Herman Cain says God may want him to run for president in 2016

The former pizza baron says taking another run at the White House isn't really up to him

Published June 2, 2014 3:27PM (EDT)

Herman Cain          (AP/Chris O'meara)
Herman Cain (AP/Chris O'meara)

The man who temporarily turned the Republican Party's 2012 presidential primary into an outright farce, instead of a mere slow-motion embarrassment, is not yet ready to rule out doing the same thing in 2016. That's right — Herman Cain is mulling another run for president.

Or, to be more specific, God is mulling another Herman Cain run for president, according to Herman Cain.

"I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future," Cain said at this year's edition of the annual Republican Leadership Conference. "And I trust in God."

It'd be tempting to shrug this off as an empty play for attention, but as the Huffington Post notes, it was at the RLC in 2010 that Cain floated the idea of gunning for the White House. In the time since, Cain's stature and public notoriety has increased markedly. His "9-9-9" campaign platform in 2012, for example, was a favorite punch line for bored reporters and late night talk show hosts alike.

Still, Cain, if he were to run, would have to answer a few questions first. No, not only things like "Where is Libya?" and "Is Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan a real country that exists?" but also other, less lighthearted queries, like, "Are you a sexual predator?"

Cain may choose to leave the big decision up to God, but if he's on the campaign trail, he'll have to answer questions like that all by himself.


By Elias Isquith

Elias Isquith is a former Salon staff writer.

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