Jesse Ventura Has a Message for Martin Shkreli and Donald Trump
Two places in society should not be run by corporate-minded individuals: health care and government. The for-profit model fails to provide proper services or fairness, says the former Minnesota governor.
04 February, 2016
Videos
As former governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura knows first-hand what government is capable of doing and what services it needs to provide so that a base level of fairness is maintained in society. He sharply disagrees with those who say government should be run with the efficiency of a for-profit business. Likewise, people's health should not be determined by pharmaceutical industries and their grossly compensated presidents and CEOs. "Everybody in this country deserves the same health care that congressmen get," he says. The freer a company is to operate in all sectors of society, the closer that society gets to living in a state of anarchy, says Ventura.
Jesse Ventura: Trump Has Taken the Exact Wrong Lessons from His Supposed Icon
Jesse Ventura and Donald Trump were astute political observers during the 1980s. But Trump has taken the wrong lessons from history, says the former governor of Minnesota.
14 January, 2016
Videos
The temptation is to dismiss Donald Trump as being too dumb to win the presidency. But simple-minded isn't the same thing as unintelligent, says former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. Trump's strategy for success is to build up fear and mock his opponents with a display of utter vulgarity. It's the kind of strategy you might see in a professional wrestling match. But this behavior has nothing to do with the politicians that conservative voters count among their icons — notably, Ronald Reagan.
Jesse Ventura Doesn't Pull Punches: Here's His Unconventional Solution to Domestic Terror
The former Minnesota governor is known for frank assessments. Here he discusses arriving at a pretty unique way of preventing further violent tragedies on American soil.
08 December, 2015
Videos
The popular saying goes "guns don't kill people, people kill people." It's an adage former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura believes in, and the basis of his argument in this Big Think interview. Ventura is of the opinion that taking guns away from law-abiding citizens is the wrong approach for preventing mass violence. He also wonders whether more good guys with guns could stop bad guys with guns before they fulfill their murderous objectives.
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Jesse Ventura: How About a MAXIMUM Wage?
How much income is too much? The former Minnesota governor rallies for the living wage and against the greed at the core of income inequality.
16 October, 2015
Technology & Innovation
At what point does making a ton of money prove to be detrimental to the rest of society? How much income is too much? Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura rallies for the living wage in this video while also sounding off on the greed at the core of income inequality.
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Former Governor of Minnesota
Jesse Ventura is an American former professional wrestler, actor, political commentator, author, naval veteran, and politician who served as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was the first and only member of the Reform Party to win a major government position, but later joined the Independence Party of Minnesota.
Ventura was a U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team member during the time of the Vietnam War. After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career from 1975 to 1986, taking the ring name Jesse "The Body" Ventura. He had a long tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as a performer and color commentator, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Near the end of his wrestling career, Ventura started acting, appearing in films such as Predator and The Running Man.
Ventura first entered politics as Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, from 1991 to 1995. Four years after his mayoral term ended, Ventura was the Reform Party candidate in the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual ads that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". Ventura's campaign was unexpectedly successful, with him narrowly defeating both the Democratic and Republican candidates. The highest elected official to ever win an election on a Reform Party ticket, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office amid internal fights for control over the party.
As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's property tax as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives taken under Ventura included construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, and cuts in income taxes. Ventura left office in 2003, deciding not to run for re-election. After leaving office, Ventura became a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2004. He has since also hosted a number of television shows and has written several political books. Ventura remains politically active and currently hosts a show on Ora TV and on RT called Off the Grid.
Ventura is the author of several books including American Conspiracies, which was recently released in its second edition.
