What kind of requirements do you have to meet in order to announce you are running for President? Seems like “not being in prison” would be a pretty fair line to draw, but apparently jail time isn’t too much to overcome for the “Tiger King.”
Joe Exotic, who’s actual name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, announced to the world that he would be throwing his name in the hat for a 2024 Presidential Election…while serving a 21-year federal sentence for attempted murder.
Go ahead and visit the “2007 Windows Vista” style website of joeexotic2024.com and discover the great American message he has left for the world.
There’s not much to the website, but at the same time there is so much to take in. Exotic has a picture of himself (prior to his prison days) at the top of the page, then a very long message appearing to convince people of the validity and basis of his 2024 Presidential Run. Oh, and of course, it is all brought together by the backdrop of the American Flag.
He wastes no time getting into it, with the first line of the excerpt reading:
“Thank you for your interest in my Campaign. 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 much to unpack in just those three short sentences.
First off, apparently just clicking into the website means you are interested in the campaign. I will say that I am “interested,” but in a more “comical” way than I am “politically.”
Secondly, you have to applaud Exotic’s self-awareness by saying “Yes, I know I am in Federal Prison” as if it was a ’90s cult comedy where the main character is in trouble, it cuts to a freeze frame, and then a voiceover says “I bet you are wondering how I got here.”
Last, he taps into what all American voters love: hearing about their constitutional rights. Joe Exotic has had time in prison to read up on a couple of constitutional law books that are laying around.
I wish I had the time to do a rhetorical analysis on the whole piece because its riddled with “federal government” this and “Carole Baskin” that. Instead, I’ll just have to skip to the end, where Exotic states:
“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. And yes, I have people in mind that can help run this country a hell of a lot better then they are now, so lets cross that bridge when we get to it.”
I loved that he threw in “and that Carole hates my guts” like that is just as bad as the other things he rattled off.
Give Joe Exotic credit, he’s fired up and he’s passionate. Should the “Tiger King” become the “Tiger President?” No, probably not. We all saw how he ran his Big Cat Sanctuary in the documentary series, but maybe running an entire country is easier?
On the other hand, he might’ve done more for this country during the government lockdown than anyone else. His craziness in the Netflix series helped all of us keep our sanity.
Only thing that would make this whole situation even funnier is if Carole Baskin announced she was going to run against him. It would be terrible for the country, but great for content.
“Joe Exotic” is currently trending on Twitter thanks to the news and posts such as these:
P.S: Learning his actual name was pretty shocking news as well… Joseph Maldonado-Passage.
Maldonado Passage sounds like a peaceful retirement home community in San Diego, does it not?
