Politics
Cornel West doubts Biden will be on ballot in 2024 General Election
By Jake Beardslee · December 15, 2023
In brief…
- Cornel West speculates Biden may drop out of the 2024 race like LBJ did in 1968
- He sees his true competition as Newsom and Whitmer, not Biden/Trump
- Polls show West averaging 5% support against Biden and Trump
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West said in a recent interview with Politico that he believes President Biden may withdraw from the 2024 race in the coming months. West stated, “I’m not even sure whether I’ll be running against Biden. Biden — I think he’s going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back,” referring to when President Lyndon B. Johnson unexpectedly dropped out of the 1968 race.
“I’m just saying that I’m open to those possibilities, given the fluidity of the situation,” West said. “He’s running out of gas.” He sees his true competitors as Democratic governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer, who haven’t yet declared 2024 bids.
Though West granted the Republican ticket seems more solid, he added that Trump could still leave the race “if the weight becomes too heavy with the indictments and court processes.” West labeled Trump a “pied piper” and a “fascist” who could lead America into civil war. He sees Biden as a “milquetoast neoliberal” whose foreign policy could spur “World War III.”
West has averaged around 5% support in polls including him, Biden, and Trump, though those polls exclude other third-party options. He argued he wouldn’t play “spoiler” by drawing votes from Biden, stating, “If you’re in a race, and you make a case, and they vote for you, how do you become the spoiler?”