Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur announced his 2024 Democrat primary challenge against President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
“Yes, I’m running against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. Joe Biden is down 24 points on the economy,” Ugyur posted online with a link to his campaign website. “He has no ability to make up that kind of ground on the most important issue. We need a new candidate now!”
Yes, I'm running against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. Joe Biden is down 24 points on the economy. He has no ability to make up that kind of ground on the most important issue. We need a new candidate now! https://t.co/JdRkmvU9Cy
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 12, 2023
Uygur’s website lists four issues in its brief policy section, including paid family leave, $15 minimum wage, “affordable health insurance,” and ending gerrymandering.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to help him decide that this is not the right path,” Uygur told Semafor, speaking about Biden. “If he retires now, he’s a hero: He beat Trump, he did a good job of being a steward of the economy. If he doesn’t, he loses to Trump, and he’s the villain of the story.”
Uygur last ran for office in the 2020 midterms, where he earned less than seven percent of the vote in California’s 25th congressional district. Uygur said his previous campaign taught him that “the mainstream media, generally speaking, are grotesque liars.”
“I don’t believe in traditional campaigning,” Uygur told Semafor. “I will do almost all my campaigning in the media. I love diners. I love meeting actual voters. But that’s mythology, and you’re not going to diner your way into beating an incumbent president.”
Notably, the 53-year-old is a Turkish-born immigrant, meaning he does not meet the Constitution’s “natural born citizen” requirement to run for the nation’s highest office. However, Uygur plans to challenge that constitutional requirement in court, suggesting the issue would be a “slam dunk” victory.
He said:
I have lawyered up. I have the same lawyer [Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)] used in both of his presidential runs. And my guess is I’m going to have some strong allies in this. Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’m going to the Supreme Court. Either I’m going to win or I’m going to lose. Now this case is on our side. The precedent is definitely on our side. So, what are you going to do, brother?
Uygur’s entrance into the Democrat primary comes as former Democrat challenger Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his independent candidacy. Marianne Williamson is also running against Biden in the Democrat party, but Uygur said, “Unfortunately, she hasn’t broken through.”
“I have nothing but respect for her courage and her policies, but at this point, we’re not at progressives versus establishment. We’re at four months left, and things must change. Otherwise, we’re almost definitely going to lose to Trump,” Uygur added.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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