--- title: 'Rent is Too Damn High' Jimmy McMillan Leaving Politics description: The Rent is To Damn High Party is 'for sale' canonical: https://time.com/4144527/rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan-leaving-politics/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-10T17:46:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:16:43.613Z article:section: Politics og:title: Founder of 'The Rent Is Too Damn High' Party Is Leaving Politics og:description: The Rent is To Damn High Party is 'for sale' og:url: https://time.com/4144527/rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan-leaving-politics/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eb16a2b92d128ff/698874d8e20a876d43a8e987/jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Founder of 'The Rent Is Too Damn High' Party Is Leaving Politics twitter:description: The Rent is To Damn High Party is 'for sale' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eb16a2b92d128ff/698874d8e20a876d43a8e987/jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Founder of 'The Rent Is Too Damn High' Party Is Leaving Politics  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Dec 10, 2015 5:46 PM UTC  Jimmy McMillan in 2011. Jimmy McMillan in 2011.Andy Kropa—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Dec 10, 2015 5:46 PM UTC The animated mayoral and gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan who coined the “rent is too damn high” rallying cry has [announced](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/nyregion/jimmy-mcmillan-rent-is-too-damn-high-candidate-is-retiring-from-politics.html) he is leaving politics “Rent is too damn high is an international crisis,” he [wrote](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/nyregion/jimmy-mcmillan-rent-is-too-damn-high-candidate-is-retiring-from-politics.html) in the statement reported by the New York _Times_, which was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. “There are many questions the people should ask themselves. I which them the best — I’m out.” Despite a lack of election victories, McMillan has had quite the political career; including running in two elections, founding the “Rent is Too Damn High” Party, gaining internet fame, going viral as a [rapper](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/26/watch-jimmy-mcmillan-is-back-with-a-new-rap-video-and-the-rent-is-still-too-damn-high/) and inspiring an SNL impersonation by Kenan Thompson. There was even a talking Jimmy McMillan [action figure](http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/10/27/finally-the-rent-is-too-damn-high-action-figure-is-here-and-it-speaks/). He gained widespread attention during his 2010 bid to be New York Governor, when he [made waves in a televised debate.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcsNbQRU5TI) “Rent is too damn high is an international crisis,” he [wrote](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/nyregion/jimmy-mcmillan-rent-is-too-damn-high-candidate-is-retiring-from-politics.html) in the statement, which was riddled with grammatical errors. “There are many questions the people should ask themselves. I which them the best — I’m out.” His party is now “for sale, trademark and all” according to the statement. McMillan said he’s leaving the political arena because no one has wanted his help fixing the rent crisis facing New Yorkers. “I am walking away because I have know other choice the people have ignored my warning and my cry for help that the rent crisis was getting worse,” [according to his statement](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/rent-damn-high-party-jimmy-mcmillan-retires-article-1.2460404), the _Daily News_ reports. “The kind of help they cannot get from not one elected official, not the Governor neither the Mayor can give them.” However, Vincent Imbesi, a Manhattan lawyer associated with McMillan, told the _Times_ that the candidate [hoped to gain financially](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/nyregion/jimmy-mcmillan-rent-is-too-damn-high-candidate-is-retiring-from-politics.html) by moving away from the party. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4144527/rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan-leaving-politics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4144527/rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan-leaving-politics/"},"headline":"Founder of 'The Rent Is Too Damn High' Party Is Leaving Politics","datePublished":"2015-12-10T17:46:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:16:43.613Z","description":"The Rent is To Damn High Party is 'For Sale'","url":"https://time.com/4144527/rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan-leaving-politics/","keywords":["New York"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eb16a2b92d128ff/698874d8e20a876d43a8e987/jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eb16a2b92d128ff/698874d8e20a876d43a8e987/jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires","caption":"jimmy-macmillan-rent-too-high-retires","creditText":"Andy Kropa—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4144527/rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan-leaving-politics/","name":"Founder of 'The Rent Is Too Damn High' Party Is Leaving Politics"}}]}] ```