Former N.Y. mayoral candidate McMillan speaks

Political activist and 2010 New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan spoke in Whig Hall on Thursday as the final guest in the Whig-Cliosophic Society’s Distinguished Speaker Series. McMillan, the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, discussed his party’s views and his campaigning platform for his planned 2012 presidential run.

“I want to talk about you being able to have a roof over your head, food on the table and money in your pocket,” McMillan said of his platform.

Though McMillan is a registered member of the Democratic Party, he announced in December of 2010 that he would be running in the Republican primaries, because “you guys love [President Obama].”

On Thursday, McMillan explained his now-famous statement on Revolution Radio that he was “coming after [Obama’s] black ass.”

“Barack Obama, president of the United States, head of the Democratic Party. Correct? And he is black. Correct? The Democratic Party logo is a donkey or an ass. Correct? When I say that I’m coming after Barack Obama’s black ass, what am I saying? I’m coming after the Democratic Party,” McMilan explained.

Overall, McMillan said, he generally disagrees with both of the major political parties because they are leading Americans into more debt.

“Democrats and Republicans are all alike,” McMillan said. “It is my job to come in and get rid of them ... They are worried about the corporations they have invested in and the nonprofit organizations the government is pouring money into.”

Focusing on the country’s “$14 trillion debt,” which is “too damn high,” McMillan said he blamed the economic situation on President Obama’s bailouts.

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“While we were bailing [General Motors] out, your parents had to put money toward the home that got foreclosed, put money toward the car that got repoed,” McMillan said. “You still have to pay them money you borrowed for the home and pay them money you borrowed for the car, but while the government was giving [General Motors] your money, you still had to pay [the government] off.”

Ultimately, through his campaign, McMillan said, he hoped to inspire reform across the country and challenge incumbent politicians.

“I am going to make an effort in every city, town and county in this country — for everyone who’s thinking of ever running for re-election in this country, I’m coming after them,” McMillan said. “They got a problem. I’ll put my combat boots on; I’m walking across America.”

When asked about a potential vice presidential running mate, McMillan suggested Donald Trump, “the same guy who went after President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.”

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McMillan said Trump would use his skills to “help lay the foundation” that would build up the economy.

McMillan’s political career began in 1993 when he first ran for New York City mayor under the Rent Is Too Damn High ticket; he ran again in 2005 and 2009 and first ran for governor in 1994. Since his run in the 2006 New York gubernatorial election, in which he received 13,355 votes, placing fifth out of six candidates, McMillan has become a political celebrity. He has famously been parodied on Saturday Night Live.

Regarding his fame, McMillan said that he is “nothing special.”

“I’ve done something that they say is a phenomenon, is hilarious,” McMillan said. “I don’t know. All I’m doing is speaking my tongue and telling the truth. I’m not afraid to talk.”