Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura wants Donald Trump to win the Republican nomination and consider nominating him as his 2016 vice presidential running mate.
The former professional wrestler and Navy SEAL demolitionist told CBS affiliate WCCO that the country "needs to be shaken to its very core" and that "Donald Trump is doing that."
"If Donald Trump were to ask me to be his running mate, I would give it very serious consideration because anything to break up the status quo of this country," Ventura said, adding that he thinks having his name on the ticket would bring in more votes.
"I don't know if it's in the cards or not, but it just went through my head, 'Boy would that ever get the Republicans angry,'" Ventura added.
In 1998, Ventura became the first and only member of the Reform Party to win a major government position, beating out his Democratic and Republican rivals and serving a single term as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. A year into his term, he disavowed party ties over internal disputes.
Prior to that, in 1991, Ventura defeated a 25-year incumbent politician and served as mayor of Brooklyn Park until 1995.
He has since become one of the most outspoken critics of U.S. government policy and the two-party system, likening the Democratic and Republican parties to organized crime gangs. He supported Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2012, and in 2013, Ventura was mulling over a presidential run with radio shock jock Howard Stern.
Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul with little formal political experience, has stumped pundits with his consistent lead in the polls despite a number of controversial comments and feuds, indicating that Americans really do want an outsider to shake things up.
Ventura said he thinks the fact that Trump is not a career politician, along with his ability to speak freely, is what attracts voters to him.
"My advice to him at this point would be, 'Don't you dare back down, cause if you back down now, you're finished,'" Ventura said. "They tell you defense wins Super Bowls, but that's not presidential. Offense can win the presidency."
Ventura said the two have been friends for some 25 years now. Back in 2000, Trump attended a fundraiser event for then-Governor Ventura in the Twin Cities, which is when Ventura first announced his support for a Trump presidential bid.
"I see Donald Trump very much, and Bernie Sanders, too, campaigning like I did when I won the governorship of the state of Minnesota. Speaking from the heart, speaking with no notes and just telling people what you feel and the truth, and if you do that, you have a damn good chance to win," he said.
Ventura isn't too fond of the rest of the Republican field and released a video last month critiquing various policy positions held by many of the candidates, as HNGN reported. Check out the video below.
