Independent left-leaning presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West said Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has offered him a job in her administration and paid his campaign debts if he drops out of the 2024 race.
West made the stunning accusation in an interview with independent journalist Jordan Chariton after the Democratic National Convention concluded in Chicago. Status Coup News Podcast.
The two discussed the offer to withdraw in anticipation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s expected decision to halt his campaign activities (in battleground states) and endorse former President Donald Trump.
Chariton and West had the following conversation:
Chariton: What suggestions did they make and what was your response?
West: Yeah, I mean, some of them reached out to me saying I need to get in on this too. This is a historic moment, especially for black people. I told them, you guys are just talking to the wrong brothers. You can offer resources, positions, whatever, but it's not all about me. It's not a game I'm playing…
Chariton: If possible, could you please be more specific? You mentioned being offered a position or resources. Were you ever offered a position in the Harris Administration? Would there be any financial incentive to decline?
West: Oh, I definitely had a lot of offers. I won't go into the specifics. I really won't go into them because I don't want to make that the focus of the interview.
Chariton: So let's just say they didn't offer you a cleaner position, but a relatively high-ranking position.West: [Laughing] Well, I guess it wasn't that high…
Chariton: One more question on this: Have they offered you a cabinet post or a lower position or offered to pay off your campaign debts?West: Well, they offered up some serious, substantive conversations about all of that that could lead to something real [unintelligible].
West has staunch anti-Israel views, even carrying an anti-Semitic banner at a protest in October.
Democrats worry that West could siphon votes from the left and lose to Trump in close battleground states, and have filed lawsuits in a number of states to try to bar him from the ballot.
The West campaign released a statement on Tuesday after defeating two challenges over ballot access in Wisconsin and Michigan: “The West/Abdullah campaign has obtained the necessary signatures and minor party nominations to appear on the ballot in 18 states, including seven battleground states: Michigan, Georgia, Minnesota, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia and North Carolina.”
The offer, reportedly from Harris to West, is reminiscent of the Obama administration's attempt to persuade Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) not to run for the Pennsylvania Senate, where Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter was running for reelection and gave Democrats a temporary filibuster-proof majority.
The White House lied about the “quid pro quo” and then admitted to using former President Bill Clinton as an intermediary to offer Sestak a job in exchange for dropping out of school.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
