Kenneth Bone, September 21, 1982 -
VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Harambe (1999-2016)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Harambe was a gorilla in a Cincinnati zoo who was shot and killed in May 2016 when a 3 year-old boy fell into his enclosure and a zookeeper felt the child was in danger. Harambe posthumously became a widespread Internet meme including an inevitable "Harambe for President" campaign.
Some of the Harambe for President supporters had a whole cottage industry merchandising products celebrating a Harambe/Ken Bone ticket. Some t-shirts had the positions on the ballot switched so it was a Bone/Harambe ticket. So, who was Ken Bone, anyway?
Before Andy Warhol came along the term "9-day wonder" existed, which seems pretty accurate for Bone. As he gamely describes himself on the masthead of his current Facebook, "An average working man from the Midwest who randomly became temporarily famous because of a sweater."
Bone's overnight fame was the result of his being a member of the audience in the town hall format of the second Clinton-Trump debate. The coal plant operator from southern Illinois posed a question to the candidates, "What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?" This was near the end of the debate, which was steeped in negativity, and Bone's gentle and centrist manner came across as refreshing corniness.
He instantly became an Internet star, frequently dubbed the "true winner" of the debate. What could be termed a fake-adoration "Bone for President" movement gained steam, in addition to being assigned the running-mate of Harambe, the deceased gorilla. Bone himself seemed to roll with it more gracefully than most would in the same circumstances.
The Atlantic mused on some of the reasons why Bone had become so popular--
1. His name
2. The fact that his name lends itself so well to puns of varying levels of lewdness
3. His red sweater
4. The fact that he wore that red sweater with a white button-down and a tie
5. His Midwestern accent
6. The fact that, post-debate, he took pictures of the moment with a ‘90s-tastic disposable camera
But soon the less-idealized side of Ken Bone was revealed by some all too human past comments on social media, although their offensiveness paled in comparison to what the Republican nominee was saying both in private and public. Even as the pedestal was being kicked out from underneath, Bone was philosophical. "I'm not going to pretend that I did not say them ... All I can do is apologize and move on."
SNL even included Bone within their sendup of the debate--
Martha Raddatz: And now, since everyone's been so good, it's time for a special treat.
Anderson Cooper: That's right. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the one, the only, Mr. Ken Bone!
Ken Bone: You all ready for this? [Bone does a little dance within a glitter frame]
MR: Oh my God. He is so cute.
AC: I really needed that right now.
MR: Now wait. Ken you're not going to turn out to be a weird little creep or anything, are you?
KB: Maaaaaaybe.
MR: God, we can't have anything nice.
AC: Oh well.
Being the running-mate with a dead gorilla made Bone something a true second banana (sorry, couldn't resist).
Some Constitutional problems in the event of their victory. First, Harambe was a gorilla. Second, Harambe was a dead gorilla. Third, both Harambe and Bone were under the mandated age of 35.
Election history:
2016 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2020 - US President (Independent) - defeated
Other occupations: coal plant operator
Notes:
James Walter Jobe and Reillie Alene Murphy ran in 2016 for President/VP under the Justice for Harambe Party.
On Oct. 7, 2020, Bone endorsed the Libertarian candidate for President and said he voted for Clinton in 2016: "I voted Clinton in '16 and this morning I sealed my mail in ballot having voted for Jo Jorgensen. I don't agree with either of them 100% but felt they were the best options available to me at the time."
