Deez Nuts could give Donald Trump a run for his money in U.S. presidential race
Deez Nuts is polling at 9 per cent in North Carolina and 8 per cent in Iowa
Donald Trump may have 40 per cent of North Carolina supporters in his run for U.S. president in a recent poll, but it also indicates he's facing stiff competition from Deez Nuts.
Deez Nuts is an independent presidential candidate who rated at nine per cent in the southern U.S. state against Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Trump, in the poll released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling.
Deez Nuts is also an Iowa high school student named Brady Olson, and 20 years too young to legally run as president. His campaign began when he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission on July 26.
"I am a 15-year-old who filled out a form, had the campaign catch on fire, and am now putting up the best third-party numbers since Ross Perot," he told the Guardian in an email, with both facts confirmed by the newspaper.
Brady Olson's father, Mark Olson, also confirmed his identity through Twitter.
<a href="https://twitter.com/7im">@7im</a> No. It's my 15 year old son.
—@MarkOlsonfarms
Olson is a high school sophomore in Wallingford, and the son of a dental assistant and a farmer. He began his campaign after seeing that a Kentucky cat, Limberbutt McCubbins, was in the running.
"I saw the slop bucket that we call the GOP field, the one-woman show on the Democratic side, and the lack of any third-party candidate and thought, 'Man, Deez Nuts would be better than any of these guys,'" Olson said to the Guardian.
His Facebook page says Deez Nuts is pro-choice, for background checks on guns, and supports giving the government a spending limit.
"I'm young and I think I have fresher ideas because whatever decisions I make would have longer effects on me," he argued to the Rolling Stone.
Deez Nuts already has quite a few supporters, even if many of them are tongue in cheek. His campaign polled eight per cent in Iowa and seven per cent in Minnesota.
His Facebook account states that so far, he has been endorsed by actor Anson Mount, NFL wide receiver Torrey Smith, and an Australian band, also named Deez Nuts.
Others have piped up on Twitter that they would support a Deez Nuts presidency.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeezNuts?src=hash">#DeezNuts</a> for president❕❕❕
—@Hisflyyness
We fully support candidate <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeezNuts?src=hash">#DeezNuts</a> for the President Election!!! 😵😵😵😵😵😵😵😵📰📰📰📰📰📰📰📰📰📰 ➡️<a href="http://t.co/1aGhDp2GV7">http://t.co/1aGhDp2GV7</a> <a href="http://t.co/gPSLma3IEm">pic.twitter.com/gPSLma3IEm</a>
—@TrendCityShow
Sure, you laugh at Deez Nuts now, but when we millennials have irony-elected him President in 2016, it'll be a different story.
—@KrisKnigge
That support is hardly universal, however, as 81 per cent of those polled said they were "not sure" about Deez Nuts, while more women than men found him unfavourable.
The fact the 'Deez Nuts' has 9% support as a candidate showcases the power of the Internet & how millennials don't take elections seriously.
—@_Cannella
On the whole, however, the internet seems to be having a good time with the Deez Nuts campaign.
Are we ever going to put a face on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeezNuts?src=hash">#DeezNuts</a>? Wait... that doesn't sound right. <a href="http://t.co/UB3EbVGk4L">pic.twitter.com/UB3EbVGk4L</a>
—@MeredythTV
Ask not what Deez Nuts can do for you, ask what you can do for Deez Nuts <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeezNuts?src=hash">#DeezNuts</a> <a href="http://t.co/50fVsE7Bl6">pic.twitter.com/50fVsE7Bl6</a>
—@stefpresto
Correction: I am 11 years old and am now laughing through this video <a href="http://t.co/UV7JQYpdHl">http://t.co/UV7JQYpdHl</a> <a href="http://t.co/BcppQ8bKid">pic.twitter.com/BcppQ8bKid</a>
—@ThatMohamedOmar
As for his next steps, he's looking for a vice-president and a party nomination. He's considering running on behalf of the Rent is Too Damn High Party and the Marijuana Party, among others listed on his campaign site.
"It would also be great to find a VP, preferably McCubbins because the Nuts/McCubbins ticket sounds amazing," he said to the Daily Beast.
Nut/McCubbins will likely never make it to the ballot since a presidential candidate must be at least 35 years old to officially enter the race.
Public Policy Polling has a reputation for odd polls, such as when they polled Barack Obama against Josiah Bartlet from the West Wing and Frank Underwood from House of Cards. They also determined that God himself only has a 52 per cent approval rating.