This election cycle has seen some strange people register as potential presidential candidates.
With Donald Trump lacking a political background and yet gaining a large following, The State News decided to look at who else in popular culture or elsewhere has previously run for president or tried to run this cycle.
Vermin Supreme
Supreme is an activist and performance artist who is known for wearing a boot on his head. He tends to run for a variety of local, state and presidential elections.
Supreme campaigned for president in 2012 as a Democrat. He also registered as a candidate in the New Hampshire primary this year, but was not asked to return to the Democratic Presidential Candidates Forum.
During both campaigns, he promised every American a pony. He is also known for carrying around a large toothbrush and claimed if he were to be elected president, he would pass a law requiring people to brush their teeth.
Roseanne Barr
In 2012, Barr, an actress and comedian, ran as the presidential candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party.
The left wing party is affiliated with states including Hawaii, Florida and California.
During the Occupy Wall Street protests, Barr said any guilty Wall Street banker should be beheaded if they resisted to give up any income more than $100 million.
Joan Jett Blakk
Blakk, drag persona of actor Terence Smith, ran for president in 1992.
Her slogan was “Lick Bush in ‘92!” referring to George H. W. Bush. Blakk ran again in 1996 with a similar slogan named “Lick Slick Willie in ‘96!” referring to Bill Clinton.
Each campaign was a part of the Queer Nation party, an activist group formed by HIV/AIDS activists out of New York City.
Kanye West
During the 2015 MTV Music Video Awards, rapper and music producer West announced he is interested in running in the 2020 presidential cycle.
According an article from ABC News, President Obama offered him a few words of advice.
"First of all, you have to spend some time dealing with some strange characters who act like they're on a reality TV show. You gotta be cool with that," Obama said in the article.
Deez Nuts
“Deez Nuts” started as an Internet joke but made its way to national headlines for the 2016 presidential election.
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15-year-old Brady Olson said he started the joke to break the two-party system and to frustrate front-runners.
Deez Nuts polled at 7 percent in Iowa, 8 percent in Minnesota and 9 percent in North Carolina in 2015.
