Just kidding — I know you know who Andrew Yang is. He’s the one with the #YangGang and almost 800,000 Twitter followers. He’s the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who wants to give out free money to anyone who’ll listen. He’s the candidate who tweeted earlier today: “For those wondering I will be crowdsurfing in sandals at Thursday’s debate” (prompting 12,390 engagements.)

Andrew Yang wants people to go “not left. Not right. Forward”. He believes in that campaign slogan so much that you can buy it on a T-shirt at the Yang 2020 online store. You can also buy one that says: “Math. Money. Marijuana”, as well as a water bottle that professes its support for a “trickle-up economy”. His website is adorned with photos of people at rallies holding up signs that simply say “MATH”. And his central policy is a universal basic income — or Freedom Dividend — for every American over the age of 18, “no strings attached, paid for by a new tax on the companies benefiting most from automation”.

Yang is a startup entrepreneur, which leaves him open to accusations that he’s drunk the San Francisco Kool-Aid and decided he can raid the coffers for all that money without regard for the consequences. He has reassuring credentials, though, including a degree in economics and legal training at Columbia. He believes in the Freedom Dividend so much that he’s already paying three families an annual UBI out of his own pocket as a micro-experiment. He has a chatbot on his website that will direct you towards his main policies (UBI, “human-centered capitalism”, and Medicare-for-All.)

And here’s a strange thing about Andrew Yang: People who used to vote for Bernie Sanders love him. The alt-right love him. People who have never been interested in politics love him. My British fiancé is convinced he’s going to be the presidential candidate. I put out a call on Twitter for anyone who was backing Andrew Yang to get in touch, and within minutes, my inbox was flooded with DMs. There were so many, I was up all hours of the night trying to reply to them. As a test, I tried the same with Bernie Sanders supporters and Elizabeth Warren supporters over the next couple of days; no “Bernie Bros” got in touch, and just three Warren backers did. Even as I was trying to read those, my inbox was filling again with the thoughts of more members of the YangGang.

Who are they? Well, they come from across the political spectrum. A few described themselves as “socially liberal but fiscally conservative”. Others told me they were “100% progressive”. Some could quote sections of Yang’s book off by heart. A large number of them told me they’d been previously disengaged, but were introduced to Yang’s politics via The Joe Rogan Experience, a phenomenally popular podcast which aims to speak to your everyday “American bro” and introduces its audience to “thinkers” in sometimes hours-long discussions with people as disparate as Elon Musk, Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Jordan Peterson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Russell Brand.

Andrew Yang's US presidential campaign video: 'A Campaign of Ideas'

“I’m a Performance Theatre major, with a minor in English (concentration in Creative Writing),” wrote someone who identified themselves as Jackson. “As an artist, I was immediately drawn to the idea of UBI when I first heard someone mention [Yang’s] campaign about a year ago. Arts aren’t wildly prosperous financially speaking, and I’m often stressed and anxious about making a living in my career path. My best option is usually said to be find stable work in food service or some other industry to make a living and focus on arts as my side job. So when I hear food industry jobs are going to be automated, I realize that I have almost no feasible way to make a living while doing what I love. The Freedom Dividend would essentially allow me to pursue acting, or writing, or any medium of art, without the worry that not landing a gig won’t mean I can’t afford rent or my next meal. It would allow artists to pursue their craft full time, and revitalize local performance and visual art. It would essentially guarantee that I get a prosperous future, and that is a campaign I am willing to give my full support for.”

So far, so progressive. Elsewhere, a tweeter called Nihaar Sinha told me he was a “first-generation American son of immigrants with progressive views” but also a “former investment banker and business owner who believes strongly in (well-regulated) capitalism”. He doesn’t agree with all of Andrew Yang’s plans, he said, but he does feel Yang is the only one “offering 21st century solutions for 21st century problems”.

“The Freedom Dividend, for example, does not neatly fit out current political framework,” he continued. “I can call it progressive (strong safety net) or libertarian (no administrative bloat, money in hands of people instead of the government), socialist (redistribution of wealth) or capitalist (dividend to shareholders of our democracy, paid for my companies who've used public goods like broadband subsidies or public university research to grow). That's because it's not an ideological solution. It's a data-driven solution tailored to the unique 21st century problem of automation displacing millions of Americans, and supporting empirical research showing cash transfer is the most effective form of assistance.

“Especially given how divided we are, I've seen Andrew win over everyone from The Breakfast Club to Tucker Carlson to Joe Rogan to Morning Joe to The Root to Ben Shapiro. He actually can deliver on “healing the divide” to which everyone pays lip service but most candidates ignore.”

Others spoke just as passionately about Yang healing a political divide with his refusal to condemn right or left-wing politics.

Then there were the slightly more kooky responses. One Twitter account whose name is Andrew Yang Is The Singularity (with the strange handle @Yang41344660) DM’d me to tell me that Yang “leads me to envision a future where more people get along, are happy, are optimistic, are more caring, more outwardly and community focused. A complete shift in what we immediately value. I've felt a change happen within myself, and I know other Yang supporters would agree.” The writer continued: “It is this possibility of this drastic shift or leap towards peace and sanity that has me absolutely glued to this campaign.”

Like with Marianne Williamson, many have openly wondered whether the increasingly vocal support behind Andrew Yang is due to (in the words of one of my fellow political writers during a conversation about the YangGang) “Trump folks trying to make trouble”. They wonder about bots, or about entryists trying to make Democrats look ridiculous so Trump doesn’t lose the presidency in 2020.

Even weirder, some Redditors who habituate 4chan have said that Yang has an alt-right following because they believe his Freedom Dividend would destroy the US economy in the same the German economy suffered after the First World War and usher in “Weimar solutions” (it’s a stretch, I know, but I’m not the one who came up with the theory.) Another popular post on Reddit describes someone who had fallen into the depths of far-right ideology and was reintroduced to hope and optimism by the Yang campaign. While cautioning that he’s still “de-programming myself from the hate that I absorbed over the last five years”, the writer says that Yang’s “perception that AI is currently the largest 'unseen' threat to the average American worker — me — couldn't have rung more strongly with me. His solutions just made sense to me in a way that I can't articulate. I tried to poke holes in the argument for a basic income, but could only come up short. For me, a thousand a month would let me spend more time with my sick mother, without working increasingly later shifts at work. It would give me the flexibility to care for my loved ones without sapping my own strength. I don't know why, but seeing the benefit to myself in such a dramatic manner just triggered some otherworldly type of empathy within me.”

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

There are, of course, plenty of businesspeople and fellow entrepreneurs in the YangGang ranks, as well as many young supporters and ordinary volunteers. And whether or not people are “making trouble” round his candidacy, it’s clear Yang has touched a nerve with a lot of people who aren’t used to having nerves touched. How long do you need to make trouble before real people start listening, anyway? And how much does it matter if someone with new and interesting ideas gets a platform because half the people engaging with him think he sounds nuts? How much does it matter if people fall for your politics because of how you make them feel, as opposed to what you’ll be able to do (it did, after all, work for Trump)?