The "Tiger King" has joined the GQP's three-ring circus with a message that he is running for president — from behind bars, of course.
The convicted felon, who is serving a 21-year sentence for plotting to kill rival Carole Basin (along with other charges), said in his announcement that although he's in Federal prison, he's serious about his 2024 presidential campaign. And he signed his message not as Joe Maldonado-Passage, but simply by his nickname, Joe Exotic.
Yes, I know I am in Federal Prison and you might think this is a joke but it's not. It is my Constitutional right to do this even from here.
So put aside that I am gay, that I am in prison for now, that I used drugs in the past, that I had more then one boyfriend at once and that Carole hates my guts. This all has not a thing to do with me being able to be your voice. The best thing you have going for supporting me is that I am used to fighting my whole life just to get by. I am broke, they have taken everything I ever worked for away, and it's time we take this country back.
I don't give a damn what color you are, where you came from, who you sleep with, if you have done drugs in your past, or if you have made a mistake and ended up in jail or put there because someone lied about you, It is time we all put the past in the past and move this campaign forward and scare the hell out of these people because you and I want some answers
To back up his message, the former zookeeper-turned-celebrity felon also offers this video on his campaign website, in which he says, in part, "First of all, I'm as gay as a three-dollar bill. Second of all, I've had some of the kinkiest sex you've ever seen. Third of all, when I was young, you're damn right I tried drugs. … I'm broke as fuck, I know nothing about politics, but I can goddamn guarantee you, I listen to the people's voices."
He's got the buffoonery of Donald Trump, the intelligence of Nikki Haley, and the cruelty of Ron DeSantis, all rolled up into one MAGA candidate. What a great deal — he'll fit right in.
Here's another, simpler message for 2024 that Mr. Exotic posted on Monday, before he went official:
