Progressive scholar and activist Cornel West is seeking the Green Party’s nomination for president of the United States.
West, who has already declared himself a candidate under the People’s Party, said the move is part of a larger effort to build a progressive coalition around his candidacy.
“In the spirit of a broad United Front and coalition strategy, I am pursuing the nomination of the Green Party for President of the United States,” West wrote on Twitter.
West urged the public to “continue to support this unprecedented effort to empower precious poor and working people here and abroad.”
He added, “I thank the volunteers of the People’s Party for the initial launch!”
The Green Party reacted positively to West’s announcement, saying the scholar’s political values aligned with their own.
PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST CORNEL WEST ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL RUN UNDER THIRD PARTY
“The Green Party welcomes Dr. Cornel West as a candidate seeking the party’s nomination for president,” the political federation said. “Dr. West is an important voice for social and economic justice in line with our party’s platform.”
“We look forward to him participating in the nomination process,” the Green Party continued.
West went after President Biden last week, referring to him as “mediocre” and “milquetoast” in his first interview since announcing his long-shot third-party run for the White House.
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Appearing on KBLA’s Tavis Smiley podcast, West pushed back on the notion his candidacy was potentially “pulling votes away from Biden” and laid into the Democratic Party for its candidate choices.
“When somebody chooses to vote for you, you’re not pulling votes away. You see, Biden doesn’t own any votes. He’s got to earn it. He’s got to earn it,” West said.
“If the Democrats are putting out mediocre, milquetoast, neoliberal politicians who can’t say a mumbling word about militarism, can’t say a mumbling word about a serious response to poverty, can’t say a mumbling word about serious White supremacist practices — I mean, Biden himself said America is not a racist society. I said, ‘Get off the crack pipe,’” he added.
West was referring to a 2021 speech in which Biden said he didn’t think America was a racist nation, but said that slavery and former Jim Crow laws “had a cost” on the country.
Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.