OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden has another 2024 primary challenger that few political analysts could have seen coming.
Cenk Uygur, founder of the far-left “Young Turks” network, announced his decision to jump into the race to challenge the sitting president 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!”
Nevertheless, Uygur’s website lists four issues in its brief policy section, including paid family leave, $15 minimum wage, “affordable health insurance,” and putting an end to congressional district 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.”
The last time he ran for office was in 2020 when he couldn’t even earn 7 percent of the vote in California’s 25th congressional district. He said that the campaign did teach him one thing, 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.”
BREAKING – Cenk Uygur announces stunning presidential run promising to defeat Joe Biden, Community Notes, and the US Constitution.
🇹🇷🇺🇸🤔 pic.twitter.com/sg3EyIiQeg
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) October 12, 2023
But Ugyer has a problem: He can’t run for president, per the Constitution. Ugyer was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and is therefore not a natural-born citizen, which you must be to become president of the United States.
However, he said he plans to challenge that provision in court, suggesting he will win a “slam dunk” victory.
“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,” he said, according to Breitbart News. “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?”
Marianne Williamson is also running against Biden for the Democratic nomination, 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, per The Hill.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also seeking the Dem party nomination, but he announced late last month he was going to run instead as an Independent.
According to a text reviewed by Mediaite, the Kennedy campaign is planning to launch “attack ads” against the Democratic National Committee soon to “pave the way” for his announcement, which he plans to make in Philadelphia.
“Bobby feels that the DNC is changing the rules to exclude his candidacy, so an independent run is the only way to go,” a Kennedy campaign insider told the outlet.
Kennedy has apparently been considering the idea of a third-party bid for weeks after the DNC announced they would not schedule any primary debates after RFK Jr. and Maryanne Williamson filed to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The New York Times reported last month that he met with the chair of the Libertarian Party, “raising the prospect of a departure from the party that decades ago became synonymous with his family name,” Mediaite noted.
