Influential MAGA voices Jake Paul and Theo Von have suggested that President Donald Trump should be on the front line in Iran.
As well as the 79-year-old having his presidential boots on the ground, Paul suggested Trump’s youngest son, Barron, 20, should also be in the military fighting his father’s war with Iran.
YouTuber turned boxer Paul, who less than a month ago received President Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” for a future political run, guested on Sunday’s episode of comedian Von’s podcast, This Past Weekend.
During the conversation, Paul, 29, told Von, 46, he was increasingly inspired by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, with the historical research fueling his nascent political aspirations.
“One of his biggest sayings is, you know, your biggest thing is to be a part of society and make it a better place,” Paul said. “So, I think that’s maybe where I’m at these days.”
Von later raised the fact that during the Roman Empire “a lot of the politicians also had to fight on the battlefield.”
The MAGA comedian said it was “amazing” that if politicians “were going to make choices that affected the lives of the citizens of the military, of the farmer who was putting down his pitchfork and picking up a sword, like, they had to be out there as leaders as well. I admire that concept.”
Paul said he thought the idea of leaders in the military was “dope.”
“I agree,” Paul added. “Like if I ever was running for office, I would also be like super down to have a AR-15 and f---in’ shoot these motherf---ers.”
The boxer then compared the concept of a politician being part of the troops on the ground with having his jaw broken after being knocked out by boxing star Anthony Joshua in December.
“I’m down to die, bro,” Paul said. “I think I put that on the line with Anthony Joshua. Like, I’m down for this s--t, bro. But like, I think you’re right. That’s a really good point actually. Like Trump should be on the front lines, or Barron. I don’t know if he’s old enough yet.”
Von noted of the 20-year-old, “He might be too tall to be out there, too.”
Paul said Barron might “get his head clipped out, dude.”
“Bro’s a big target,” the boxer continued. “He’s got to stand out, bro. And he’s good-looking. And so like they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, that guy. F---in’ get him!’”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Donald Trump received a total of five deferments from the draft for the Vietnam War, according to The New York Times. Four came when he was a college student, and the fifth was granted in 1968 after he received a diagnosis of bone spurs—a buildup of calcium—in his heels.
During the two-hour interview, Paul also shared his growing political aspirations, saying the idea of becoming president has become “less and less of a joke” after his study of Aurelius.
“I started to realize, like, if I’m the best person to do it and can actually win, um then, like, I might need to do it,” the boxer said. “I’m already playing the biggest games of life. So we’ll dabble in that if it makes sense.”
Paul raised a hypothetical notion of seeing a future politician who is “like a Kamala [Harris] running on the Democratic Party, like a f---in’ dumb--,” which could motivate him to “enter the game and risk getting assassinated, but I don’t want to.”
The boxer went on to say he was “scared” talking about entering politics, calling it the “hardest job in the world.”
Paul continued, “You’re f---in’ 14 hours a day just cranking it. I’ve seen Trump, his energy is why he’s there. Like he’s a f---in’ legend in that sense. And it demands so much of you and will take away not only your life but everyone that you’re affiliated with. So, you’re also like, signing your kids up for it.”
He added, “Like, I really don’t want to do it, but like, it’s become like a funny joke that I would and then randomly Trump endorses me fully.”
The endorsement came during a Republican Senate primary in Kentucky, where Paul and Trump danced to “YMCA” for a TikTok video, despite the fact that Paul is not actually running for office.
“He’s a great guy,” Trump said of Paul. “He’s a courageous guy and a talented guy. He’s a hell of a fighter, too.” Giving the influencer his “complete and total endorsement,” Trump said he would run for office “in the not-too-distant future.” He pointed to Paul and said, “That’s what we want.”
Paul also interviewed Trump, and the president said if he could be reincarnated, he would come back as himself.
On Von’s podcast on Sunday, Paul said a friend and texted him to say “Like, you’d have to pay [Trump] a billion dollars to get that endorsement, and you got it for free right there.”
Continuing his thought bubble, Paul he believed slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk “would have been the guy” to become a future Republican president.
“It’s sad bro, he’s f---in’ awesome,” Paul said, before clarifying he had never met Kirk but “followed all of his stuff.”
“He was like, aiming for it, though,” Paul said of Kirk’s aspirations.
“I think that’s the problem, though, I’m just a f---in’ kid from Ohio that’s a high school dropout. Like if it makes sense at some point, then it makes sense.”
