Independent Presidential Candidate Going By The Name Of “Deez Nuts” Is Polling At 9 Percent
Meet ‘Deez Nuts,’ the Teen Presidential Candidate Punking America
Mr. Nuts appears to be a high school sophomore who will take his joke candidacy ‘as far as America wants to take it’
News broke this week that an independent presidential candidate going by the name of “Deez Nuts” is polling at 9 percent in the latest PPP poll from North Carolina — after posting similar numbers in PPP polls of Minnesota (8 percent) and Iowa (7 percent).
According to a Federal Elections Commission filing, Mr. Nuts hails from Wallingford, Iowa. An email address on the website deeznutsforpresident2016.yolasite.com led Rolling Stone to a person who purports to be the suddenly famous Mr. Nuts, and answered our questions in writing. (He declined to speak to Rolling Stone over the phone.)
If the candidate’s platform — for balanced budgets, against illegal immigration, for gay marriage, against oil subsidies — seems a little thin, well … cut the kid some slack, America.
It turns out Deez Nuts, who says his real name is Brady Olson, is about to enter his sophomore year in high school, and has a full two decades to prepare for a legal run for president of the United States.
A Mark C. Olson, who is listed at the Wallingford address on Deez Nuts’s FEC filing, said via Twitter that Deez Nuts is “my 15 year old son.”
How old are you?
15, so no day job, no kids, no marriage
You’re 15?! That’s amazing. So, what — you’re about to be a high school sophomore?
Entering my sophomore year, also taking online college classes through a nearby college.
Do your parents know? Are they supportive?
My parents know and they gave me the green light.
What’s your legal name?
Brady C. Olson
I’m assuming you take your political name from the Bofa meme?
Yeah
Is that some kind statement on our two-party political system?
Half trying to break the two-party system, half frustration with the front-runners
Why did you decide to run for president?
Because I really didn’t want to see Clinton, Bush, or Trump in the White House, so I guess I’m just trying to put up a fight.
How would you describe your political orientation? have you ever been a registered Democrat or Republican?
I’m fifteen, so I haven’t been registered yet. I side more with the Libertarian Party.
What do you think qualifies you to be president?
The fact that if I can fill out a form so vague that it doesn’t include your age, or the fact that all get accepted even if they’re only partially filled, anyone can run.
Do you really live in Iowa? I Google mapped the address on your FEC registration; it looks like a house-less spit of land between two lakes.
That is where I live, but Wallingford is actually 8 miles to the west. I live in between 4 towns- Estherville, Wallingford, Graettinger, Ringsted
Did Public Policy Polling start using your name in polls at your request — or did they start doing that independently?
I asked, but I wanted it to be against low-pollers, like me vs Lindsey Graham vs Lincoln Chafee, to see how desperate voters would be in that situation
Why should Americans support you, rather than Donald Trump?
Because I’m young and I think I have fresher ideas because whatever decisions I make would have longer effects on me
If you could pose one question to Hillary Clinton, what would it be?
Why can’t you be more open and friendly like Bernie?
If you had to back another presidential candidate, who would it be?
Either Bernie Sanders(D-VT) or Gary Johnson(L-NM)
How far are you willing to take this practical joke?
As far as America wants to take it.
Rolling Stone
