UFC legend BJ Penn has been accused of being ignorant about some basic information regarding the state of Hawaii’s politics despite the fact that he is running for office later this year.
BJ Penn will be running for Hawaii governor late this year in the 2022 gubernatorial election. He is currently listed among five other candidates who have declared for the Republican Primary.
Penn is a former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion and is also a UFC Hall of Famer. However, although he has won championships as an athlete, some believe he is already undeserving of winning a seat in state office.
This comes after a recent appearance by Penn on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. In the appearance, there was one notable exchange where Penn griped about the state income tax rate but was unable to disclose what the rate was.
Penn also criticized The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs by referencing crippling regulations and long delays. However, Penn was unable to delve deeper into the matter when pressed. You can view a brief clip of the exchange below.
It must be noted that this is but a 40-second clip of a three-hour podcast episode. Thus, readers, especially Hawaii citizens, are encouraged to listen to more of Wednesday’s JRE episode for more context as well as additional viewpoints from the gubernatorial candidate.
Two individuals who heard more than enough are renowned MMA reporters Luke Thomas and Ben Fowlkes, who responded to the above clip by accusing Penn of ignorance and being unqualified to hold political office.
“Bravely running for governor despite knowing nothing about his state’s government and remaining totally unwilling to learn,” Fowlkes wrote.
“One would imagine a) if you’re going to make claims about high tax rates it’s because you’re aware of what they are and b) this is extremely basic info one would need as a prerequisite to *start* a campaign on policy change. This is rudimentary, not esoteric/learn on the job info,” Luke Thomas chimed in when someone asked how Penn is “unwilling” to learn.
“This. Also he’s been running for, what, six months now? That’s plenty of time to learn if he’d wanted to. And the whole point of a campaign should be to demonstrate why people should vote for you. This is basically saying he’ll only bother to figure it out if he wins,” Fowlkes concluded.
The 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election will be held on November 8, 2022. The Republican Primary is scheduled for August 13, 2022. You can learn more about the election here.
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