This is not a joke. Deez Nuts is running for president, as we all learned yesterday. And now we know who he is.
Deez Nuts went viral on Wednesday when Public Policy Polling published results from a North Carolina poll. In a poll of over 950 voters, 9 percent said they would rather vote for Deez Nuts than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Six percent of those polled even have a favorable view of the candidate.
But who was this candidate? An Internet troll? A prank by someone at PPP? No, it turns out that Deez Nuts is the name of a real candidate who filed a statement with the Federal Election Commission. He is among 586 people who have told the commission that he is running for president.
According to Mr. Nuts’ statement, he is from Wallingford, Iowa. Rolling Stone also found a website called DeezNutsForPresident.yolasite.com. There, Nuts lists the parties that he is considering running for, including the American Populist Party, the Marijuana Party and (seriously) the Rent Is Too Damn High Party.
Mr. Nuts told Rolling Stone via email that his real name is Bradley Olson and is a sophomore in high school. That means he’s technically not eligible for the Oval Office for another two decades, but the FEC still accepted his candidacy. His father, Mark Olson, confirmed on Twitter that his son is only 15 and running for president.
Let’s hope that when Bradley can really run for President, he still goes by the name “Deez Nuts.”