WWE Hall of Famer & former Governor of Minnesota Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura recently sat down with Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC to talk politics and the U.S. presidential election. Voters will go to the polls this November to elect either Vice President Kamala Harris or Former President Donald Trump as the next President of the United States.
On Tim Walz
Tim Walz is the current Governor of Minnesota and the running mate of Harris. In the interview, Ventura recalled Walz seeking his advice following his first victory in the race to be governor.
“He called me and set up a being with me to pick my brain. No other Governor has ever done that, Republican or Democrat but Tim Walz did. And what that showed me, Tim Walz is the kind of guy who’s out for success and he will reach across the aisle.”
Ventura also spoke about JD Vance’s attacks on Walz, as the running mate of Trump has accused Walz of ‘stolen valor’ despite Walz’s twenty years as an officer in the U.S. Army. Ventura explained that after twenty years, an officer can retire when they want to. Ventura added that, as a former Marine, he knows what it means to show respect to those who have served and that Vance should behave like a Marine.
On Hulk Hogan Endorsing Donald Trump
At the Republican National Convention, Hulk Hogan publicly endorsed Donald Trump and called the former President his hero. Ventura chuckled to himself as Sharpton reminded him of Hogan’s endorsement and recalled Hogan’s attempts to block Ventura’s effort to form a union in pro wrestling.
“It doesn’t surprise me to see Hogan with the Republicans because Hogan’s as anti-union as you can get… It was Hulk Hogan who ratted me out to Vince McMahon and I was fired and lost my job.”
On Donald Trump
Years before he dominated the Republican Party, Trump was part of the ‘Reform Party’ after being recruited by Ventura himself. The WWE Hall of Famer said that Trump is not the same man who came to him years ago and believes the billionaire’s politics are solely based on what benefits himself.
“Donald Trump is for Donald Trump. And Donald Trump is going to do whatever it is that supports Donald Trump… He saw that he could take over the Republican Party so he changed his views. He want from pro-choice to no rights for women’s reproductive. He’s gone far right.”
Ventura added that Trump’s claims of being a Christian man, one that is echoed by many of his supporters, are hollow.
“He’s trying to say he’s now a religious person. Well to me, if you’re going to be a religious person, you have to live it. And Donald Trump hardly lives it…. I’m an agnostic athiest and I think that I’m more religious than he is.”
Ventura suggested that Republicans would have had a far harsher response if Barack Obama had had multiple affairs while they “embrace” Trump.
