Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler and governor of Minnesota, is getting a new commentary show called "The World According to Jesse" on RT America, a branch of Russian state television. He says he'll be able to cover whatever topics he chooses without being censored.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson talks with Ventura (@GovJVentura) about Russia, why he's an advocate of legalizing marijuana and what he thinks of the Trump presidency. Ventura is also an author, and his latest book is "Jesse Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto."

Interview Highlights

On airing his new show on Russia Today

"It's the same as PBS, really. It's just financed by the Russian government. My internet show had played on there for a while and they don't censor me. They allow me to speak freely and they've virtually told me they will never, ever do anything. I can talk about any subject matter that I want. And it seems bizarre to me because I'm 65, and I grew up and lived through the entire Cold War, that it's the Russians who are giving me free speech, when I'm kinda blackballed here in the United States. I don't get the interviews that I should, because I ask and raise questions that, a lot of people, it makes them uncomfortable."

On why he wants to appear on Russian state television

"My mother and father are both World War II veterans. Not many people can say that, that their mom was. Well my dad had six bronze battle stars. He fought in North Africa, Normandy, Remagen Bridge, Battle of the Bulge, Anzio and Berlin. And he didn't talk much about the war to me as a kid. But what he did talk about was when he got to Berlin, and the fantastic friendship he made with the Russians.

"Well, before the war was even over Russia became our enemy. Why? Because they were communist and we're run by Wall Street. And Wall Street's biggest fear is socialism. They'd rather get in bed with Nazis or fascists any day than a socialist. So we became immediate enemies with Russia. Well I'm sick of it. My entire 65 years on the planet we've had this Cold War with Russia going on. My belief is, how about being friends for a while? We can always go back to being enemies. Maybe we can accomplish something by being friends. So if what I do helps bridge that gap, I'm happy to do it in the latter years of my life now, when I have to pick out what I'm gonna work on, and I can't do everything."

On Russian meddling in the 2016 election

"Really? Well let's look at some hypocrisy for a moment. Nobody says this — this is what you're gonna hear on Jesse Ventura's show — how many elections worldwide have we interfered in? A lot of them. Tons of them. Dozens of them. I watched the big one on TV. CBS had it the other day, the NSA said this and that, and then they actually did a disclaimer at the end. They said, 'But, it was assured it had no bearing on the results of our election.' Well then who cares? This is like 'Spy vs. Spy' in Mad magazine."