Tiger King’s Joe Exotic calls on Donald Trump from prison to join his presidential campaign

Tiger King star and convicted felon Joe Exotic has formally asked former President Donald Trump to join his upcoming 2024 presidential campaign.

The former zoo owner and TV personality, who is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence for 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder, took to Twitter on 8 June to ask the 45th president of the US to be his running mate.

His plea comes on the same day that Donald Trump was indicted for a second time on seven charges relating to the storage of classified national defense documents dating from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.

“Former President Trump,” Exotic’s message began. “Now that you have been indicted – welcome to the party. Now will you help me #FixThisS***.”

The tweet also included the hashtag #JoeExotic2024 and a link to his campaign website JoeExotic2024.com.

Exotic – real name Joseph Allen Maldonado – rose to fame through Netflix’s 2020 true-crime documentary Tiger King, which focused on his rivalry with wildlife activist Carol Baskin. In 2019, he was found guilty on two counts of hiring hitmen to murder Baskin, along with eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by forging wildlife records, and nine more counts for killing five tigers and selling tigers across state lines.

He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, which was later reduced to 21 years during a 2022 re-sentencing trial.

Joe Exotic announced his candidacy for the 2024 US Presidential Election in March 2023. “It’s official! I am now a candidate for President of the United States in 2024,” he shared on social media at the time. He clarified: “Yes, I know I am in federal prison and you might think this is a joke but it’s not. It is my Constitutional right to do this even from here.”

Exotic also accused the Department of Justice of “perjury” for his imprisonment, adding: “The only thing I did was put five very old, crippled tigers to sleep in the most humane way possible and it was approved by my USDA Inspector, so it’s time to get over it.

“Peta [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] kills thousands of animals a year. Carole has killed over 226 big cats and most of you eat some kind of animal everyday, so it’s time to move past this issue.”

Much like Trump, Exotic has the legal right to run for President of the United States. There are no restrictions in the US Constitution preventing anyone indicted or convicted of a crime, or currently serving prison time, from running for or winning the presidency.

The former president announced on Truth Social on 8 June that he has been indicted by a grand jury over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. In August 2022, the Department of Justice found a cache of secret papers from his time as president at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Last March, a Manhattan grand jury also voted to indict Trump on criminal charges over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election.

President Donald Trump will appear in federal court in Miami on 13 June, his lawyer has since confirmed. Should he be convicted, he could face a maximum combined sentence of 100 years in prison.