Jesse Ventura says he just might like to land the No. 2 spot on a Donald Trump presidential ticket
— and would even consider registering as a Republican to do it.
The one-time wrestler and former Minnesota governor, on his
"Off the Grid Show" on Wednesday, told ex-Trump adviser Roger Stone the real estate billionaire is the best choice for the GOP.
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"I shocked my staff today," Ventura said. "I came in and said, 'You know what, as far as the Republicans are concerned, I said I hope Trump wins.' Now I’m not a Republican — I’m not a Democrat either — so ultimately, I’d like somebody else to win overall."
Stone said though he left the Trump campaign, he still supports the brash businessman
— and for some of the same reasons Ventura vaulted into politics.
"People are ready for blunt talk," Stone said. "They don’t want these politicians that are scripted or that are handled, or practiced, or coached. This is why you were successful in Minnesota."
When Ventura asked Stone who he thought should be Trump’s VP, Stone suggested retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson because he "doesn't come from the world of politics" like "some former governor or senator."
"That throws me out of the equation because I'm a former governor?" Ventura pressed.
"Do you think Donald would ever think of asking me?"
Stone noted the independent Ventura "would have to register as a Republican … and I know you wouldn't do that."
"Well," Ventura responded, "it would depend if it were Donald, because he doesn’t look like a registered Republican to me either."
Later in the interview, after Stone talked about an upcoming book he's publishing on Jeb Bush, Ventura related he'd once told President Bill Clinton the embargo against Cuba should be lifted, confiding, "I hate to feel like a criminal every time I go to smoke a Cuban cigar."
Ventura said Bush came up to me later and told him to "keep it down, I’ll send you all the Cuban cigars you need."
Ten days later, Ventura said, "I got a box of them delivered to the Capitol building in Minnesota. I had to laugh."
Stone curtly responded the story exemplified "elite deviance."
"There’s a group in this country that is so wealthy and so powerful and so politically connected that the laws don’t apply to them," Stone said.
But Ventura says he thinks Bush "wanted me to quiet up about normal negotiations with Cuba because he wanted all those Cuban votes in Southern Florida but I had to laugh in the end, because I thought, 'Does Jeb really believe a box of cigars could buy me off?'"
The Bush campaign responded to the tale, telling McClatchy news service the cigars weren't Cuban, but Dominican.
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