For a guy who says he's not running for president , Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg acts an awful lot like someone who might run for president, or at least pivot to politics. At the beginning of 2017, the 33-year-old tech billionaire announced he was embarking on a cross-country quest to better know the so-called real, non-billionaire Americans who use the monster of a social network he birthed. In December, he renounced his atheism, writing on his Facebook page, "I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important." And Zuck's recent hires at his nonprofit, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative—former Clinton pollster and one-time Obama adviser Joel Benenson , former Obama aide David Plouffe , and George W. Bush's 2004 campaign manager Ken Mehlman —suggest political aspirations.

If and when Zuckerberg decides to run, he'll face one big obstacle: No one really wants him to. Leftists are wary of tech oligarchs, the right doesn't like California liberals, and it's not clear what his natural constituency would be or what his political beliefs even are.

Not too long ago, the idea of a rich guy with zero political experience and an, um, unpolished style—have you seen him talk on Facebook Live? —gearing up for a national campaign would have been laughable. But after Donald Trump, anything seems possible.

My call for Zuck fans was retweeted by alt-right superstar Mike Cernovich, which invited a flood of trolls into my inbox sending along excerpts of the Unabomber manifesto . One correspondent ironically called the Facebook founder "the very model of American excellence and Jewish ingenuity," opining, "He can reduce the human condition to raw data... So get used it, Mark Zuckerberg 2020, and when he combined us mortals with technology, supplying us with all the dopamine we need, we'll be calling him POTUS for eternity."

"Someone Please Stop Mark Zuckerberg From Running for Office," a recent Observer op-ed begged. When I put out a public request looking for people who would vote for Zuck, InfoWars' Paul Joseph Watson snarked , "Do I get free Kool-Aid?" Another person asked , "Are you going to place them in 24-hour mental health holds?"

What do you make of Zuck's cross-country trip? It's noble of him to acknowledge the bubble he helped create, and while I don't think he's doing us any favors (and by "us" I mean the rest of the "coastal elite"), I truly think the election was Zuck's "come to Jesus" moment... I feel like Zuckerberg used to be a punk who now has a big company and a lot of responsibility, and he's grappling with his own lack of moral fortitude.

VICE: Have you always liked Mark Zuckerberg? Debbie Saslaw: No. But the older I get, the more I identify with him: My knee-jerk reaction is to resist any and all authority. I have a short fuse, and often come across as curt, aggressive, or emotionally despondent—I think Trump is the same way. We're disruptors, and while I dislike most/any/all of Trump's policies, I respect his unyielding resolve, and the fact that he's not hiring 20 different community managers to growth-hack his Twitter account... [Zuckerberg] understands web culture and the power of transparency.

But who would actually vote for this Innovation Party? I found six other people who are down for a Zuck presidency and asked them, literally why?

[We need] Silicon Valley technologist to do tours of service to bring data solutions and efficiencies to our aging governmental systems... Millions of young people are turned on by a 74-old-year socialist scolding Wall Street; millions of others by a reality-TV star with a 1950s view of women. Why not recruit Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg or Sheryl Sandberg to head a third-party movement? ... I will even throw out a possible name for the movement: The Innovation Party.

Zuckerberg's nascent hypothetical candidacy has also been imagined in more elite circles. Last year, Jim VandeHei, the co-founder of Politico who is now the CEO of Axios, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, where he wrote that America needs an outsider to lead the country, but it shouldn't be Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders:

"He just starts walking to every table introducing himself," Chapman told me. "Being involved with politics, I knew what he was doing so I asked him a question about small businesses and his thoughts on how to make them thrive. His answer was more moderate than I expected."

But there are a few people out there enthusiastic about a Mark Zuckerberg presidency. Wade Chapman, a 17-year-old from Alabama who once volunteered for Bernie Sanders, told me he actually met Zuck on his cross-country tour, when Chapman was out to lunch with his dad.

Does it mean I think Zuckerberg is a man of the people? Not really. No more than Donald Trump was, and less so than Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders were. But if we're being realistic here, it's a necessary, if cynical, step. Zuckerberg is going to have to show he's in touch with middle America, and that might mean milking cows in Wisconsin or hunting in Montana. It's all for show, but these images matter—whether we want them to or not.

VICE: What do you make of Zuck's cross-country trip? Skylar Baker-Jordan: It's quite obviously a farce; it's political theater. But the thing about political theater is we know it works. Donald Trump was as far removed from middle America as you can be, and yet through the media circus that ensued managed to tap into a very real anger and resentment toward the chattering classes that few politicians have been able to exploit. It works, and it's smart.

If you had to decide a slogan for Mark Zuckerberg's 2020 campaign, what would you go with? And who would you choose as VP? I'm sure I'm not the first to suggest "I'm President, Bitch." I have a long-running joke about the Dwayne Johnson/Zuckerberg 2024 bid. Is that even a joke, though?

Are you concerned that the qualities Zuckerberg shares with Trump—a billionaire without political experience—might make him a less than ideal candidate? My main concern with both Zuckerberg and Trump is the fact that they want to run this country like a business. I'd like to think Mark Zuckerberg is more humane, but there was that whole thing about him building a wall in Hawaii , etc.

Since there's little to go off of, what do you know about Mark Zuckerberg's political beliefs? What policies do you imagine he'd champion? If Mark can figure out a way to help people of all ages monetize their talents (YouTube/Google/Adsense has done a pretty solid job with this, as well as tools like Patreon, Kickstarter, Etsy, etc...), I'd vote for him in a heartbeat... His Harvard speech was a pretty good preview of what his platform might look like. Yes, he's still corporate huckster, but it reads more Bernie than Trump.

Do you think Zuck is electable? Trump changed the rules of the game and society seems so volatile that I could absolutely see Zuckerberg being elected.

VICE: Why do you think Mark Zuckerberg would make a good politician? Why do you like him? Robert Miller: The left is doing some soul searching after losing pretty much everything for years now. Democrats don't have a message, and personally I think that there is a phenomenal opportunity for tech/Silicon Valley to be a part of that message. Run on the promise of building a better future with technology. Of curing cancer, building flying and driverless cars, going to Mars, fighting climate change, you name it. A positive message of a better future. Zuck could be the person to shepherd this in. I don't think he's the best person for the job, but he works, and I believe in the message enough that I think he could win in 2020 with it.

"[His cross-country trip is] the same as when rich students go to Africa and snap selfies with people who live in poor villages, all for show."

How does Mark Zuckerberg's status as a billionaire factor into your support of him? Not at all. If Batman teaches us anything, it's that not all rich people are dicks.

What do you know about Mark Zuckerberg's political beliefs? What policies do you imagine he'd champion? I think he would champion a more inclusive America. I think he'd look to further open, not close, our borders... Economically, I think he'd tell us some hard truths. Factory jobs aren't coming back... Instead, Zuckerberg will be focused on the economy of the future—service, yes, but also technology, science, engineering, and education. If anything, he could promote the manufacturing and assembly of electronic and technological components in the United States.

Contrast this with Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, both who look backward at what America was in the 1960s and 1970s. Mark isn't doing that. He's looking ahead, realizing the jobs of the past—like the factory job my grandpa retired from at 50—aren't coming back, but that there are other jobs to be created and American talent to take them on... Couple this with Zuckerberg's overtures to the LGBT community—he's always been an ally.

Why do you think Mark Zuckerberg would make a good politician? Why do you like him? I don't know if Mark Zuckerberg will make a good politician... I do like him, though. He's not like Donald Trump, who inherited his wealth, built one tower, and then went bankrupt and leveraged his celebrity to build essentially a marketing business. Mark Zuckerberg is a visionary.

If you had to decide a slogan for Mark Zuckerberg's 2020 campaign, what would you go with? And who would you choose as VP?

"A Better Future" and [California senator] Kamala Harris.

Sandra M., 39, Part-Time University Lecturer

VICE: Why do you think Mark Zuckerberg would make a good politician? Why do you like him?

Sandra M.: When I look at the politicians in Washington, DC, currently... I don't see a lot of people who see digitally first... The chance that Zuckerberg could take his forward-thinking business ideas and learn more about the populations in America that include people like my mom or grandma is exciting.

What policies do you imagine he'd champion?

I don't know what he believes politically. I can say that he has "potentially" an open mind simply because he has married outside of his race, backed down off of his Hawaii land controversy, and recently changed the mission statement of Facebook.

Do you think Mark Zuckerberg is electable?

Did I ever believe my grandmother would be on Facebook in her 80s? No, but did I think Donald Trump would be elected? No! It is important to believe anything is possible.

Are you concerned that the qualities Zuckerberg shares with Trump—a billionaire without political experience—might make him a less than ideal candidate?

The difference is that when I hear Zuckerberg speak, I don't think that he is speaking at a fourth-grade level like Trump. I believe he earned his place in Harvard. I believe he would surround himself with advisers on areas foreign to him and would be thoughtful about the American people instead of having disdain for our institutions like Trump.

"Once you reach a certain level of wealth you are so far away from the problems of average people, it's impossible for you to relate to them."

Carlos Guzman, 30, Architect

VICE: What do you make of Zuck's cross-country trip?

Carlos Guzman: I think it's the same as when rich students go to Africa and snap selfies with people who live in poor villages, all for show... Once you reach a certain level of wealth, you are so far away from the problems of average people it's impossible for you to relate to them. I don't think any of this stems from Mark being genuinely worried or interested in the well-being of common Americans.