Debate Rages Over MrBeast's Presidential Announcement

In a relatively short time, Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson has become one of the most recognizable faces on the internet. He has become synonymous with charities and giveaways, and his high energy and generosity has helped his channel grow to well over a quarter of a billion subscribers on his YouTube channel, While he's not slowing down his content creation grind any time soon — YouTube is his primary focus, after all — MrBeast shocked his fans by revealing another goal he has for the future: President of the United States?

If we lower the age to run for president I'll jump in the race

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) July 6, 2024

Yes, MrBeast has presidential ambitions, but right now the United States Constitution is standing between him and the highest office in the land. There's a tragic detail about MrBeast that's holding him back: his age. At 26 years old, MrBeast is still nine years shy of being able to run in the 2024 presidential election. However, he says if that age limit were lowered, he'd get into the race right now. 

MrBeast wouldn't be the first celebrity to make the leap into politics, but that doesn't mean that people are taking his proposal all that seriously. Many are pointing out that nothing in MrBeast's career has prepared him for politics, much less holding the top position at the White House. Others are pretty thrilled at the thought of the internet's most generous man leading the country, and they're ready to see MrBeast take on the country's toughest gig.

This isn't the first time that MrBeast has talked about potentially getting involved in politics. On a 2022 episode of the "Flagrant" podcast, MrBeast said, "I would love to [run for President] ... It is appealing, when I'm like 40 or 50." Apparently, the 2024 election has MrBeast excited enough to move up his timeline by a couple decades, but his enthusiasm about running for President was also bolstered by his recent video, "I Built 100 Homes and Gave Them Away!" The video inspired a huge section of his fanbase: One of the top comments In the video (with nearly 300,000 thumbs up) reads, "MrBeast for President."

The rest of the internet isn't entirely convinced. Some people have pointed out that MrBeast's experience as a content creator hasn't exactly set him up to be the leader of the free world, while others think he could solve all of the country's problems in minutes.

Alright, while we're on the topic of Mr. Beast becoming president..

I'd vote for him. I can see homelessness being fixed within a year, followed by healthcare.

Would be interested to see what he'd do if others tried strong-arming him into approving plans / policies. pic.twitter.com/r099fRmHpY

— Alexander Draconis / Serynder (@SeryPuff) July 7, 2024

Some people who are feeling uninspired by the top candidates in 2024 are wishing that the US could lower the minimum running age so MrBeast can get into the race as soon as possible. Others are weirded out by the whole concept of an internet personality like MrBeast taking office.

sorry but if someone literally named "mr beast" runs for president I'm gonna start believing in evangelical prophecies https://t.co/RPbYHEbvu6

— add (nico) to (x) (@Ndt_alt) July 6, 2024

Some are asking this real questions, like what his official title would be if he were to take office. Would he remain "MrBeast," or would be become "Mr. President MrBeast," or something altogether more complicated? A few have also joked about the content creator using the nation's budget for one of his big giveaways:

voting for mrbeast pic.twitter.com/j5WpUKXbpc

— $nub🩵 (@nubreply) July 6, 2024

Some of MrBeast's biggest fans are more concerned with his YouTube channel staying alive after he takes office. To MrBeast's credit, he's got his priorities in order. When asked if he'd continue making videos while President, he replied, "I'd probably focus on running the largest economy on earth."

What would it take to actually get MrBeast into the Oval Office? The Constitution lays out some pretty light requirements for a person wanting to be President: They have to be a natural-born citizen, they need to have lived in the country for at least 14 years, and they must be at least 35 years old.

With those requirements, we wouldn't be seeing a MrBeast candidacy until at least the 2036 presidential election, but lowering the age limit might be the hardest part about getting MrBeast into the White House. It would require amending the Constitution, which is an incredibly arduous process. First, two thirds of the House and Senate must vote in support of an amendment. Then the amendment gets sent to state legislatures, and 38 out of 50 states must pass the amendment for it to take effect. The only way to work around those requirements is to form a constitutional convention and pass the amendment there, but that's never happened in the country's history.

Of course, that's just the procedural work. Once MrBeast meets the requirements — in one way or another — he'd then have to actually campaign. He's got nearly as many YouTube subscribers as there are people living in the US, but that doesn't automatically translate to a successful bid for President. Things could change once people heard his policies or saw him in a debate. Then again, maybe we'll all live to see the first YouTuber President.