I’m sure many of you remember Jesse Ventura, the wrestling celebrity who shocked the nation by being elected governor of Minnesota as an independent candidate (1999-2003). I knew of him then and, after he decided not to run for a second term, we met by chance in Mexico’s Baja California, where our families had second homes about five miles apart along a remote stretch of the Sea of Cortez. We ended up working together on his memoir (Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me!) and then four more books, several of which became best-sellers.
We’d stayed in touch periodically in recent years. I knew Jesse had returned to the wrestling world as a WWE commentator, but he seemed to have abandoned politics as far as public appearances. Then came the killing in his hometown of Minneapolis of an innocent woman by an ICE agent, followed by a Border Patrol unit tackling several individuals and deploying “chemical irritants” as students and teachers staged a walk-out protest outside Roosevelt High School on January 8.
They chose the wrong place to try and put people on ice. Roosevelt was Jesse Ventura’s high school and there he was on TV, doing a Fox news interview in front of his alma mater. Wearing a black SEAL team hat and sunglasses, sporting long hair and a white beard, Jesse told the reporter: “I just came here today to show my support as a graduate of Roosevelt and tell them how proud I was of what they did, of keeping ICE off of this campus.”
He went on to say: “We don’t need federal troops coming in here without warrants. Some people have said this undermines local law enforcement, Well, it undermines the entire Constitution. The military cannot be turned loose unless it’s a national emergency. They’re going to tell me this is a national emergency?!”
Asked if “they” was a reference to President Trump, he interrupted. “Who was that? You mean the draft-dodging coward? I don’t call him by name…..I spent 17 months in Southeast Asia while the draft dodger was playing golf.”
It was vintage Ventura. And he hinted about something he might be inclined to change his mind about - another run for public office. “Maybe it’s time for Jesse,” he mused to the reporter. “I only did one term. I’m owed a second.”
So I gave him a time-to-catch-up call. The governor was still outraged about the invasion of his school “that released some type of tear gas spray on the grounds. They claim they didn’t, but I don’t believe a word these people say. Here’s my question: how is it they can use tear gas on our own people, yet it’s a war crime to do it to another country’s. Why is nobody in the media or the government asking that?”
I could hear Jesse take a deep breath before continuing. “If you look at the history of 1930s Germany, they’re following it to a T. What did Hitler tell the Germans? That crime is running rampant, we have to shore up our borders and stop ‘em from coming in. Marginalize one group of people, in his case the Jews.”
Some might call Jesse’s response simplistic, but both of the questions he raised certainly provided food for thought.
When I met him two decades ago in Mexico, he was driving a Hummer along the washboard roads. Now, back in Minnesota full-time, he's proud to say: “I drive three electric vehicles, they’re all hooked up in my garage. No gas anymore. Eight years ago I did my house up here totally solar. 9,700 square feet and had no electric bills all this time. A $35,000 initial investment has totally paid for itself. and I’m in the black.”
I brought up a story I’d recently seen online that appeared in the Las Vegas Sun, written originally by a columnist for the New York Daily News. It was headlined: “Time for Jesse Ventura to get back in the ring.” The op-ed meant the political ring and ended with the words: “Run, Jesse, run.”
Expressing amazement this actually came out in Las Vegas and New York papers, Jesse couldn’t help but muse some more. “I’ve thought about it,” he told me, “because Minnesota is a prime place to rewin the governorship. The field is weak. Tim Walz is retiring, so it’s wide open. A third party guy should never take on an incumbent but he’ll be gone. Right now on the Republican side, you’ve got an idiot pillow salesman and with the Dems I’m told Senator [Amy] Klobuchar is coming home to bestow her leadership on us as governor. The way to combat her is simple. She hasn’t held a private sector job in her life - so stay in Washington where you are and fight the guy.” Meaning, it seemed obvious, the current president who he wouldn’t deem to name.
Jesse paused again but only for a moment. “If it was ten years ago, absolutely I would run. The only thing holding me back now is my age of 74. From four years experience, I know how much energy it takes to do the job and I don’t know if I got it. But then again, I’m five years younger than the president. The good thing about the governorship is, you don’t have to file until June. You can say all your b-s until the first week of June. So….we’ll see.”
You heard it here first. What do you think, readers?
He is the right man for the moment.
We need Jessie back