Casey Spooner has officially announced on his social media pages that he is running for the Oval Office in 2020. 

Musician and performer Casey Spooner has posted a video on Instagram and Twitter, announcing his intention to actively engage with the electoral race and American political system by launching a political campaign for his independent presidential candidacy. 

Dressed in his iconic bright blue and red ‘Spooner 2020’ Nike shirt, he presents his new political ambitions with an earnest self-awareness and confidence.

SPOONER2020 Campaign Announcement #spooner2020 pic.twitter.com/YadP2j32Un

— Casey Spooner (@caseyspooner) July 7, 2019

Although he is serious about the Spooner 2020 campaign, he is not ignorant of the challenges he has before him by setting his sights on the White House. In his announcement, he admits that his campaign is unlikely to be successful. 

“I don’t expect to win, but I do expect to make a difference. As a working artist, the only way I know how to deal with our current political crisis is to go towards the problem.”

Spooner has been actively involved within the music industry for over 20 years, founding the iconic electroclash duo Fischerspooner in 1998 in New York City. Despite lacking any previous direct involvement with political systems and policy making, Spooner is confident that his background and experience in the creative industries has prepared him to flourish in America’s highest office.   

Speaking to the Whimsically Volatile podcast prior to his announcement, he notes a general lack of trust and belief in the US political system at the moment, which he admits combined with his white privilege has generated a complacent disengagement with the political machine for him.

Now it seems, the failures of the Trump presidency have compelled the star to get involved. As is aptly pointed out on the podcast, “an artist is better than a reality TV star.” 

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A post shared by Casey Spooner (@caseyspooner)

Rather than running for the overcrowded Democratic nomination, he intends to run for office as an independent. 

Casey Spooner joins Pete Buttigieg as an openly gay candidate for the US Election. However, with an overall strong commitment to LGBT+ rights from Democratic candidates across the board, it is seemingly no longer enough for a nominee to be defined largely by sexuality.

Although Buttigieg marks the first gay candidate to qualify for a major-party primary debate, the small town mayor’s message primarily emphasises the issues of his generation such as college affordability, economic inequality and action against the climate crisis.

It remains unclear as to the nature of Spooner’s policies. However, if he was elected to the White House on November 3 2020, he would stand as the first independent president of the United States since the inauguration of George Washington.