Cornel West: Both parties ‘beyond redemption’

Cornel West, an independent presidential candidate, said in an interview that both major political parties in the United States are no longer salvageable. washington post It was released on Tuesday.

“Both sides are in a hopeless situation,” West said.

Explaining his need to stay in the race, West cited “the crisis in the Republican Party, the weakening of the Republican Party and neo-fascism.” [former President Trump] On the one hand, and now especially the Democratic establishment around Gaza. ”

“We have to stay true to ourselves,” he told the Post.

Mr. West, an activist, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and recently joined pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University. He has defended third-party candidacy as a moral obligation, despite Democratic concerns that it could hinder President Biden’s re-election bid.

Mr. Biden has faced growing criticism from the left for his handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, and from some within his own party. According to a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, the share of Americans who want the president to pressure Israel to end its military operations in Gaza has increased from 31% in February to 31% in the latest poll. It was found that the number had increased to 37%.

Biden has recently stepped up public criticism of Israel’s handling of the war and stepped up efforts to transfer more aid to Gaza over famine concerns. However, the president does not support attaching conditions to aid to Israel, even though a strike at the US-based World Central Kitchen left seven workers dead.

He also criticized another independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said the Palestinians were being “spoiled” with international aid and described Israel as a “moral nation.”

“I just think he’s out of touch with the reality of suffering,” West said of Kennedy.

In a recent interview, West said Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year was a “counterterrorism” response.

“There’s no question that there are many different Palestinian voices in the resistance movement,” West told CNN anchor Abby Phillippe earlier this month. “Hamas does not speak for all Palestinians.”

“I don’t believe in killing innocent people,” West later added.

“But we can’t start with these voices without accepting the heinous murders and occupations that have been going on for 75 years. And then we have a counterterrorism response to that.”

On April 10, Mr. West announced that he would nominate Melina Abdullah, a professor at California State University, Los Angeles, as his running mate. She said she is “looking for people who dedicate their hearts, minds and souls to the empowerment of poor and working people.”

“She has a track record of deep commitment and investment in putting poor and working people at the center of her vision,” West said of Abdullah.