Trump backs YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul to run for office during surprise appearance on stage
The pair spoke alongside each other during a rally to supporters in Kentucky on Wednesday
President Donald Trump welcomed YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul on stage during a rally on Wednesday and made a surprise endorsement for him to run for office.
Listen to this article
Trump was holding an address to supporters in Kentucky where he brought Paul, 29, up alongside him and suggested his career could eventually shift to Congress in the future.
The President said: "I just want to say I predict, I'm going to make a prediction that you will be in the not too distant future, running for political office, OK.
"And you have my complete and total endorsement, OK?"
Addressing the crowd at a factory packaging plant, Paul expressed his support for the President and even credited him with teaching him the values of resilience in his boxing career.
He said that Trump had taught him the value of "courage" and to "never back down from a fight".
He added: "We need more factories like this thriving all over the country, and I know [Trump's] going to be the one to bring that here to us.
"I feel all the local Kentuckians feel the same way, you guys have that fight, you guys have that swag. There's a lot of young kids in here. The future of America."
Trump responded to the praise by telling the crowd: "He's a great guy. He's a courageous guy and a talented guy. He's a hell of a fighter, too, by the way."
Paul, who was brought up in Ohio, made global headlines after having bouts with Mike Tyson and Anthony Joshua.
During the gathering, the President also claimed that Iran's military and nuclear capabilities had been significantly degraded amid the ongoing war.
He said: "Their drones are down 85 per cent, we’re blowing up their factories.
"They don’t know what the hell hit them."
He added: “We don’t want to go back every two years. We’re going to finish the job."
It comes as Iran warned that oil could reach $200 a barrel as its attacks on ships intensify in the region.
In the early hours of Thursday, two ships were struck off the coast of Iraq, close to the port of Umm Qasr, killing one person and injuring 38 others.
Due to the intensifying conflict, oil prices have continued to rise despite major countries agreeing to release a record amount of oil from their emergency reserves.
The world's oil markets have been warned to expect "catastrophic consequences" if the conflict continues.
Amin Nasser, the CEO of Aramco, said on Wednesday: "While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region's oil and gas industry has faced.
"There would be catastrophic consequences for the world's oil markets, and the longer the disruption goes on, the more drastic the consequences for the global economy."