Deez Nuts is a satirical presidential candidate, portrayed by Brady Olson, who gained internet fame in 2015. The character became a viral internet meme and even filed to run for President of the United States.
In more detail, Deez Nuts became a cultural phenomenon when then-15-year-old Brady Olson from Wallingford, Iowa, used the pseudonym to file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for President in the 2016 election. The name “Deez Nuts” is a play on a Dr. Dre song from 1992, which later became an internet meme. Olson’s filing was initially reported by a local news station and quickly captured the public’s imagination, leading to widespread media coverage.
The campaign, while not serious, highlighted some of the absurdities of the political process and the potential for internet culture to intersect with politics. Deez Nuts even polled at 9% in North Carolina against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, according to a Public Policy Polling survey. Although the campaign was not legally legitimate—Olson was too young to actually run for President—it sparked conversations about political dissatisfaction and the role of humor in the electoral process.
The Deez Nuts phenomenon also inspired other joke candidates to file for the presidency, contributing to a larger discussion about the nature of political candidacy and the power of social media to influence public discourse. After the 2016 election cycle, the Deez Nuts meme continued to be a part of internet culture, but with less political focus. Brady Olson, meanwhile, returned to his regular life as a student, with his brief foray into political satire leaving a lasting imprint on the 2016 presidential race.
