The Anti-Virus software millionaire and Bitcoin supporter John McAfee has announced he is running in the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections.
Into the fray
McAfee has filed with the Federal Election Commission, reports campaign director Kyle Sandler. The tycoon believes he can snag quite a bit of votes with his campaign for privacy and his newly created “Cyber Party.” McAfee told Wired:
“It’s clear that the leadership of our country is illiterate on the fundamental technology that supports everything in life for us now, that is cyber science, our smartphones, our military hardware, our communications.”
The estranged computer magnate who fled Belizean police in 2012, due to a possible connection to the murder of his neighbor, is not one to keep quiet. McAfee claims he will win the race due to a “huge underground following on the web” and says he’s received encouragement from “almost everyone,” while adding that his primary motive is the government's intrusions with security and surveillance.
McAfee added:
“I have thousands of emails saying please run for President. It’s not something I would just choose to do on my own.”
The tech entrepreneur hasn’t yet named his team members or those advising him to run at the moment, however.
We will have our official announcement at 6pm Eastern tomorrow
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) September 8, 2015
With his new Cyber Party, McAfee and colleagues have launched a website for the presidential campaign. The party stated that they will make an “official announcement” via twitter. He is also expected to soon release more information about his new Cyber Party detailing the presidential platform he plans to run with.
Bitcoin supporter
It was 25 years ago when John McAfee Associates created the anti-virus software that became a huge success. The company was acquired by Intel in 2010 for US$7.68 billion. McAfee is 66, physically fit, a gun advocate and a voracious spokesperson for internet freedom. He believes we are losing privacy at an “alarming rate.”
Speaking on Bitcoin, McAfee said that “It will be everywhere and the world will have to readjust.”
He even posted an activist video called “You Can’t Stop Things Like Bitcoin.” In the video John exclaims “It will be everywhere and the world will have to readjust. World governments will have to readjust.” Though, he hasn’t announced whether he will be accepting the digital currency for his campaign like Rand Paul and libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.
When asked about running beside Donald Trump, McAfee said “I have great respect for the man but he has nothing to do with my decision to run.”
Many believe that the tycoon will use his privacy arguments as the bedrock for his campaign in conjunction with the corporate software giants currently lobbying congress. Therefore, John McAfee might certainly be a candidate to watch and will most likely add more fire to this already outrageous presidential race.
Would you vote for John McAfee? Please share and comment below.
