*2016 Presidential Candidate Deez Nuts Is (Are?) Libertarian [Update: Deez Responds!]
Maybe this 15-year-old joke candidate should be taken more seriously.
Deez Nuts, a meme-turned independent presidential candidate polling at 8 percent in Iowa, aligns most closely with the Libertarian Party and has kind words for Gary Johnson and Bernie Sanders.
Mr. Nuts is actually a 15-year-old Iowan named Brady Olson who filled out an official filing statement and asked a polling firm to include his handle, "Deez Nuts," in their research. The strength of his candidacy—he's polling in high single-digits in several states—is a testament to the fact that early polling is meaningless.
Or is it a testament to the popularity of his libertarian-ish positions? He supports the Iran deal, gay marriage, and fiscal restraint, according to Rolling Stone:
If the candidate's platform — for balanced budgets, against illegal immigration, for gay marriage, against oil subsidies — seems a little thin, well … cut the kid some slack, America.
Rolling Stone also interviewed him:
I'm assuming you take your political name from the Bofa meme?
YeahIs that some kind statement on our two-party political system?
Half trying to break the two-party system, half frustration with the front-runnersWhy did you decide to run for president?
Because I really didn't want to see Clinton, Bush, or Trump in the White House, so I guess I'm just trying to put up a fight.How would you describe your political orientation? have you ever been a registered Democrat or Republican?
I'm fifteen, so I haven't been registered yet. I side more with the Libertarian Party. …If you had to back another presidential candidate, who would it be?
Either Bernie Sanders(D-VT) or Gary Johnson(L-NM)How far are you willing to take this practical joke?
As far as America wants to take it.
A North Carolina poll that pitted Deez Nuts against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had the kid pulling in 9 percent of the vote to Trump's 40 percent and Clinton's 38 percent, with 12 percent undecided. My sense is that voters still need time to get a feel for Deez Nuts.
Olson did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
[Updated at 4:20 p.m.] Olson answered Reason's email request for more information on his purported libertarianism. He sent the following message:
"If I had a voice in 2012, I would have endorsed Gary Johnson. For 2016, if people didn't vote for me, I would encourage them to vote for Johnson where I don't have ballot access or write in access. I side with the LP because, like me, they are generally socially left and fiscally right."
