Deez Nuts was a satirical presidential candidate portrayed by Brady C. Olson who ran for president of the United States in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. On July 26, 2015, Olson—then 15 years of age, and a resident of Wallingford, Iowa—filed a statement of Deez Nuts's presidential candidacy with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

. In polls conducted by

Public Policy Polling Public Policy Polling (PPP) is an American polling firm affiliated with the Democratic Party. Founded in 2001 by businessman Dean Debnam, the firm is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Debnam died in 2024. Tom Jensen serves as the firm's directo ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in mid-August 2015, Deez Nuts polled at eight, eight, and nine percent, respectively, garnering media attention. On August 19, 2015, ''

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'' revealed that Deez Nuts was actually Olson. In an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Olson said that he jokingly created the Deez Nuts candidacy "half-trying to break the two-party system" and half out of frustration with the leading candidates, choosing the pseudonym based on the ''bofa'' meme. Olson endorsed Vermont Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

for the Democratic nomination and Ohio Governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

for the Republican nomination. Olson has expressed

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

views. According to Section 1 of

Article Two of the United States Constitution Article Two of the United States Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government, which carries out and enforces federal laws. Article Two vests the power of the executive branch in the office of the President of the Un ...

, Olson did not meet the minimum age requirement (35 years) to serve as president if elected. Nuts' bid for the presidency drew attention to other questionable candidates who had filed to run for office.Kaplan, Rebecca (July 28, 2015)
Deez Nuts is running for president
, ''

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''Fang, Marina (August 4, 2015)
'Deez Nuts' And 'Sydneys Voluptuous Buttocks' Are Running For President, Because Why Not
, ''

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''Fuller, Jaime (August 19, 2015)
Poll Numbers Improving for 15-Year-Old Presidential Candidate 'Deez Nuts'
, '' New York'' Analyst Jim Williams of Public Policy Polling opined that because of a fringe element of the population with a penchant for

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

candidates, "you could call he third party candidateanything, and they would get their 7% or 8%". On October 11, 2015, Deez Nuts announced on Facebook that he intended to run for

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

. Nuts cited the scarcity of candidates for the position as well as his alleged eligibility for it. A poll taken in Texas in mid-August 2016 showed Nuts receiving 3% support for the House speakership; this figure exceeded the amount of support received by Green Party presidential candidate

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

and the deceased gorilla Harambe, another Internet phenomenon.

Campaign policy positions

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'' reported that Nuts supported the Iran nuclear deal and a balanced budget. '' The Gazette'' said his campaign website indicated support for deporting undocumented adults, cutting subsidies for oil companies, and offering corporate tax incentives to create US-based jobs.

Endorsements and reactions

Deez Nuts was endorsed by hip-hop artist

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...

, who had created the original skit "Deeez Nuuuts" as part of a song on

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

's album ''

The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records along with Interscope Records and distributed by Priority Records. The recording ses ...

''. Rapper

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

also endorsed Deez Nuts. Music producer

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

said "If I got to decide between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton ... I'm definitely voting for Deez Nuts." Television host Conan O'Brian stopped short of an endorsement, saying, "Before we completely write him off as a joke, why don't we at least find out more about the foreign policy experience of Deez Nuts?"

Polling

Nationwide

Statewide

North Carolina

Texas

Utah

Aftermath

In August 2016, the

announced its intent to punish future satirical candidates for president for filing false documents with a federal agency. Olson later enrolled at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

to study finance. In 2019, he told '' The Gazette'', "I don't foresee ever running again".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuts, Deez Living people People from Emmet County, Iowa 2015 in American politics American libertarians Iowa independents Practical jokes Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election 21st-century American politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Novelty candidates