Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, perhaps best known for a strange viral 2008 presidential campaign video showing him throwing a rock into a lake, was endorsed Friday by another person known for throwing things.
Muntadher al-Zaidi, the man who hurled his shoes at outgoing President George W. Bush in 2008, reportedly endorsed Gravel, according to a Friday email blast from his campaign.
The 89-year-old Gravel, whose 2020 presidential campaign is run by two teenagers, is stringently anti-war.
“After being sent Senator Gravel’s platform — a platform that stresses the withdrawal of American forces from foreign theaters — Mr. al-Zaidi expressed his wishes ‘for your success in the elections’ and asked that his endorsement be announced via press release,” the email read.
Gravel ran for president once before in 2008, when his esoteric “Rock” campaign video went viral. In the video, which has no words, he stares into the camera expressionless for an extended period of time before picking up a rock and throwing it into a lake.
Al-Zaidi, an Iraqi broadcast journalist, also had a viral moment of his own when he threw his shoes at then-President George W. Bush. The video of the incident shows Bush ducking and dodging the footwear before al-Zaidi was detained.
Gravel’s campaign press secretary Marlon Ettinger said in the email that the campaign is proud to have al-Zaidi’s support.
“Mr. al-Zaidi’s action is a symbol of the Iraqi people’s resilience and pride,” Ettinger said. “We’re honored to have his support. As we try to qualify for the July debates, we could not be prouder of this campaign’s ally in Baghdad.”
Gravel served as one of Alaska’s senators from 1969 to 1981 and gained notoriety for publicizing parts of the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s. He ran for president in 2008 but failed to gain traction. After failing in his quest for the Democratic nomination, Gravel switched to the Libertarian Party in an unsuccessful run.
Gravel’s active Twitter account is run by two teenagers, Henry Williams and David Oks. He said they approached him and encouraged him to run in order to market his message to voters.
“It’s just unbelievable that they’re just so talented and have handled this thing completely, I just gave them my Twitter account,” Gravel told the Washington Examiner in an April interview.
Gravel is struggling to qualify for the Democratic debates. He has not yet reached the donor threshold necessary to get in, and is polling at or below 1% in some of the polls that list him as a candidate.
