Cenk Uygur running for president as Democrat
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Progressive pundit Cenk Uygur will challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination, offering himself as an alternative to an incumbent who "is definitely going to lose" if he makes it to the general election.
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help him decide that this is not the right path," Uygur, 53, told Semafor, as he prepared to file for the 2024 Nevada primary. "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."
The founder of The Young Turks media channel had repeatedly urged Biden to quit the race, calling his re-election bid "intensely selfish," and warning that it made a Trump victory likelier.
He'd urged "at least a dozen people" to enter the race before deciding to try for it himself, as "proxy" for Democratic opposition to Biden, focusing on "popular issues" like a higher minimum wage, a "public option" for healthcare, and paid family leave.
"It isn't like I have giant policy disagreements with Biden," Uygur said. "I actually intend to fight for those incredibly popular policies and pass them. Biden hasn't tried that, because his donors don't want him to."
Uygur was born in Istanbul, and immigrated to the United States from Turkey in 1978, but believed that the Constitution's "natural born citizen" clause wouldn't disqualify him from running. The issue would end up in the Supreme Court, he said, and be a "slam dunk" victory.
"That's another good reason to run," he said. "I'm tired of 25 million Americans having this albatross around their neck."
Democrats have ignored the president's primary challengers, and that won't change for Uygur.
He won just 7% of the vote in his first bid for office - a longshot progressive run for Congress in southern California. And early polling of the first primary states, which found a majority of Democrats ready to support a Biden alternative, didn't entice anyone else into the race. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who on Monday bolted the party to run as an independent candidate, was trailing Biden by between 45 and 70 points.
But Uygur said that he could "break through" in a way that Biden's other challenger, Marianne Williamson, had not. ("She's a terrific person with great policies," he added.) He'd learned from his House campaign that "the mainstream media, generally speaking, are grotesque liars," and wasn't afraid of scrutiny of his brash or suggestive on-air comments — a problem that cost him the endorsement of Bernie Sanders in his congressional race.
"I don't believe in traditional campaigning," he said. "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."
Uygur has a different audience than Kennedy or Williamson. He worked briefly as an MSNBC commentator, but parted ways with the network 12 years ago, focusing on building his progressive video news channel, which has 5.6 million YouTube subscribers.
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I suppose this is mildly interesting. If he gets enough media coverage he will able to promote the progressive agenda on a presidential stage, but in the end he will likely hurt the Democrats more than help them. I dont think Biden will drop out because the host of The Young Turks wants him to.
I used to watch his TV program occasionally a while back. He's a strange dude. He's a Muslim, but apparently not very religious at all. And IIRC he doesn't talk about religious issues much if at all. Also he changes his views from time to time.
I think he started out as a conservative, then became a progressive.
I believe he was involved in a few controversies. One was when he criticisied Muslim and Jewish religious garments! (I don't think that's one of the top issues on most voters' minds!)
Also made several sexist comments about women (I think he was drinking when he said them). And then he apologized.
If he makes a serious run for president I can't imagine him getting much of a following. He's a bit strange, inconsistent in his views...and I just can't se emany peoplegetting too excited by his candidacy. (regardless of their views)
He's basically a younger Bernie Sanders. As a tv host, he is a good talker. His impact will entirely depend on how much free media he can get. But no, he's not going to win the nomination. He's going to get some good shots in on Trump though. That is a given.
If you think Biden is going to be reelected, you're living in fantasy land.
I'm not allowed to tell you the truth. Carry on.
Explain your reasoning: logic+facts.
???
I'll be voting for Biden. He has been a good president.
The far-right propaganda against him means nothing.
Biden has been a good president despite the lies
Well said cjcold, well said,
Uygur is in the daily media and hosts a very popular You Tube show, so he knows his way around the public sphere. He is also a pretty forceful personality. Whether or not he can make any kind of impact will really depend on how much coverage the mainstream media wants to give him.
John: what you said describes a lot of people actually. But IMO that's not enough to get the nomination.
Uygur, born in Turkey to Turkish parents, is ineligible to be POTUS...
If I had to describe him-- or his possible candidacy, I'd say:
Much ado about nothing.