Businessman Rocky De La Fuente took some time to speak with Wikinews about his campaign for the U.S. Democratic Party's 2016 presidential nomination.
The 61-year-old De La Fuente resides in San Diego, California, grew up in Tijuana, and owns multiple businesses and properties throughout the world. Since getting his start in the automobile industry, De La Fuente has branched out into the banking and real estate markets.  Despite not having held or sought political office previously, he has been involved in politics, serving as the first-ever Hispanic superdelegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention. 
De La Fuente entered the 2016 presidential race last October largely due to his dissatisfaction with Republican front-runner Donald Trump.  He argues he is a more accomplished businessman than Trump, and attacks Trump as "a clown," "a joke," "dangerous," and "in the same category as Hitler."  Nevertheless, De La Fuente's business background begets comparisons with Trump. The Alaskan Midnight Sun blog described him as the Democrats' "own Donald Trump."
While receiving only minimal media coverage, he has campaigned actively, and according to the latest Federal Election Commission filing, loaned almost US$ 4 million of his own money to the campaign.  He has qualified for 48 primary and caucus ballots, but has not yet obtained any delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.  Thus far, according to the count at The Green Papers, De La Fuente has received 35,406 votes, or 0.23% of the total votes cast.  He leads among the many lesser-known candidates but trails both Senator Bernie Sanders who has received nearly 6.5 million votes and front-runner Hillary Clinton who has just shy of 9 million votes.
With Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn‎, De La Fuente discusses his personal background, his positions on political issues, his current campaign for president, and his political future.  
((William S. Saturn))  What are some of your achievements in your business career?
((WSS))  According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the FDIC banned you from banking for "unsafe and unsound banking practices."  Why did this occur and how do you respond to the allegation?
((WSS))  Why are you a Democrat?
((WSS))  What do you hope to accomplish with this campaign?
((WSS))  Are you disappointed by the results of the primaries thus far?
((WSS))  In 2012, several primary challengers to President Barack Obama including John Wolfe, Jr., Randall Terry, and Keith Russell Judd all qualified for delegates, though they ultimately were not seated at the convention due to technicalities.  Given the money you are willing to spend on a campaign and your ability to adhere to the rules, do you regret not running in 2012?
((WSS))  What are your thoughts on the job Obama has done as president? Specifically, what would you have done differently?
((WSS))  In your opinion, what are the most important issues facing America and how will you deal with these as president?
((WSS))  If elected, what would constitute a successful presidency for you?
((WSS))  Which individuals would you like to see in a De La Fuente administration?
((WSS))  Do you plan on ever running for political office again?

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!
Share this: 






This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Wikinews interviews Rocky De La Fuente, U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate