The Democratic primary’s latest sideshow may be a sign that the base is frustrated with a party establishment trying to force Joe Biden on the masses.
Cenk Uygur, the progressive commentator and media host best known as the creator of the leftist Young Turks, has announced that he is running for president, challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination.
Uygur’s candidacy, however, is not only a long shot — it’s a no shot. Uygur, who immigrated to the United States from Turkey when he was eight years old, is ineligible for the presidency under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, which states that “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
As a naturalized citizen born in Turkey to Turkish parents, Uygur is not a natural-born citizen.
But the Young Turks host made no mention of his eligibility (or lack thereof) in his announcement, stating on Twitter and on his campaign website that his motivation to run is the fact that Biden can’t win against Trump this time around.
“Biden is 13 POINTS LOWER THAN when he barely beat Trump in the Electoral College (44,000 votes),” Uygur’s website reads. “Biden is 24 POINTS BEHIND Trump on the economy — the most important issue. Biden is currently TRAILING TRUMP when he has to win the popular vote by 5 points to win the Electoral College.”
In addition, his sparse website listed four issue of focus: “Time Off for Mothers — Paid Family Leave (84%), Higher Wages — $15 Minimum Wage (65%), Affordable Health Insurance — Public Option (68%), Fight Corruption — End Gerrymandering (90%).”
Speaking to Semafor, Uygur said of Biden, “I’m going to do whatever I can to help him decide that this is not the right path. 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.”
He further told the outlet that his experience running for Congress in California’s 25th District in 2022 — a race in which he won less than seven percent of the vote — is that “the mainstream media, generally speaking, are grotesque liars.”
“I don’t believe in traditional campaigning,” said Uygur. “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.”
He further said on his program: “I have lawyered up. I have the same lawyer [Sen. Bernie Sanders] 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?”
Discarding Uygur’s unconstitutional bid for the presidency, the only challenger Biden faces in the Democratic primary is self-help author Marianne Williamson, who also ran unsuccessfully in 2020.
Uygur mentioned Williamson in remarks during Wednesday’s Young Turks episode.
“Unfortunately, she hasn’t broken through,” he said, adding, “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.”
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who had been the more well-known challenger to Biden in the Democratic primary, switched to running as an Independent this week.
Kennedy’s surprise Independent candidacy sent shockwaves through the political world, with both parties making moves to soften the potential impact as it remains unknown whether his presence in the general election would hurt Biden or Trump more.
A poll released by the Republican firm Echelon Insights suggests that Kennedy would pull away more voters from Biden. Per its results, 16 percent of those who voted for Biden in 2020 are going for Kennedy, versus 10 percent of 2020 Trump voters. In total, Kennedy was supported by 13 percent of Democratic respondents, nine percent of Republicans, and 23 percent of Independents.
Yet there’s also an argument to be made that ideologically, Kennedy could pull away more would-be Trump voters due to his medical freedom stance and vaccine skepticism, which has become a much more Republican than Democrat issue in recent years, especially since Covid.
But Trump has one advantage in that he appears to have a more loyal voting base than Biden does. A poll from NBC News last month found that only 38 percent of those who say they are voting for Biden are doing so because of him specifically; rather 58 percent said they were voting more against Trump than for Biden.
Meanwhile, 56 percent of Trump voters said they are specifically voting for Trump, with only 36 percent voting against Biden.