The YouTuber, known as MrBeast to his 105 million subscribers, revealed plans to campaign for the presidency on a September 27 episode of "Flagrant," a podcast hosted by comedians Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh.
Donaldson, 24, said on the episode that he wants to run for president so he can "do what's best for people," but wants to wait until he's in his mid-40s or is around 50 years old first to do so.
The YouTuber explained that he would campaign for the role by giving away money to prove to voters that he "can't be bought."
"If I had literally zero dollars in my bank account and I was like 'vote for me,' I feel like that's a pretty good campaign thing, like, you're voting for me," he said.
Advertisement
He continued, "I think I could make it interesting enough where I could win," adding, "I know how to get people's attention."
Current campaign finance rules put no limit on how much money a privately funded candidate can spend as long as those funds are clearly disclosed in campaign finance expenditure reports. Donaldson's theoretical future campaign could get into trouble, however, if it partakes in a "quid pro quo" system in which votes are exchanged for cash.
Giving money to potential voters during an election is not unheard of. During the 202o presidential race, Andrew Yang proposed a plan to give away $120,000 to 10 randomly chosen families in an effort to boost support for his Universal Basic Income plan.
Donaldson went on to say he might be dissuaded from running if he had to work his way up the political ladder by becoming mayor or running for another less senior political position first.
"If you could just go from — and you know no one ever has done this — being a celebrity to just being president, that would be great," he said, adding, "but I feel like you have to do a lot of politics leading up to it."
Advertisement
Donaldson is not the first YouTube star to suggest a pivot towards politics. In February, controversial YouTuber Logan Paul announced that he plans to run for president in 11 years when he turns 35.
In that live stream, Donaldson said he planned to continue making content on YouTube for the next 20 to 30 years.
"I feel like this is just the beginning, and I don't know if that sounds arrogant to say, but I really do feel like this is just the beginning, and I have so much more to give creatively," he told fans.
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.