Joseph Allen Maldonado, better known as Joe Exotic, the star of the popular reality TV show, has expressed his desire to secure a position in Donald Trump's administration, should the former President triumph in the upcoming election.
Trump, the Republican nominee, is set to compete against Vice President Kamala Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he announced his decision not to seek reelection.
According to Newsweek, Exotic, who is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence for multiple charges, including two counts of hiring hit men to murder wildlife activist and co-star Carole Baskin, has voiced his hope for a pardon from Trump if the former President's reelection bid is successful. Exotic, a critic of Harris, envisions himself as a part of Trump's cabinet, specifically as the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
In a phone conversation from FMC Fort Worth prison in Texas, Exotic stated, "I want to be the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. I can save this country several million dollars because it's over regulated. We're regulating animals that don't even belong in America. And the Endangered Species Act is something that I specialize in. I can almost recite it, word for word."
Exotic believes that the United States is unnecessarily spending billions of dollars to protect animals that are already safeguarded by international treaties. He argues that this is a form of double jeopardy, as it involves protecting the same animal with more taxpayer money.
Despite his past criticism of Trump, Exotic has publicly declared his support for the former President since suspending his own political campaign. He initially announced his intention to run for President as a Libertarian, later switching to the Democratic Party, only to withdraw his candidacy and endorse Trump.
Exotic insists that his public support for Trump should be seen as evidence of his sincerity in seeking a role in his administration. He said, "They know that I support him. They know that I don't agree with everything, which nobody is going to agree with everything. And they know that I would like to be in his cabinet as the director of the Federal Fish and Wildlife [Service]."
However, Exotic's aspirations hinge on receiving a presidential pardon, something he claims was within his grasp until the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. He alleges that his team used "big buses and airplanes and everything else" to catch Trump's attention in 2020, but he was isolated from the outside world while serving his sentence.
Exotic stated, "I was in solitary confinement for those two years and eight months. I had no contact with the outside world and none of that bulls*** of driving to Washington with a big old bus that's painted, 'Please Pardon Joe Exotic.'"
Despite the challenges, Exotic remains hopeful for a pardon, especially given Trump's own legal troubles. In May, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of attempting to illegally manipulate the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, which he won, by falsifying business records to conceal potentially damaging "hush money" payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Exotic, who has referred to himself as a "political prisoner," doubts that Biden would ever pardon him, attributing this to Harris' involvement in the Big Cat Public Safety Act. This legislation, signed into law in December 2022, prohibits the private possession or breeding of big cats for exotic pets or commercial purposes and places new restrictions on the breeding, possession, and use of certain big cat species within the United States.
Despite his current predicament, Exotic remains hopeful for a future in politics, specifically within Trump's administration. His aspirations, however, are contingent on a presidential pardon, a prospect that remains uncertain. As the political landscape continues to evolve, Exotic's fate hangs in the balance, his dreams of political influence tethered to the outcome of the upcoming election.
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