Joe Exotic is getting dragged for his recent presidential run announcement, but it ain't by Carole Baskin -- instead, it's by the party he says he's running with.
Angela McArdle, chair and spokesperson for the Libertarian Party, tells TMZ ... "We stand for personal and economic freedom, we are not a landing pad for former reality stars and D-list celebrities." Ouch.
She says the "Tiger King" star hasn't shown he has a full grasp on the ideas of the party, and even calls out his 2018 gubernatorial run as a Libertarian in Oklahoma -- saying that attempt was "just tigers and glitter."
She adds she's very sympathetic to people "being mistreated in prison," but notes that doesn't mean it's right to support someone who's made "poor choices."
Angela tells us, hypothetically, anyone can run for office as a Libertarian, and there isn't a whole lot the party can do to block it -- instead, she urges folks to send libertarian literature to Joe while he's locked away. In her words, "If he's going to be spouting about libertarianism, he might as well get educated about it."
Aside from understanding his party's platform, there's the not-so-small issue of candidate Joe's 20 remaining years on his prison sentence!
As we reported, Joe recently spoke with us in an exclusive jailhouse interview ... and he told us why he's putting himself on the ballot.