TL;DR- We regularly hear news on a celebrity, businessman, or some sort of inexperienced citizen attempting to run for president in the upcoming election. The most obvious of these cases has been Donald Trump in 2016, but more recently, several unqualified individuals attempted to gain the nomination of a major party or hinted at running as independent candidates. Electing an inexperienced candidate is not necessarily a good idea and it can be at worst dangerous without knowing how the political landscape works or without having proper decision-making skills. In 2016, the Republican party had a total of 16 candidates with three of them having no experience in any elected office or a public administrative position: businessman Donald Trump, famous surgeon Ben Carson, and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP) Carly Fiorina. In 2020, the Democratic party didn’t follow up on the trend as much, but many celebrities didn't dismiss the possibility of running for office one day. Rumors circulated in 2018 on Oprah Winfrey potentially running for office which drew huge media attention [1], and similar reports citing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg hinting at similar ambitions [2]. These people do not lack the talent in their respected fields, but they may not have the expertise or even understand the basic functions of what constitutes executive power, branches of government, international relations, the economy, and so on. Dwayne Johnson seems to be naïve on this aspect according to an interview [3]: “Could I surround myself with really brilliant people to help me make decisions? Couldn’t my Congressional allies handle the legislation, and my lawyers handle the executive orders? Couldn’t a smart person surrounded by experts be the best candidate for the job?” Mr. Johnson has not contemplated the fact that most people elected to the highest office have been notably smart individuals with experts who tend to give outstandingly wrong advice often, such as the case of Bush 43’s hawkish foreign policy cabinet pushing for the disastrous invasion of Iraq. The most recent infamous case was Kanye West’s campaign which gathered a total of 66,641 votes in the 2020 election. Although most didn’t seriously think he had a viable chance of winning as an independent, we should treat this as a serious warning sign considering a rapper with a god complex who was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold and is formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder is getting thousands of votes [4]. [1] Sources: Oprah Winfrey 'actively thinking' about running for president https://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/media/oprah-golden-globes/index.html [2] The Trump effect: Everyone's thinking of running for president https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-trump-effect-everyones-thinking-of-running-for-president/2017/06/05/51ff27a8-46f5-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.e45625bc7178 [3] Dear Oprah And Other Celebrities, Please Don’t Run For President https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dear-oprah-and-other-celebrities-please-dont-run_b_5a54dd3ee4b0cd114bdb367b?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABU243xEinv51V8wE29IWExu2ldZRo_-h4vNqDr6HsaEz_r5F-wjn0DQEXI3hODtRM46cVJan5zf1ElSEgtq9uOvKyYWq_VqU1CSRH4aC9JSlO8Hi3AxoVhHTdzXRNYRXv_JM6iJQ0_DZacpbBFOsN7OcIzqbtRoOdi3RBdpPOKR [4] Kanye West’s Recent Breakdown Highlights How Social Media Further Stigmatizes Mental Health Challenges In The Black Community https://www.forbes.com/sites/maiahoskin/2020/07/24/kanye-wests-recent-breakdown-highlights-how-social-further-stigmatizes-mental-health-challenges-in-the-black-community/?sh=5129636c1a39

In part I agree as I prefer holders of high office to have experience public administration at least. I do find, however, that career politicians move in cloistered confines often losing touch or having little understanding of the public they want to represent. Certainly many have little experience of "normal" life as they require huge income to allow their campaign. It is dangerous allowing pop stars and celebrities to manipulate their following to achieve office. But Isn't that the point of a democratic society? If the public is misguided or uninformed enough to elect an undesirable then that is what they deserve.

**Tl;DR: Political experience should not serve as a barrier for presidential campaigns.** Candidates with no political experience should not become presidents. However, sometimes they have reasons to run other than the White House ambition. There are generally two categories of candidates. The first category is serious contenders. They run for presidents because they see a chance of winning. Most candidates in this category have some political experiences since most people do not plot a serious White House run without holding office. In the 2020 Democratic Primary, this category includes Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and most of the candidates. The second category is issue advocates. They choose to run because they want to use the spotlight to push for specific issues. They do not necessarily aim to enter the White House. Instead, they want to bring new ideas into the mainstream political conversation. Most candidates with no experience fall into this category. In the case of 2020 Democrats, both of the major political newcomers, Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson, are issue advocates (I excluded Tom Steyer due to his extensive ties to the Democratic Party as a donor). In the case of issue advocates, I can see a benefit of them running. They often do not succeed. However, when they do, they have the potential to bring new ideas into the political discussion. Therefore, in this specific case, I can see the benefits of a candidate with no political experience.