Cornel West, the progressive activist and professor, announced a presidential campaign on Monday with the People’s Party, a third party led by a member of the campaign staff for Senator Bernie Sanders.
“I entered in search of truth, I entered in search of justice, and the presidency is just a vehicle to pursue truth and justice – what I have been trying to do all my life,” said Dr. a campaign video posted on Twitter.
In the video, Dr. West said he decided to run as a third-party candidate because “no political party wants to tell the truth about Wall Street, about Ukraine, about the Pentagon, about Big Tech.” He called former President Donald J. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, a “neo-fascist,” and President Biden a “milquetoast neoliberal.”
Dr. taught. West at Yale, Princeton and Harvard and is now a professor of philosophy at Union Theological Seminary. He is known for his progressive activism, including his sharp criticism of former President Barack Obama.
His campaign video highlighted a list of issues, including wages, affordable housing, abortion rights, universal health care, climate change and “the destruction of American democracy.”
The People’s Party was founded by Nick Brana, who worked on the campaign of Mr. Sanders ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, but later withdrew. The party tried to recruit Mr. Sanders after his 2016 campaign, but he declined to participate and is seeking the Democratic nomination again in 2020.
“Do we need anything? Let’s see. But some of us are going to fight,” Dr. West said in his announcement video, leaning into the camera and exaggerating the syllables of “fight.” “Go swing with style and smile.”