Harvard Divinity School philosophy professor Cornel West declared Thursday on CNN International’s “Amanpour” that former President Barack Obama “didn’t have the courage,” or “willingness to fight” for progressive issues the way President Joe Biden does.
Comparing Biden to former President Lyndon Johnson, West said, “Coming into office, he hits the issue of Yemen, and Afghanistan, head-on, relief bill, infrastructure bill, deeply concerned about police brutality, talks about white supremacy, talks about Jim Crow. He reminds me very much of LBJ, who started as a White supremacist from Jim Crow Texas and ended up one of the major forces for good against White supremacy. That’s why you never give up on people. You never know which way they’re heading. You never know what kind of change they can put forward, and if Biden continues in this way he’s going to be very much like LBJ and will be a much stronger force for good against White supremacy on the ground than Barack Obama was.”
West continued, “Now, Barack Obama had the symbol. Because he is brilliant, he’s Black. He’s poised, and so forth. Didn’t have the courage. Didn’t have the willingness to fight that Biden does when it comes to this issue when it comes to a variety of issues. So who would know? Who would think that Joseph Biden from Scranton, Pennsylvania could become such a force for good for progressives?”
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