The outspoken democratic socialist, who has been a mainstay in black academic and political circles for decades, suggests Biden could suddenly end his campaign in a similar fashion as President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, when he announced he would not be running for re-election, leaving the party to select a new nominee at the convention. During a recent interview with POLITICO, West told reporters and editors, “I’m not even sure whether I’ll be running against Biden.” He added, “Biden — I think he’s going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back.” West’s comments trail months of disastrous polling for the 46th U.S. president, which show it’s increasingly likely that he will suffer a defeat to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. As of Dec. 14, by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans disapprove of Biden’s job performance. According to Pew Research, his approval rating has slumped to 33 percent — lower than even President Richard Nixon who hit 34 percent — marking the lowest approval rating of any president in modern history. Countless calls for Biden to drop out of the race have flowed from members of his own party. His likely opponent in the general election, Trump, has managed to scoop up 22 percent support from black voters in six key swing states, numbers that mathematically would be devastating for Biden, should they translate into votes. And most general election polls now show if the election were held today, Trump would beat Biden by margins as high as 19 points. West’s comments also come during the week the U.S. House of Representatives voted to formalize their impeachment inquiry, which has ensnared not only Biden, but multiple members of his family. “I’m just saying that I’m open to those possibilities, given the fluidity of the situation,” West said when asked about Biden potentially ending his presidential run. “He’s running out of gas.” West, who formally aligns with the People’s Party and the Green Party, is now running as an independent. His target demographic is young voters disenfranchised with both major political parties. “So much of this campaign really is about trying to touch that 38 percent who don’t vote at all and young people more and more wrestling with cynicism of various sorts,” he said.Public intellectual-turned-presidential candidate Cornel West says he does not believe President Joe Biden will be on the ballot as the Democratic candidate on Election Day next year.
