Jesse Ventura Backing Kerry

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (search) now supports John Kerry (search) for president. You'll just have to take Angus King's word for it.

In a bizarre news conference Friday in the Capitol complex, Ventura stood silently next to the former Maine governor in an event billed as Independents for Kerry (search).

King said Ventura wouldn't be talking but had authorized King to answer questions on his behalf. Ventura, King said, had changed his mind after saying last month that he didn't like either of the candidates.

Asked if Ventura's presence meant he was endorsing Kerry, King replied: "Yes."

"He came here today and he didn't just happen by," King said.

When reporters tried to question Ventura, he pursed his lips, shook his head and motioned toward King.

Ventura, a former professional wrestler, served one term as Minnesota's governor, then declined to run for a second in 2002, citing media intrusion into his family's life. Since then, he's served as a visiting fellow at Harvard and for a time as a cable talk show host.