" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Books</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-41" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#In_wrestling" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">9</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">In wrestling</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-42" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Championships_and_accomplishments" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">10</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Championships and accomplishments</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-43" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">11</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-44" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">12</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">External links</span></font></a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Early life</font></span></h2></div><div><span class="mw-headline"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><div><span class="mw-headline"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">....</font></span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline">W</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hile Ventura has not held public office since the end of his term as governor in 2003, he has remained politically active and has occasionally hinted at intentions of possibly running again for political office. In an interview on</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN" title="CNN" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">CNN</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'s</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style=""><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Situation_Room_with_Wolf_Blitzer" title="The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">The Situation Room</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">on April 7, 2008, Ventura said that he was considering entering the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Minnesota,2008" title="United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">race for</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">United States Senate</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">seat then held by Norm Coleman, his Republican opponent in the 1998 Gubernatorial race. A poll commissioned by</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis%E2%80%93_Saint_Paul" class="mw-redirect" title="Minneapolis – Saint Paul" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Twin Cities</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">station</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KMSP-TV" title="KMSP-TV" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Fox 9</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">put him at 24 percent, behind Democratic candidate</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken" title="Al Franken" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Al Franken</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">at 32 percent and</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Coleman" title="Norm Coleman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Norm Coleman</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">at 39 percent in a hypothetical three-way race. However, Ventura announced on</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style=""><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_King_Live" title="Larry King Live" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Larry King Live</a></i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">on July 14, 2008, that he would not run; Ventura's decision not to join the race was partly rooted from a fear of a potential lack of privacy for his family, a concern that contributed to his refusal to seek a second term as governor.</span><sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[69]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Franken ended up winning the election.</span></font></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In his </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">1999 autobiography, <i style="">I Ain't Got Time to Bleed</i>, Ventura suggested he did not plan on running for President of the United States but did not rule out such an idea.<sup id="cite_ref-Principles_58-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-Principles-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[58]</a></sup> He spoke at Republican presidential candidate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul" title="Ron Paul" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Ron Paul</a>'s "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul%27s_Rally_for_the_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Rally for the Republic</a>",</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> organized by the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_Liberty" title="Campaign for Liberty" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Campaign for Liberty</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, on September 2, 2008. At the event, Ventura implied a possible future run at the U.S. Presidency. At the end of his speech, Ventura announced before a live audience that if he saw that the public was willing to see a change in the direction of the country, then "in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,2012" title="United States presidential election, 2012" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">2012</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> we'll give them a race they'll never forget!" In 2011, Ventura expressed interest in running with Ron Paul for the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,2012" title="United States presidential election, 2012" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">2012 presidential elections</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> if the latter decided to run as an </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">independent</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On November 4, 2011, Ventura said at a press conference about the dismissal of his court case against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_Security_Administration" title="Transportation Security Administration" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Transportation Security Administration</a> for what he claims are illegal searches of air travelers, that he was "thinking about" running for president.</span><sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> There had been reports that officials from the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party(United_States)" title="Libertarian Party (United States)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Libertarian Party</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> have tried to persuade Ventura to run for the presidency on a Libertarian ticket although the party chairman </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hinkle" title="Mark Hinkle" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Hinkle</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> said, "Jesse is more interested in 2016 than he is in 2012. But I think he's serious. If Ron Paul ran as a Libertarian, I think he definitely would be interested in running as a vice presidential candidate. He's thinking, ‘If I run as the vice presidential candidate under Ron Paul in 2012, I could run as a presidential candidate in 2016."</span><sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Gewirtz of ZDNet wrote in a November 2011 article that he thinks Ventura would have a chance at winning, if he declared his intention to run at that point and ran a serious campaign, but that it would be a long shot.<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Potential_2016_presidential_campaign">Potential 2016 presidential campaign</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesse_Ventura&action=edit&section=20&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Potential 2016 presidential campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In late 2015, Ventura publicly flirted with the idea of running for president in 2016 as a Libertarian but in May 2016, Ventura decided not to seek the presidency, allowing his self determined deadline of May 1 to pass. No explanation was given, but he expressed support for Libertarian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Johnson" title="Gary Johnson" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gary Johnson</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a></sup> He eventually voted for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Stein" title="Jill Stein" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jill Stein</a>.</font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Potential_2020_presidential_campaign">Potential 2020 presidential campaign</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesse_Ventura&action=edit&section=21&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Potential 2020 presidential campaign" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In Spring of 2018, Ventura expressed interest in running for president once again, but said he would only do so under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_the_United_States" title="Green Party of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green Party</a> banner.<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">....</font></p><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">taboid?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura says he hasn’t been able to find work since his highly-publicized defamation <a href="https://thenypost.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">lawsuit against the estate of “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle,</a> so he will work for Russian TV with a new commentary show.</font></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Ventura told The Associated Press on Thursday that he has personal assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin that “The World According to Jesse” won’t be censored by the government-funded RT network.</font></p><div class="inline-related alignright" style="display: inline-block; float: right; margin: 0px; position: relative; clear: both; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="more-on" class="module--see-also box module inline related desktop" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246); padding: 0px; margin: 13px -20px 18px 20px;"><div class="module-wrapper " style="padding: 0px 30px 25px;"><article class="story-photo-box oversize-headline" style="position: relative;"><b><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" class="story-thumbnail-wrapper" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><picture class="story-thumbnail" style="display: block; position: relative; height: 0px; padding-bottom: 125.391px; width: 190px;"><source data-srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/jesse-ventura.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231&h=154&crop=1 1x" media="(min-width: 640px)" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/jesse-ventura.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231&h=154&crop=1 1x"><source data-srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/jesse-ventura.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=94&h=62&crop=1 1x" media="(max-width: 639px)" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/jesse-ventura.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=94&h=62&crop=1 1x">
</source></source></picture></a><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;" /></font></b><div class="headline-wrapper"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font size="4" /></a><font size="4"><font size="4"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font face="Times New Roman" /></a><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><b /></a><b><b><b><b><b><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;" /></b></b></b></b></b></font></font></font></font></font></font><div class="headline-container"><font size="4"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font size="4" /></a><font size="4"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><b /></font></font></a><b><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><b /></a><b><b><b><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font face="Times New Roman" /></a><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><b /></a><b><b><b><b><b><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;" /></b></b></b></b></b></font></font></font></font></b></b></b></b></font></font></b></font></font><h3 class="postid-10657090 headline" style="margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 19px;"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font size="4" /></a><font size="4"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><b><font face="Times New Roman" /></b></b></font></font></a><font size="4"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><b><font face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><b><b /></b></a><b><b><b><b><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><font face="Times New Roman" /></a><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;"><b /></a><b><b><b><b><b><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/09/jesse-venturas-bid-to-reinstate-1-8m-american-sniper-verdict-is-tossed/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); position: relative;">Jesse Ventura denied reinstatement of $1.8M 'American Sniper' verdict</a></b></b></b></b></b></font></font></font></font></b></b></b></b></font></b></b></font></font></font></font></h3></div></div></article></div></div></div><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Ventura, 65, lost his health insurance with the Screen Actors Guild union last year because he wasn’t doing enough work in the industry. The former governor said finding work has been a challenge because of the publicity generated by his lawsuit against Kyle’s estate.</font></font></font></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I can’t get a job in the U.S. No one will touch me,” Ventura said. “My United States union throws me in the dirt and who comes to the rescue? Russia.”</font></font></font></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RT has provided the health insurance he lost with the actors guild, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/former-gov-jesse-ventura-has-a-new-gig-on-russian-television/427092891/" style="text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">the Star Tribune first reported</a>. Ventura said he signed a contract last fall for 32 shows, but hasn’t yet filmed an episode, which he’ll do in Minnesota. The first installment was to air in the next month or so, he added.</font></font></font></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ventura’s 2015 show “Off the Grid” was produced by Ora TV, the on-demand network launched by TV host Larry King, and was carried by RT America, the U.S. channel of the Moscow, Russia-based RT network.</font></font></font></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A federal jury in 2014 awarded Ventura $1.8 million in his lawsuit against his fellow Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle, who Ventura sais defamed him by alleging he made derogatory remarks about the special operations force</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. The jury award was overturned by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016.</span></font></font></font></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The subject matter in Ventura’s new show will be broad based,...</font></font></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></font></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></font></font></div><div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAEQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQFSgAMBR6BAgBEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediabistro.com/interviews/so-what-do-you-do-jesse-ventura-political-pundit-and-host-of-ora-tvs-off-the-grid/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.mediabistro.com/interviews/so-what-do-you-do-jesse-ventura-political-pundit-and-host-of-ora-tvs-off-the-grid/&ved=2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQFjAUegQIARAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="font-weight: normal;">So What Do You Do, Jesse Ventura, Political Pundit, Host of 'Off the ...</font></a></font></font></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; 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So, my show has thecommand central, which is [my producer] Alex Logan back in ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAIQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQFSgAMBV6BAgCEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/06/09/jesse-ventura-finds-new-life-to-his-career-in-russia/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://nypost.com/2017/06/09/jesse-ventura-finds-new-life-to-his-career-in-russia/&ved=2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQFjAVegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="font-weight: normal;">Putin offers to help save Jesse Ventura's career - New York Post</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; 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cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" /></a><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0y9nsWy6b-8J:https://nypost.com/2017/06/09/jesse-ventura-finds-new-life-to-his-career-in-russia/+&cd=22&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:0y9nsWy6b-8J:https://nypost.com/2017/06/09/jesse-ventura-finds-new-life-to-his-career-in-russia/%2B%26cd%3D22%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQIDAVegQIAhAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">Jun 9, 2017 - </span>Jesse Ventura denied reinstatement of $1.8M 'American Sniper' verdict ... Ventura's 2015 show “Off the Grid” was produced by Ora TV, the ... him by alleging he made derogatory remarks about the special operations force.</font></span></a></div><div jsl="$t t--ddbPTeIsNI;$x 0;" class="r-iWAhrOmKF0pc" data-ved="2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQ2Z0BMBV6BAgCEAY"><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 28px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAkQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQFSgAMBZ6BAgJEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4584852/Jesse-Ventura-reveals-Russian-ties-new-reality-show.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4584852/Jesse-Ventura-reveals-Russian-ties-new-reality-show.html&ved=2ahUKEwjRhMPfuNTcAhVEQKwKHQ6lDRwQFjAWegQICRAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="font-weight: normal;">Jesse Ventura reveals Russian ties with new reality show | Daily Mail ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">www.dailymail.co.uk/news/.../Jesse-Ventura-reveals-Russian-ties-new-reality-show.html</font></cite></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f" style="">Jun 8, 2017 - </span>His previous TV shows include 'Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura,' which ran for three years on Tru TV, and 'Off the Grid' which currently ...</font></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Donald Trump presidential campaign of 2000 for the nomination of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Party_of_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="Reform Party of the United States" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Reform Party</a> began when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate" title="Real estate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">real estate</a> magnate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Donald Trump</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York(state)" class="mw-redirect" title="New York (state)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">New York</a> announced the creation of a presidential <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratory_committee" title="Exploratory committee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">exploratory committee</a> on the October 7, 1999 edition of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_King_Live" title="Larry King Live" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Larry King Live</a></i>. Though Trump had never held elected office, he was well known for his frequent comments on public affairs and business exploits as head of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trump_Organization" title="The Trump Organization" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Trump Organization</a>. He had previously considered a presidential run in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,1988" title="United States presidential election, 1988" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1988</a> as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Republican</a>, but chose not to run. For 2000, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota" title="Minnesota" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Minnesota</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Minnesota" title="Governor of Minnesota" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Governor</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura" title="Jesse Ventura" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jesse Ventura</a> persuaded Trump to seek the presidential nomination of the Reform Party, which was fracturing despite achieving <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_access" title="Ballot access" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">ballot access</a> and qualifying for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_funds" title="Matching funds" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">matching funds</a> as a result of the presidential campaign of businessman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot" title="Ross Perot" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ross Perot</a>, the party's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,1996" title="United States presidential election, 1996" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1996</a> presidential nominee. Trump's entrance into the Reform Party race coincided with that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoconservatism" title="Paleoconservatism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">paleoconservative</a> commentator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Buchanan" title="Pat Buchanan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pat Buchanan</a>, whom Trump attacked throughout the campaign as a "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Hitler</a>-lover."</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump focused his campaign on the issues of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade" title="Fair trade" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">fair trade</a>, eliminating the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_public_debt" class="mw-redirect" title="US public debt" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">national debt</a>, and achieving <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_healthcare" class="mw-redirect" title="Universal healthcare" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">universal healthcare</a> as outlined in the campaign companion piece <i>The America We Deserve</i>, released in January 2000. He named media proprietor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey" title="Oprah Winfrey" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Oprah Winfrey</a> as his ideal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_mate" title="Running mate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">running mate</a> and said he would instantly marry his girlfriend, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melania_Knauss" class="mw-redirect" title="Melania Knauss" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Melania Knauss</a>, to make her <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Lady" title="First Lady" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">First Lady</a>. Critics questioned the seriousness of Trump's campaign and speculated that it was a tactic to strengthen his brand and sell books. Trump defended his candidacy as a serious endeavor and proclaimed that he had a chance to win the election. Though he never expanded the campaign beyond the exploratory phase, Trump made numerous media appearances as a candidate, traveled to campaign events in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida" title="Florida" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Florida</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">California</a>, and Minnesota, and qualified for two presidential primaries. Veteran campaign strategist and longtime Trump aide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Stone" title="Roger Stone" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Roger Stone</a> was hired as director of the exploratory committee.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Internal conflict caused Ventura to exit the Reform Party in February 2000, removing Trump's most vocal proponent. Trump officially ended his campaign on the February 14, 2000 airing of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today(U.S.TV_program)" title="Today (U.S. TV program)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Today Show</a></i>. Though he believed he could still win the Reform Party presidential nomination, he felt the party was too dysfunctional to support his campaign and enable a win in the general election. A poll matching Trump against likely Republican nominee <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">George W. Bush</a> and likely <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Democratic</a> nominee <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore" title="Al Gore" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Al Gore</a> showed Trump with seven percent support. Despite his withdrawal, Trump won both primaries for which he qualified. Buchanan would go on to win the nomination.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After the election, Trump gained greater fame as the host of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apprentice(U.S.TV_series)" title="The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Apprentice</a></i>. He seriously considered running as a Republican in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,2012" title="United States presidential election, 2012" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2012 presidential election</a> but decided against it. Four years later, he initiated a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2016" title="Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">full-scale presidential campaign</a>, became the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_presidential_candidates,2016" title="Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Republican Party's 2016 presidential nominee</a> and was elected the 45th <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">President of the United States</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Background" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Background</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Early_stages" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early stages</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Announcement" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Announcement</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Primary_campaign" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Primary campaign</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#October_1999" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">October 1999</span></font></a></font></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#November_1999" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">November 1999</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#December_1999" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">December 1999</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#January_2000" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">January 2000</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#February_2000" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">February 2000</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Withdrawal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Withdrawal</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Results" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Results</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#Aftermath" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Aftermath</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li></ul></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);" linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Background">Background</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Months later, during an April 1988 appearance on <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oprah_Winfrey_Show" title="The Oprah Winfrey Show" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Oprah Winfrey Show</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup> Trump discussed his displeasure with the United States' status as a "debtor nation" and its seeming inability to compete with Japan. Winfrey asked Trump if he would ever run for president. He replied, "Probably not, but I do get tired of seeing the country get ripped off ... I just don't think I have the inclination to do it." Furthermore, he asserted that if he ever did run, he would win the election.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup> He later appeared at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Republican_National_Convention" title="1988 Republican National Convention" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1988 Republican National Convention</a>. In an interview on the floor, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_News" title="NBC News" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">NBC News</a> reporter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Wallace" title="Chris Wallace" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Chris Wallace</a> asked whether Trump's visit to his first national convention would induce him to "take the plunge" into a presidential campaign. In response, Trump downplayed his prior exploration into presidential politics, though repeated that he would win if he ever ran, and praised then-presumptive Republican presidential nominee <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H.W.Bush" title="George H. W. Bush" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">George H. W. Bush</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup> During another convention interview on <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_King_Live" title="Larry King Live" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Larry King Live</a></i>, Trump dismissed the speculation that he had considered running for president and commented, "I doubt I’ll ever be involved in politics beyond what I do right now."<sup id="cite_ref-caller_3-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-caller-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup> Talk of a potential Trump candidacy grew silent for much of the next decade.Real estate magnate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Donald Trump</a>, head of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trump_Organization" title="The Trump Organization" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Trump Organization</a> since 1971, first dabbled in presidential politics in the early summer of 1987. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Republican</a> political organizer Mike Dunbar, unimpressed with the candidates for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,1988" title="United States presidential election, 1988" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1988 Republican presidential nomination</a>, founded the "Draft Trump for President" organization. Believing Trump had the makings of a president, Dunbar pitched Trump the idea of speaking at an event for Republican candidates in the first-in-the-nation primary state of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire" title="New Hampshire" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">New Hampshire</a>. According to Dunbar in a later interview, Trump was receptive to this idea.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup> Then a registered <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Democrat</a>, Trump officially changed his registration to Republican in July 1987.<sup id="cite_ref-five_2-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-five-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup> Speculation that he would actually run for president intensified two months later,<sup id="cite_ref-caller_3-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-caller-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup> when he purchased $94,801 worth of full-page advertisements in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The New York Times</a></i>, <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Globe" class="mw-redirect" title="Boston Globe" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Boston Globe</a></i>, and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Washington Post</a></i> with the heading "There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure." The advertisements reflected Trump's concerns that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" title="Japan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Japan</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Saudi Arabia</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Kuwait</a> were taking advantage of American money and protection without providing any benefit to the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup> The next month, as Dunbar had proposed, Trump appeared at a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_Club" class="mw-redirect" title="Rotary Club" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rotary Club</a> luncheon in New Hampshire. There, he delivered what <i>The New York Times</i> described as an "impassioned speech," in which he expressed concern about the United States being "pushed around" by its allies and proposed that "these countries that are ripping us off pay off the $200 billion deficit." In the audience, college students held placards reading "Trump for President." Nevertheless, Trump proclaimed, "I'm not here because I'm running for President. I'm here because I'm tired of our country being kicked around and I want to get my ideas across."<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup> Later, Trump appeared on the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Donahue_Show" class="mw-redirect" title="Phil Donahue Show" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Phil Donahue Show</a></i>. After the appearance, he received a letter from former President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Richard Nixon</a> in which Nixon explained that his wife <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Nixon" title="Pat Nixon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pat</a>, "an expert on politics," had seen Trump on the show and "predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!"<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup> In November 1987, Trump released <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump:The_Art_of_the_Deal" title="Trump: The Art of the Deal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Art of the Deal</a></i>, which became a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list" title="The New York Times Best Seller list" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><i>New York Times</i> bestseller</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1995, industrialist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot" title="Ross Perot" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ross Perot</a>, who had received 18.9 percent of the vote during his Independent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot_presidential_campaign,1992" title="Ross Perot presidential campaign, 1992" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1992 run for president</a>, formed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America" title="Reform Party of the United States of America" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Reform Party of the United States of America</a><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup> Though Perot won the party's 1996 nomination and garnered 8.4 percent of the popular vote, rifts had begun forming within the party. Former Colorado Governor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lamm" title="Richard Lamm" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Richard Lamm</a>, who unsuccessfully challenged Perot for the 1996 presidential nomination, accused Perot of using the party as a personal vehicle, and broke off with his supporters to form a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Reform_Party" title="American Reform Party" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">new party</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup> In 1998, former professional wrestler <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura" title="Jesse Ventura" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jesse Ventura</a> was elected <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Minnesota" title="Governor of Minnesota" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Governor of Minnesota</a> as a member of the Reform Party—the party's most significant victory—but Perot and his followers were not receptive to Ventura and his political allies.<sup id="cite_ref-ventura_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-ventura-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup> The Perot-faction adamantly, though unsuccessfully, attempted to prevent the election of Ventura supporter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gargan(politician)" title="Jack Gargan (politician)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jack Gargan</a> as party chairman in 1999 when Perot backer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Verney" title="Russ Verney" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Russ Verney</a> chose not to stand for re-election for his term ending January 1, 2000.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[14]</a></sup> Opting not to run for president himself in 2000,<sup id="cite_ref-ventura_13-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-ventura-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup> Ventura searched for candidates.<sup id="cite_ref-exit_15-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-exit-15" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup> Initially, he courted <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE" title="WWE" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">WWF Board Member</a> and former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Connecticut" class="mw-redirect" title="Governor of Connecticut" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Connecticut governor</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_P.Weicker,Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="Lowell P. Weicker, Jr." style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.</a>. He then turned to friend and wrestling aficionado Donald Trump.</font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);" linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_stages">Early stages</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Early stages" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1999, <i>The New York Times</i> reported that Jesse Ventura first approached Trump about a possible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,2000" title="United States presidential election, 2000" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2000 presidential</a> run while both were in attendance at a wrestling event in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_City" class="mw-redirect" title="Atlantic City" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Atlantic City</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup> Trump's ambitions may have spawned earlier. <i>The America We Deserve</i> co-writer Dave Shiflett said Trump first thought about running in late 1998, when he looked at his political advantages in money and name recognition, and concluded that he was "at least as competent" as then President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton" title="Bill Clinton" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bill Clinton</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-dave_17-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-dave-17" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup>According to Shiflett, this prompted Trump to ask top aide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Stone" title="Roger Stone" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Roger Stone</a> to find the "most eminent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_writer" title="Hack writer" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">hack writer</a> in America" to put Trump's political ideas into a book. Stone reached out to Shiflett, a contributor to <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Spectator" title="The American Spectator" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The American Spectator</a></i>. In Spring 1999, Shiflett met with Trump about the project that would later become <i>The America We Deserve</i>. During the initial meeting, Shiflett claims Trump raised concerns about a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suitcase_nuclear_device" title="Suitcase nuclear device" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">suitcase bomb</a> destroying <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan" title="Manhattan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Manhattan</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-dave_17-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-dave-17" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Two months later, amid reports that paleoconservative political commentator and adviser <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Buchanan" title="Pat Buchanan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pat Buchanan</a> was about to join the Reform Party to seek the nomination, Trump announced that he would consider running as a sign of respect for Ventura. He labeled the views of Buchanan as "prehistoric",<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup> and commented that even though he liked Pat, "I'm on the conservative side, but Buchanan is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Hun" class="mw-redirect" title="Attila the Hun" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Attila the Hun</a>."<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[23]</a></sup> He expected that a primary battle between the two would be "nasty."<sup id="cite_ref-round_24-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-round-24" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup> According to columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Novak" title="Robert Novak" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Robert Novak</a>, Bush operatives concerned about a third party run by Buchanan contacted Ventura indirectly about preventing Buchanan's nomination. Novak argued that Trump "seems a bad match with Perot's party, but he may be the GOP's last hope to stop Buchanan."<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[25]</a></sup> When Weicker decided not to seek the party's nomination due to internal bickering, Ventura reportedly went all in for Trump.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup> The media capitalized on a potential Trump versus Buchanan challenge,<sup id="cite_ref-round_24-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-round-24" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup> and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live" title="Saturday Night Live" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Saturday Night Live</a></i> satirized it with a skit in which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Hammond" title="Darrell Hammond" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Darrell Hammond</a> portraying Trump and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Parnell" title="Chris Parnell" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Chris Parnell</a> as Buchanan pitched their candidacies to Ross Perot, played by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheri_Oteri" title="Cheri Oteri" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Cheri Oteri</a>. The segment also featured an appearance by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrell" title="Will Ferrell" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Will Ferrell</a> as Ventura.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[28]</a></sup>In July 1999, the Democratic<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_18-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-nyt-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup> polling firm Schroth and Associates conducted a poll of 400 Reform Party leaders<sup id="cite_ref-daily_19-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-daily-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup> and found Trump tied for third place for the Reform Party presidential nomination.<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_18-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-nyt-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup> Both the Reform Party and Trump denied having commissioned the poll.<sup id="cite_ref-daily_19-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-daily-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup> Days later, <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsweek" title="Newsweek" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Newsweek</a></i> raised speculation<sup id="cite_ref-daily_19-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-daily-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup> when it cited an unnamed "close friend" of Trump who said Trump was "toying" with the idea of a presidential campaign, allegedly in response to rumors of Ventura's courting of Weicker for a run. Trump purportedly held a grudge against Weicker for blocking his plans to build a casino in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeport,Connecticut" title="Bridgeport, Connecticut" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bridgeport</a><sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup> in 1994. The two had an exchange of insults in which Weicker labeled Trump a "dirt bag" and Trump referred to Weicker as "a fat slob who couldn't get elected dog catcher."<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_18-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-nyt-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup> In response to the <i>Newsweek</i> report, Trump sent out a press release in which he criticized the two party system, praised the Reform Party, and stated "If the Reform Party nominated me, I would probably run and probably win." However, he added that if the party nominated him, he would ask for "an immediate recount."<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_18-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-nyt-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup> In an interview, he told <i>The New York Times</i>, "I'm honored and I'm flattered [by the speculation], but the fact is I've never had more fun than I'm having right now, building the most spectacular buildings in New York."<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_18-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-nyt-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup>Chairman Verney denied that the Reform Party had any interest in Trump, explaining that party members had "never spent one second thinking about him." <sup id="cite_ref-daily_19-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-daily-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup> A CNN-<i>Time</i> poll conducted later in July showed Trump with seven percent support nationally in a match up against Republican candidate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">George W. Bush</a> and Vice President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore" title="Al Gore" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Al Gore</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-johnson_21-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-johnson-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Trump further increased speculation of a full-scale campaign when his publisher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Books" title="Renaissance Books" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Renaissance Books</a> announced a January 2000 release date for <i>The American We Deserve</i>. The publisher's press release announced a book tour and teased, "Donald Trump for President? Run or not, Donald Trump's ideas will have a major impact on the next presidential election."<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup> Trump set January also as the month on which he would decide whether to run. He expressed, "I’m not interested in being the [third-party] candidate who gets the most votes in the history of the world outside of the Democratic and Republican parties, I would only consider this if I thought I could win."<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[30]</a></sup> On September 30, Trump wrote an opinion piece in the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Journal" class="mw-redirect" title="Wall Street Journal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Wall Street Journal</a></i> titled, "America Needs a President Like Me" in which he argued that he would be "the kind of president America needs in the new millennium." He cited the "repugnant" comments of Buchanan and Ventura's personal encouragement as factors contributing to his decision.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[31]</a></sup> In an October 6 interview on <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dateline_NBC" title="Dateline NBC" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dateline NBC</a></i>, Trump affirmed that he was "very serious" about his run.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[32]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);" linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Announcement">Announcement</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Announcement" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
On the issues, Trump labeled himself "very conservative," but described his views on healthcare as "quite liberal" and "getting much more liberal," explaining "I believe in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care" title="Universal health care" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">universal health care</a>. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better . . . . [I]t's an entitlement to this country if we're going to have a great country." He expressed opposition to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAFTA" class="mw-redirect" title="NAFTA" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">NAFTA</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_control" title="Gun control" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">gun control</a>, and said he would like to see alcohol corporations sued in the same manner as tobacco corporations. For his first presidential term, he proclaimed, "I want to do the right job: straighten out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security(United_States)" title="Social Security (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Social Security</a>, get the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_deficit" class="mw-redirect" title="Trade deficit" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">trade deficits</a> in order, and lower taxes."<sup id="cite_ref-announce_35-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-announce-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup> As for the lack of a first lady, Trump said he could solve the issue "in 24 hours" by marrying his 29 year old model girlfriend <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melania_Knauss" class="mw-redirect" title="Melania Knauss" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Melania Knauss</a>. In a later interview, Knauss said she would marry Trump under such notice.<sup id="cite_ref-gal_37-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-gal-37" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[37]</a></sup> In the role, she said, "I would be very traditional. Like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Ford" title="Betty Ford" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Betty Ford</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis" title="Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jackie Kennedy</a>. I would support him."<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[38]</a></sup> Trump described Knauss as "a woman of great style and elegance . . . very poised and gracious and able to get along with everyone."<sup id="cite_ref-gal_37-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-gal-37" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[37]</a></sup>On October 7, Trump announced on <i>Larry King Live</i> that he formed an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratory_committee" title="Exploratory committee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">exploratory committee</a> to explore a Reform Party presidential bid. Trump planned not to use the committee to raise money—he would personally fund his campaign—but wished to use the committee to advise him on political matters in preparation for a run. In the interview with Larry King, Trump was optimistic about his chances indicating a "very strong possibility" of victory.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[33]</a></sup> He referenced a non-scientific <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Enquirer" title="National Enquirer" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Enquirer</a></i> poll of 100 individuals, showing him in first place against his Democratic and Republican counterparts.<sup id="cite_ref-johnson_21-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-johnson-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup> When pressed, Trump identified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey" title="Oprah Winfrey" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Oprah Winfrey</a> as his ideal choice for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_mate" title="Running mate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">running mate</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a></sup> describing her as "somebody that is very special," and that if she agreed to run, "she'd be fantastic . . . she's popular, she's brilliant, she's a wonderful woman."<sup id="cite_ref-announce_35-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-announce-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup> Oprah's spokesperson later responded "at this point in time . . . Oprah is not running."<sup id="cite_ref-after_36-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-after-36" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup> Trump labeled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Giuliani" title="Rudy Giuliani" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rudy Giuliani</a> as New York City's greatest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_New_York" class="mw-redirect" title="Mayor of New York" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mayor</a> and spoke admirably of Presidents <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Eisenhower" class="mw-redirect" title="Dwight Eisenhower" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dwight Eisenhower</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ronald Reagan</a>, saying that Reagan had a demeanor that contributed to a phenomenal spirit in the nation. Trump argued that President Bill Clinton could have been a great president, but destroyed his legacy with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewinsky_scandal" title="Lewinsky scandal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Lewinsky scandal</a>. As for the Reform Party, Trump offered praise for both Perot and Ventura, and attacked potential primary opponent Buchanan as someone "enamored" with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Adolf Hitler</a>, based on Buchanan's thesis that Hitler presented no military threat to the United States ahead of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">World War II</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-announce_35-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-announce-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">After the announcement, Trump and Knauss had dinner with Ventura and were joined by actor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Harrelson" title="Woody Harrelson" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Woody Harrelson</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-after_36-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-after-36" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup> Ventura later commented that Trump's chances of success depended on his impression of the Reform Party.<sup id="cite_ref-johnson_21-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-johnson-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup> Onlookers questioned Trump's motive in running. Democratic pollster Harrison Hickman expressed doubts about the authenticity of Trump's campaign, saying "It’s all marketing of his name."<sup id="cite_ref-after_36-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-after-36" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Bai" title="Matt Bai" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Matt Bai</a> of <i>Newsweek</i> commented "Most serious-minded people think Trump's flirtation with the Reform Party's presidential nomination is just a publicity stunt."<sup id="cite_ref-wave_39-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-wave-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[39]</a></sup> Ex-wife <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivana_Trump" title="Ivana Trump" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ivana Trump</a> doubted he would actually run.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[40]</a></sup> Former New York City Mayor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Koch" title="Ed Koch" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ed Koch</a> commented that people would likely not flock to Trump's campaign, suggesting that Trump was merchandising his brand.<sup id="cite_ref-usa_41-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-usa-41" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[41]</a></sup> Trump disagreed with the critics, arguing that even though his sales had increased as a result of media coverage, he was serious about the campaign.<sup id="cite_ref-wave_39-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-wave-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[39]</a></sup> Roger Stone was hired as director of the exploratory committee.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[42]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);" linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Primary_campaign" style="font-weight: normal;">Primary campaign</span></font></h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="October_1999" style="font-weight: normal;">October 1999</span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Before Trump could venture out on the campaign trail, he had to tend to some personal matters. In an interview with <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraph" title="The Daily Telegraph" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Daily Telegraph</a></i>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marla_Maples" title="Marla Maples" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Marla Maples</a>, Trump's second ex-wife, threatened to reveal what Trump "is really like" if he chose to run for president in the general election. In response, Trump withheld $1.5 million in alimony he owed Maples, claiming she was in violation of the confidentiality agreement in the couple's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce" title="Divorce" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">divorce</a> decree. After a Manhattan judge refused to hear the matter, a brief conference was held, wherein the judge's law secretary advised Trump to pay the alimony and advised Maples that further incidents would be cause for the judge to reconsider hearing the matter.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[44]</a></sup> Trump's attorneys were satisfied that the meeting would cause Maples to rethink making any public statements on her marriage to Trump.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[45]</a></sup>Trump's announcement made way for the anticipated Buchanan–Trump primary contest with Buchanan himself moving closer to mounting a Reform Party bid. Buchanan announced he would decide whether to join the race by late October. A Schroth and Associates poll of 500 people who voted for Perot in 1996, showed Buchanan with a slight edge over Trump, 32 percent to 29 percent.<sup id="cite_ref-usa_41-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-usa-41" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[41]</a></sup> Though Ventura wished to prevent a Buchanan nomination, he did not publicly endorse Trump. Some of Ventura's advisers were skeptical of Trump's campaign and wanted Ventura to leave the party if a Buchanan nomination appeared imminent.<sup id="cite_ref-wave_39-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-wave-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[39]</a></sup> Ventura's place in the party had become a subject of controversy. Chairman Verney asked Ventura to leave the party in early October after Ventura commented in a <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy" title="Playboy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Playboy</a></i> interview that "organized religion is a sham and a crutch."<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[43]</a></sup> Perot also decided not to make an endorsement during the primary campaign, despite Buchanan's plea that Perot publicly support his entrance into the race.<sup id="cite_ref-usa_41-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-usa-41" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[41]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">On October 24, Trump appeared on <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_the_Press" title="Meet the Press" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Meet the Press</a></i>, where he announced that he would officially join the Reform Party. During the interview, Trump questioned why a politician was better suited to be president than him, commenting "I understand this stuff." He said that the Republican Party has become "too crazy right." Notably, he identified Buchanan as a "Hitler-lover" and mused, "I guess he's an anti-Semite . . . He doesn't like the blacks, he doesn't like the gays. It's just incredible that anybody could embrace this guy."<sup id="cite_ref-mtp_46-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-mtp-46" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[46]</a></sup> As for his reputation as a womanizer, Trump said he would not run if he believed it would be an impediment.<sup id="cite_ref-mtp_46-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-mtp-46" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[46]</a></sup> The next day, Trump formally joined the Reform Party, changing his voter registration from Republican to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Party_of_New_York" title="Independence Party of New York" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Independence Party</a>, the New York affiliate of the Reform Party. On the same day, Buchanan announced that he too would leave the Republican Party to join with the Reform Party and attempt to obtain its presidential nomination.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-47" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[47]</a></sup> Buchanan said he refused to engage in a "name-calling" contest with Trump but made a thinly veiled attack against Trump's wealth, arguing, "I don't believe the Reform Party nomination can be bought, and I don't believe the Presidency can be bought."<sup id="cite_ref-mtp_46-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-mtp-46" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[46]</a></sup> On <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_the_Nation" title="Face the Nation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Face the Nation</a></i>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Choate" title="Pat Choate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pat Choate</a>, the Reform Party's 1996 vice presidential nominee, said Trump would "make a good candidate," but argued that Buchanan could challenge Trump "on the merits" and that Trump and the media were misrepresenting Buchanan's views through "hate politics." Other party members expressed reservations about Trump's comments and personal life.<sup id="cite_ref-mtp_46-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-mtp-46" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[46]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-48" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[48]</a></sup> Verney wondered "what the compelling reason is for him to seek the presidency."<sup id="cite_ref-Perot_49-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-Perot-49" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[49]</a></sup> Trump acknowledged himself as "certainly controversial" but labeled himself as "a great businessman," who would "make the greatest treaties that this country's seen in a long time."<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-50" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[50]</a></sup> On <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Sunday" title="Fox News Sunday" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Fox News Sunday</a></i>, he criticized <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_United_States_Trade_Representative" title="Office of the United States Trade Representative" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">U.S. Trade Representative</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlene_Barshefsky" title="Charlene Barshefsky" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Charlene Barshefsky</a> and said that as president he himself would fill the position and negotiate trade deals with other countries. He identified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">France</a>, Japan, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Germany</a>, and Saudi Arabia as nations taking advantage of badly negotiated trade deals with the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-51" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[51]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="November_1999" style="font-weight: normal;">November 1999</span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In an effort speculated to implore the media to view the campaign more seriously,<sup id="cite_ref-cbs_52-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-cbs-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup> Trump rolled out a tax proposal that became the subject of attention. In a series of telephone interviews in early November,<sup id="cite_ref-cbs_52-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-cbs-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup> Trump proposed a one-time 14.25 percent "net worth tax" that would apply to individuals and trusts with assets greater than $10 million. The plan was meant to raise $5.7 trillion in revenue to wipe out the national debt, estimated at the time to be $5.66 trillion. The plan exempted one's homestead from the calculation. Trump estimated that the tax would only apply to one percent of the population and that the remaining 99 percent would receive a federal income tax cut as well as an elimination of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax" class="mw-redirect" title="Estate tax" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">estate tax</a>. He projected a 35 to 40 percent increase in economic activity as a result and eliminate $200 billion in federal interest payments, half of which would be used to fund middle class tax cuts and the rest to allocate for Social Security.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-53" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[53]</a></sup> The original plan provided only one year for taxpayers to pay the new tax, but that was later increased to 10 years. Economists predicted that enactment of the plan would "risk capital flight"<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-54" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[54]</a></sup> and "prick" the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_market_bubble" title="Stock market bubble" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">stock market bubble</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-cbs_52-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-cbs-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-55" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[55]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Bartlett" title="Bruce Bartlett" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bruce Bartlett</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Center_for_Policy_Analysis" title="National Center for Policy Analysis" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Center for Policy Analysis</a> wrote in the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Journal" class="mw-redirect" title="Wall Street Journal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Wall Street Journal</a></i> that the proposed rate would fall short of its goal and that at any rate, would introduce "devastating" disruption to the economic system.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-56" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[56]</a></sup> Tax attorney Robert L. Sommers, writing in the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Chronicle" title="San Francisco Chronicle" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">San Francisco Chronicle</a></i>, argued that many wealthy people lacked sufficient cash on hand to pay the tax and that doing so would lead to the mass liquidation of assets, "roil[ing] the stock and real estate markets."<sup id="cite_ref-sfgate_57-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-sfgate-57" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[57]</a></sup> Trump defended his plan, rejecting the speculation that it would be "a shock to the system."<sup id="cite_ref-cbs_52-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-cbs-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup> Roger Stone noted that Trump had been thinking about the plan for a while and that he felt so strong about it that he was willing to pay $725 million of his own money in taxes under it.<sup id="cite_ref-sfgate_57-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-sfgate-57" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[57]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS_News" title="CBS News" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">CBS News</a> speculated that the plan meant to appeal to middle and lower class Americans.<sup id="cite_ref-cbs_52-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-cbs-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup> Trump's tax plan differed significantly from the plan put forward by Reform Party rival Buchanan, who had called for a 16 percent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_tax" title="Flat tax" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">flat tax</a> on earnings over $35,000.<sup id="cite_ref-cbs_52-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-cbs-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup></font></p><div class="quotebox" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.8em 1.4em; width: 215px; padding: 6px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 240);"><div class="" style="position: relative;"><div style="margin: 0px 2em;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I'm more honest and my women are more beautiful.</font></p></div><div style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-weight="font-weight" bold="bold" font-size="font-size" large="large" color="color" gray="gray"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“</font></div><div style="position: absolute; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-weight="font-weight" bold="bold" font-size="font-size" large="large" color="color" gray="gray"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">”</font></div></div><cite style="font-style: inherit; display: block; text-align: center;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Donald Trump<sup id="cite_ref-dowd_58-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-dowd-58" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[58]</a></sup></font></cite></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Despite the discussion of substantive issues, the campaign's seriousness continued to come under attack. Ed Koch elevated his criticisms of the campaign, calling it "fraudulent" and arguing that Trump is the "greatest con artist in the world when it comes to trumpeting his own name . . . . [M]y gut tells me that he knows nothing [about policy]."<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-59" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[59]</a></sup> Former White House adviser <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Morris" title="Dick Morris" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dick Morris</a> said "I think he's mainly selling books." Republican strategist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Rollins" title="Ed Rollins" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ed Rollins</a> questioned whether Trump could "say the right things" or "be willing to let somebody put an organization together." A <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Daily_News" title="New York Daily News" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">New York Daily News</a></i>/<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNBC-TV" class="mw-redirect" title="WNBC-TV" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">WNBC-TV</a> poll showed that 74% of New Yorkers believed the campaign was being used only for Trump "to promote himself." Roger Stone commented that the perception problem would "solve itself" once the campaign would reveal the number of petition signatures it collected.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[60]</a></sup> By mid-November, the campaign started receiving advice from political consultant Douglas Friedline, who ran Ventura's successful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_gubernatorial_election,1998" title="Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1998" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1998 gubernatorial campaign</a>. Upon Friedline's advice, Trump assembled communications and campaign staff, and began planning events in strategic states.<sup id="cite_ref-neal_61-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-neal-61" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[61]</a></sup> As a further step in organization, Trump set up a campaign website at the domain www.donaldjtrump2000.com and used Ventura's webmaster, Phil Madsen, to create an online community of supporters.<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-62" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[62]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">On his first campaign stop, Trump traveled to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami" title="Miami" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Miami</a>, Florida and spoke before the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_American_National_Foundation" title="Cuban American National Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Cuban American National Foundation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-63" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[63]</a></sup> The foundation invited Trump after he wrote a <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Herald" title="Miami Herald" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Miami Herald</a></i> article denouncing Cuban President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro" title="Fidel Castro" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Fidel Castro</a> and favoring the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_Cuba" title="United States embargo against Cuba" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">U.S. embargo against Cuba</a> several months earlier.<sup id="cite_ref-neal_61-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-neal-61" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[61]</a></sup> During the visit, Trump was met with supporters touting "Trump 2000" posters and shouting "Viva Donald Trump!" There, he delivered his first foreign policy speech, capped with the line, "I'd have, personally, two words for [Castro]: 'Adios, amigo!'" Covering the event, columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Dowd" title="Maureen Dowd" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Maureen Dowd</a> wrote that the fascination with Trump was the "apotheosis of our <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age" title="Gilded Age" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Gilded Age</a>," where "money, celebrity, polling, and crass behavior" warp politics and the television show <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire(U.S.game_show)" title="Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (U.S. game show)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Who Wants to Be a Millionaire</a></i> dominates the culture.<sup id="cite_ref-dowd_58-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-dowd-58" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[58]</a></sup>Following this theme, <i>Saturday Night Live</i> performed a sketch in which Darrell Hammond reprised his role as Trump, holding a press conference announcing <i>Millionaire</i> winner <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carpenter(game_show_contestant)" title="John Carpenter (game show contestant)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Carpenter</a> as his running mate.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-64" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[64]</a></sup> Soon thereafter, the actual Trump floated possible running mates and members of his presidential cabinet during a November 28 episode of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Edition_with_Wolf_Blitzer" title="Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer</a></i>. He identified Senator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain" title="John McCain" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John McCain</a>, a Republican presidential candidate, as a possible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Defense" title="United States Secretary of Defense" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Secretary of Defense</a>. Trump said he would consider Democratic Congressman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rangel" title="Charles Rangel" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Charles Rangel</a> for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development" title="United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Secretary of Housing and Urban Development</a> and mentioned retired General <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell" title="Colin Powell" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Colin Powell</a> as a possible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_State" title="United States Secretary of State" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Secretary of State</a>. He praised <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric" title="General Electric" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">General Electric</a> CEO <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Welch" title="Jack Welch" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jack Welch</a>, and discussed him as either <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Treasury" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Secretary of Treasury" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Secretary of Treasury</a> or running mate. He again mentioned Oprah Winfrey as a possible running mate. During the interview, Trump expressed his willingness to spend $100 million to self-finance a full-scale campaign.<sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-65" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[65]</a></sup> The Reform Party scheduled a debate of the candidates seeking the presidential nomination on December 3 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,Oregon" title="Portland, Oregon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Portland, Oregon</a>. When a reporter asked a Trump aide whether Trump would appear, the aide was unaware of the debate. Ultimately, Buchanan attended but Trump did not.<sup id="cite_ref-ws_66-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2000#cite_note-ws-66" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[66]</a>...</sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><sup class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">....</font></sup></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div><h1 class="print-title" style=" margin-bottom: .2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="font-weight: normal;">Jesse Ventura Body-Slams the Climate Change "Conspiracy"</font></h1><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">

</font><div class="dek" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><i style="">I</i>n his new TV show, the former governor and professional wrestler exposes the sinister plots behind global warming and 9/11<i style="">.</i></font></div>

<p class="submitted"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="byline">By <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/authors/kate-sheppard" rel="author">Kate Sheppard</a></span> | <span class="dateline">Wed Dec. 23,<b> 2009</b> 3:00 AM PST</span></font></p>

<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the erstwhile professional wrestler, Navy Seal, motorcycle gang member, and governor of Minnesota, has embarked upon yet another career: investigator of nefarious plots. This month, Ventura launched a show called "Conspiracy Theory" on TruTV which claims to shine light on "the most frightening and mysterious conspiracy allegations of our time." So far Ventura has explored whether 9/11 was an inside job (he doesn't buy the 9/11 Commission's <a href="http://www.kxnet.com/custom404.asp?404;http://www.kxnet.com/News/225221.asp">official explanation)</a> <span class="print-footnote">[1]</span> and whether the government is testing mind-control weaponry at a secret base in Alaska. (Conclusion: "I learned that radio waves really can get inside your head. They got inside mine.") And in another recent episode, he takes on "the global warming scam."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Whether global warming is real or not, some people may be using the issue to earn billions of dollars, start a one-world government and control people's lives," warns the <a href="http://www.trutv.com/shows/conspiracy_theory/episodes/index.html">teaser on the website for TruTV</a> <span class="print-footnote">[2]</span> (formerly known as Court TV). In the show, a voiceover promises that "Jesse Ventura finds the direct link between global warming and a plot to rule the world."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Enter Ventura, who spends much of the 60-minute show skulking around in a black leather jacket, meeting gravelly voiced informants in abandoned warehouses for no apparent reason. "I never thought I'd be investigating global warming. I believe it's real and that saving the planet is good," intones Ventura. "But now I'm on my way to see a guy named Noel Sheppard. He says he has proof that some people are using global warming as an excuse to make money and control the world. That's a conspiracy I want to expose."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura sets up a "clandestine meeting" in a deserted San Francisco courtyard with Sheppard, who is described as an "investigative journalist." This not-exactly-elusive figure—he is a writer for Newsbusters.org—has it on good authority from <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/01/11/global-warming-update-earth-brink-ice-age">Russian tabloids</a> <span class="print-footnote">[3]</span> that "the earth is now on the brink of entering another Ice Age." He also believes that the occurrence of snowstorms <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/12/09/al-gore-climategate-climate-deniers-blowing-old-emails-out-proportion">disproves global warming</a> <span class="print-footnote">[4]</span>. Ventura learns that climate change may in fact be a vast and elaborate hoax—perpetrated, as he puts it, for "Power. Money. Control."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So Ventura dispatches his team of expert investigators to uncover the truth. These super sleuths fail to locate the thousands of scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or other preeminent institutions who have spent years studying the phenomenon of planetary warming. Instead, they visit three scientists suggested by Sheppard. </font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One of Ventura's hard-hitting investigators—June Sarpong, formerly a reporter on a British youth entertainment show—travels by what appears to be a passenger ferry to an undisclosed location to meet Dr. X, a scientist who is "hiding for his life." June frets that someone is following her (presumably someone other than Ventura's camera crew). In order to protect Dr. X from the climate change mafia, he is never named and nor are his credentials revealed. Sitting in deep shadow, he reveals that while he believes the planet is warming, the culprit isn't carbon dioxide. It's the sun. "There's absolutely no question the sun is virtually ignored by the authorities," he says.</font>

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<p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"If global warming isn't man-made, why are they telling us it is?" asks June. "Because they're using it as a vehicle for political control," Dr. X replies. "Control every aspect of people's lives, the number of children you can have, the number of people on the planet, where they live, what they can drive. Everything."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other interviewees include <a href="http://motherjones.com/environment/2009/12/dirty-dozen-climate-change-denial-10-lord-christopher-monckton">Lord Christopher <span style=" background-color: #FFF200;">Monckton</span></a><span style=" background-color: #FFF200;"> </span><span class="print-footnote"><span style=" background-color: #FFF200;">[5]</span></span><span style=" background-color: #FFF200;">, perhaps the wackiest and best-known climate skeptic, and Richard Lindzen</span>, an MIT atmospheric physicist and contrarian extraordinaire who claims, <a href="http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2882">falsely,</a> <span class="print-footnote">[6]</span> that the global temperature has "stopped increasing." (The show doesn't mention that in the 1990s Lindzen <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/08/30/mits_inconvenient_scientist/">accepted at least $10,000</a> <span class="print-footnote">[7]</span> from fossil-fuel industries to dispute the existence of climate change as an expert witness before Congress and industry-sponsored events.) Ventura's team also solicits the opinion of a "conspiracy expert"— who turns out to be <b>Alex Jones,</b> chief 9/11 conspiracy theorist, radio host, and head of <a href="http://www.infowars.com/">InfoWars.com</a> <span class="print-footnote">[8]</span>, the web hub for the tinfoil hat club.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The tough questions are reserved for Benjamin Santer, a climate scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Sarpong grills Santer about Monckton's allegations that he "cooked the books" on climate change in United Nations' reports. "Lord Monckton, to my knowledge was not part of the process," Santer points out. "I was." The investigators also grill Amit Chaterjee, CEO of carbon-monitoring software firm Hara. As Sarpong presses him for answers about his relationship with Al Gore (a partner in the venture capital group Kleiner Perkins, which backed Chaterjee's start-up) and the sinister business of carbon reduction, Ventura bursts into the room, demanding answers about Gore's motives. "If this is a war on the environment, there are going to be profiteers," he says.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura ultimately decides that Al Gore is not really "trying to control the world." "I know Al Gore," he says. "I don't think he’s out to do that." Instead, Ventura reveals, "the hunt leads to one man": Sir Maurice Strong, the former executive director of the United Nations Environment Program and, according to Ventura, the "wizard behind the curtain" on climate change. Wait, make that two men: Ventura also sees a culprit in Edmond de Rothschild, the billionaire banker who <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4292138/Edmund-de-Rothschild-Obituary.html">died earlier this year</a> <span class="print-footnote">[9]</span>. These powerful figures are perpetuating a massive lie in order to profit from carbon trading, Ventura and his sources allege.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ventura's team is never able to actually talk to Strong, despite a few more secret meetings in warehouses and a trip to China, where Strong now lives. However, one of Ventura's investigators reports via webcam that he has concluded that "Strong's a double agent, pretending to be an environmentalist, but really he's been working as an adviser to the Chinese government, and helping them make money off global warming." As with most of the allegations in the show, no evidence is given to support this claim. <b>And it's safe to say that Ventura isn't exactly skeptical when presented with outlandish theories; in the pilot episode he insinuates that the government may have caused Hurricane Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami with a weather-controlling "death ray."</b></font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In his final summation, Ventura doesn't actually say whether or not he thinks that climate change is real and caused by mankind. "I'm no scientist. The conspiracy theory here is a scare tactic to control people, make billions, even trillions in profit," he says, stone-faced. "Al Gore, you’ve been a real inspiration. But a lot of other people who preach the global warming gospel aren’t out to save the world. They’re out to run it."</font></p>

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<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">rothchild</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As a battery-captain in the 77th Highland Field Regiment (RA), de Rothschild went to North Africa with 4 Division, in the First Army. He saw action at Oued Zarga, Banana Ridge and Peter's Corner. At Cap Bon, after the Allied rout of Axis forces, he had to find supplies to feed 10,000 PoWs.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In early 1944 the regiment sailed to Italy, and took part in the battles of Monte Cassino. Slightly wounded, de Rothschild declined to be treated at a First Aid post when he found that it was full of more urgent cases; as he walked away, the station was wiped out by a mortar.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some months later, near Udine, he witnessed the handing over of Cossack soldiers to the Soviet army. They had to cross a humpbacked bridge to reach the Soviet sector, and he heard them being shot as they reached the other side.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By now a major in the newly-formed Jewish Infantry Brigade, de Rothschild drove up through Austria and Germany in a truck with the Star of David painted on its side, a cause of bewilderment and unease to the Germans. At Mannheim, starving Jews in concentration-camp garb came up to him out of the crowd.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He ended the war at Venlo, in Holland, guarding a huge supply dump and supervising minefield-clearance by German PoWs. He ensured that the Germans walked well ahead of his own men during the operations....</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">From 1952, de Rothschild's chief preoccupation was with what was then the most costly project ever undertaken by private enterprise: the development of the vast hydroelectric potential of the Hamilton (later Churchill) Falls in Labrador. Rothschilds led the consortium, and de Rothschild crossed the Atlantic more than 400 times over the 20 years the project took to complete.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Like his philanthropic grandfather Leopold (once described as "an angel with a revenue"), Eddy de Rothschild took a genuine, practical interest in the welfare of his staff at New Court. For many years he gave an annual garden party for the pensioners at Exbury, at the height of the rhododendron flowering season in May.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He also worked hard for charitable causes, in particular the Queen's Nursing Institute, of which he was a trustee, the Not Forgotten Association, and the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, of which he was for many years president. He was a vice-president of the Council of Christians and Jews. He was a man of irrepressible optimism and good nature and saw only the best in others. He was trusting and generous to a fault.</font></p>

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