‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic offers Trump advice on how he can defeat Kamala Harris

‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic gave an in-depth interview from prison discussing the upcoming election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Exotic, who was in the middle of a 21-year sentence for murder-for-hire, spoke at length about how the Republican could defeat Harris in November, but also offered some criticisms.

The 55-year-old zookeeper also had some advice for the former president, such as toning down his trademark name-calling.

Exotic was convicted in 2019 on two counts of hiring hitmen to murder his own critic, wildlife activist Carole Baskin. He was also jailed for violating federal wildlife laws following the bust for his illegal big cat petting zoo.

The 2020 Netflix hit Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness told the story of Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado, and the downward spiral that led to his conviction. He now wants a pardon and high government office.

In it, he spoke at length about how Republicans could defeat Harris in November, while also offering some of his own criticisms.

‘[Trump] “We need to explain to people what we can do to improve the lives of the American people,” Exotic said. Newsweek from FMC Fort Worth in Texas.

‘We can’t afford gas, we can’t afford rent, we can’t afford food.

“We need to give back to the American people so they can take care of the American people,” said the former owner of an Oklahoma zoo.

“If he would explain this to the American public, he would win by a landslide.”

The convict indicated that he hopes to secure a spot in Trump’s cabinet if he wins the election.

To do that, Trump will have to keep his mouth shut [and] “Get on the right track,” he said.

‘Focus on explaining it to the American people [the value of] “We drill our own oil, our own gas and our own coal,” he told the newspaper by telephone.

“Get back to the way we can sustain America, without having to pay every other country to do what we can provide here.”

Harris, he said, will “never” get his support. He said of the past three and a half years, “We can’t afford gas, we can’t afford rent, we can’t afford food… We’ve got to give back to where the American people can take care of the American people.”

The advice comes a year and a half after Exotic announced his own candidacy for president as a Democrat, then suspended his campaign pending an appeal of his conviction.

On July 15, 2021, a U.S. appeals court ruled that his sentence for two attempted murders was improperly considered a separate sentence. The sentence was reduced from 22 to 21 years.

In a rare interview in July, Exotic revealed that he now has prostate cancer and is unhappy with the outcome, and plans to appeal the entire case.

“I’m going to appeal my entire case, to overturn my conviction,” he told News Channel 8 from a Florida prison before he was transferred to the federal prison in Fort Worth.

Of the past five years, he said, “It’s been tough, it really has been.”

Speaking to Newsweek, he said he hopes the former president can grant him a pardon, even though it happened just before the end of his first term.

He also indicated that he would like to become head of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, even though the agency does not accept permanent employees who have been convicted of a crime.

“I want to be the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service,” he said. “I can save this country millions of dollars because it’s over-regulated.

The 55-year-old also had some advice for the former president, such as toning down his trademark name-calling.

“We’re regulating animals that don’t belong in America at all,” he continued, before citing one of the federal laws he himself had broken.

“And the Endangered Species Act is something I specialize in. I can almost recite it word for word.”

The Netflix documentary showed how he needlessly killed tigers at his zoo in Oklahoma, GW Zoo shot them in their skulls at close range.

Millions of people around the world labeled him an animal abuser, leading to his conviction on 17 federal charges of animal cruelty.

However, the bulk of the sentence is based on two attempted murder charges for the failed plot to kill arch-enemy and Big Cat Rescue owner Baskin.

The series focused on this and the long-running feud between the self-proclaimed animal activist and Exotic, who was himself a flamboyant polygamist and at the time the owner of a private petting zoo.

It also showed how Baskin’s second husband, multimillionaire Don Lewis, suddenly disappeared without a trace in August 1997 from the Florida nature reserve the two co-owned.

The then 59-year-old has never been found, and there is no evidence to suggest he was murdered. That said, officers have said they do not believe he disappeared on his own.

The infamous 2021 Netflix documentary showed how he needlessly killed tigers at his Oklahoma zoo, GW Zoo, shooting them in their skulls at close range

The series focused on this and his long-standing feud with self-proclaimed animal rights activist Carole Baskin, who has abstained from interviews since the series aired

The zookeeper was jailed for hiring men to kill Baskin and running his illegal roadside petting zoos in Oklahoma

Exotic accuses Baskin of killing his tiger and feeding it to her own tigers, allegations she repeated in a videotaped phone call a few weeks ago.

The zookeeper also said he has prostate cancer and possibly lung cancer. For the first time, he expressed his desire for another attempt at a presidential pardon.

This week he said that Trump’s team “knows that I would like to be in his cabinet as director of Federal Fish and Wildlife [Service]’, and still haven’t turned down his offer.

He said he briefly served as a police officer in a small Kansas town before embarking on a questionable career as a petting zoo owner. He said, “I used to be a police chief, so I have experience in law enforcement and I could do the job,

“and I think I could do the job much cheaper and much better for the American people.”

Exotic accuses Baskin of killing his tiger and feeding it to her own tigers, allegations he repeated in his videotaped phone call a few weeks ago.

“I just wanted her to get out of my neighborhood and leave me alone,” he said of the activist who opposes big cat keeping.

“I still think she’s completely crazy and that she killed her husband.”

The zookeeper was jailed for hiring two men to kill Baskin, who was drawing attention to his illegal roadside petting zoos in Oklahoma

In his interview with Newsweek, he said the recent furor surrounding Harris will die down as the election — and his possible presidential pardon — approaches.

“I think the focus on Harris will fade over the next 60 days and people will start to see and hear the truth,” he said.

“I’m not going to stop talking… I still believe Trump can accomplish this if he gets on track, you know, and starts talking about policy and how he’s going to save the country, instead of all his name-calling.”

Harris, he added, “will never… [get his] support.’