Cornel West, the People's Party presidential candidate, and progressive activist, criticized President Biden in his first interview since announcing his third-party run for the White House.
Speaking on KBLA's Tavis Smiley podcast, West dismissed the notion that his candidacy was potentially "pulling votes away from Biden" and criticized the Democratic Party for its candidate choices. West stated that "Biden doesn't own any votes. He's got to earn it. He's got to earn it," and criticized the Democrats for putting forward "mediocre, milquetoast, neoliberal politicians who can't say a mumbling word about militarism, can't say a mumbling word about a serious response to poverty, can't say a mumbling word about serious White supremacist practices."
West was referring to a 2021 speech in which Biden said he didn't think America was a racist nation but acknowledged that slavery and former Jim Crow laws "had a cost" on the country. West criticized Biden for not supporting a full-scale end to the Senate filibuster. However, the President has endorsed a carveout of the rule to pass legislation on abortion and voting rights. West blamed Democrats for creating the space that made his candidacy necessary, stating, "If they produced a candidate that spoke to the needs of precious poor and working-class folk, they wouldn't have me. They wouldn't have to deal with that."
West announced his candidacy for the presidency in a Monday video posted on Twitter, in which he took swings at both Democrats and Republicans and declared that he was running for "truth and justice." West stated, "The presidency is just one vehicle to pursue the truth and justice I've been trying to do all my life."
West's criticism of Biden and the Democratic Party comes as he seeks to establish himself as a viable third-party candidate. While his chances of winning the presidency are slim, West's candidacy could potentially siphon off votes from Biden, particularly among progressive voters dissatisfied with the President's policies. West's candidacy could also serve as a warning to the Democratic Party that it needs to do more to address the concerns of progressive voters if it wants to retain their support in future elections.
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