Cenk Uygur, a Turkish American political commentator, has announced his intention to run to become the next President of the United States. He is seeking the Democratic nomination, a move which will see him pitted against the incumbent, Joe Biden.
The Istanbul-born media personality, who found fame as the founder and presenter of the progressive The Young Turks television show, told viewers on Wednesday that Biden “is not going to win” the US Presidential Election in November 2024.
“It should not have been me,” 53-year-old Uygur said, adding, “it should have been somebody else, but unfortunately it was not anyone else. There’s only four months left [until the primaries begin]. We must change course. He [Biden] has at best a 10% chance of winning. I’m running as a proxy. I am running to win. But I am also running as a proxy for any other candidate.”
Most Americans think that 80-year-old Biden is too old to serve a second term in office and should he face a re-match against his predecessor Donald Trump, himself 77 years old, in 2024 the odds suggest Trump, who currently faces over 40 different criminal charges ranging from fraud to electoral racketeering, would win.
Despite lagging in the polls, few viable candidates from the Democrats have emerged to challenge Biden. Bestselling author Marianne Williamson is currently the only other person to Uygur who is seeking the Democratic nomination, but her candidacy has been marred by controversy after she was accused of being ‘verbally and emotionally abusive’ to her campaign staffers, which she denies.
Another possible candidate for the Democrats had been environmental lawyer and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr, but he has now opted to stand as an independent.
Uygur’s attempt to secure the Democratic nomination remains a very long shot, which is further complicated by the fact that he was born overseas. The media personality came to the US with his family when he was aged eight years old.
The American Constitution states a person vying to be president must be a “natural-born citizen”, who is at least 35 years old and resident in the United States for 14 years. Although Uygur satisfies most of the criteria, his being born in Turkiye would render him unqualified to become US President. Yet that has not deterred Uygur, who says he would go to court to challenge the Constitution’s definition of “natural-born citizen”
Uygur has previously stood for election to become a congressman for the Democrats in California’s 25th congressional district in 2020, where he came fourth in a field of 13.
Main image, top, of Cenk Uygur and Symone Sanders (R) as they participate in the ‘What Now, Democrats?’ panel during Politicon at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California on July 30, 2017. Photo © Jim Ruymen/UPI/Shutterstock (12404628w)
