Doug Stanhope Becomes Next Comedian To Endorse Andrew Yang
Comedian Doug Stanhope endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang on Twitter early Thursday morning, making him one in a long line of others in his industry who have thrown their support behind the universal basic income (UBI) advocate.
“It is official! He followed me so therefore…I am wholeheartedly behind #YangGang2020 @AndrewYang!” Stanhope tweeted. “If he is not the next President – and the first candidate to ever visit #Bisbee, AZ, – then I will die a lonely man.”
The Venture for America founder thanked the comic for his endorsement and said he hoped to get to Arizona sometime soon.
“I’ll take care of AZ for you. You take care of those other nitwit states. We’ll meet up at the White House when we make it an Airbnb,” Stanhope joked.
Stanhope — who The Guardian reported ran for president once just for a laugh — is known for his honest and no-holds-barred humor that often goes to dark places. Per The Interrobang, he is the two-time winner of Time Out New York’s Best Comedy Performance of the Year. He also has three books, and two — Digging Up Mother: A Love Story and This Is Not Fame: A “From What I Re-Memoir” — made the latter outlet’s top ten books of the year and were voted by readers as their first choice each time.
During his presidential bid, Stanhope tried to get on the ticket for the Libertarian Party.
“But people were either amused or horrified at the idea of me representing their party,” he said.
After his 2008 presidential bid didn’t work, Stanhope supported Ron Paul. When Paul was knocked out of the race, he then switched his support to Barack Obama. The Guardian described him as “fiercely pro-choice and pro-drugs.”
Stanhope is also a frequent guest on fellow comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, which is the same platform that gave the Yang campaign its initial boost. His endorsement comes as Dave Chappelle has been traveling with Yang’s campaign to promote his platform, which centers around a UBI of $1,000 per month for every American.
Along with Chappelle and Stanhope, Yang has received support from comedians Norm Macdonald, The Eric Andre Show co-host Hannibal Buress, Joe Wong, and The Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng,
Morning Consult puts Yang at 8 percent in the early states of Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and New Hampshire ahead of Iowa’s caucuses on February 3. He also topped the Iowa straw poll among teens in the early state.
