Cornel West said in a new interview that he believes President Biden may drop out of the 2024 race in the coming months, amid mounting criticism over foreign policy and the economy.
“I’m not even sure whether I’ll be running against Biden,” the independent presidential candidate told Politico. “Biden — I think he’s going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back.”
Former President Johnson announced he would not seek reelection on March 31, 1968, just months before the election, amid concerns over his health and criticism of the Vietnam War.
West said there is a real chance Biden’s campaign doesn’t make it to November.
“I’m just saying that I’m open to those possibilities, given the fluidity of the situation,” the renowned academic said. “He’s running out of gas.”
West said his real race is against some Democrats who haven’t declared their candidacy for the White House — Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.).
And while he said the Republican ticket appears more solid, he added that it’s also possible former President Trump leaves the race “if the weight becomes too heavy with the indictments and court processes.”
West described Trump as a “pied piper” and a “fascist,” and Biden as a “milquetoast neoliberal.” He said both could lead the country down dark paths, Trump to a civil war and Biden to World War III.
“I’m more concerned about Trump domestically,” West said. “I’m more concerned about Biden in terms of foreign policy.”
West, who is running his own unaffiliated independent bid after campaigns with the People’s Party and Green Party, has received little support in national polling, while his campaign has attracted mostly disaffected young people and progressives.
He has received an average of 5 percent support in polls that include him alongside Biden and Trump, though that figure excludes other third-party candidates.
In the interview, West also downplayed concerns that he could be a spoiler to Biden’s reelection.
“There might be slices of people ‘if I didn’t vote for West, I would have voted for Biden,’” he said. “But that’s not to me, a spoiler. If you’re in a race, and you make a case, and they vote for you, how do you become the spoiler?”
West has already qualified for the ballot in Alaska, he said, and hopes to make the ballot in at least 40 states by Election Day.
West faces competition from independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has placed himself as the premier anti-establishment candidate in 2024. Jill Stein will also return to the ballot for the Green Party.