Jesse Ventura: I am not running for president

I am stating unequivocally that I am not running for president.

I would love to run against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  I’d love to debate them, but, just in case I would win, I don’t want to do the job. And if you don’t want to do the job, you have no business running for president.  That’s how I feel.

I know this may sound off-message for me, but I’m going to say it anyway: I believe that, after watching this whole election, the country is FUBAR.

Since none of these candidates served in the military, I’ll explain what that term means.It means: Fucked Up Beyond All Repair.  

In other words, it’s gone.  You can’t fix it. And I’m starting to believe that when I watch what’s happening here.  I’ve decided that I’m going to do my part, whatever little it can be, to try and keep us vigilant.

Some of you say, "Run on the Libertarian ticket."  But the Libertarians have already picked Gary Johnson.  I wouldn’t want to split-up that party as Johnson already has strong support.  When I looked in the mirror, I thought, “I’d love to do the campaign this summer.”  But then, the fear that I might win started sinking in. I just didn’t want to win, and you have to run to win.

I didn’t want to win because doing that job takes your freedom from you.  At 64 years old, I’m late enough in life that I just didn’t feel that I wanted my freedom taken from me for the next four to eight years.  It might not make sense to you, but it’s the sense that I came to.  Again, I simply don’t have it in my heart to do the job.  Besides, I’m too passive. This is a country based on war and, with the candidates we have in the two parties, it’ll continue to go down the path of war.

I wanted to put this out there officially, as people continue to ask me if I'm going to throw my name in the pool.  Let this end all speculation.  I will most probably give my support to Governor Gary Johnson if he secures the Libertarian nomination.  I do think this is the year of opportunity.  This is the year where these two parties could lose because both of their candidates are polling so negatively.  There’s still a chance the Democrats and Republicans will get beat.

There still is a chance.

-Jesse Ventura