Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Extending the snapback mechanism deadline will test how independent Europeans truly are from the US.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Activating the snapback mechanism will nullify the Cairo Agreement, shut the door on cooperation between the IAEA and Tehran, and bar inspections.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: The diplomatic window remains open, but signs of activating the snapback sanctions mechanism on Iran are increasing.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Although the Cairo Agreement meets an important part of European demands, they have begun speaking of new conditions in recent communications.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: European countries show no independence in their stance toward Iran during the talks.
Israeli occupation forces issued bombing threats to bomb civilian buildings in Southern Lebanon.
Israeli media: Person behind shooting operation at Allenby Crossing is a Jordanian Army soldier.
Israeli media citing Emergency Services: Both wounded in Allenby shooting operation now dead.
Israeli media: One soldier wounded at Allenby crossing now confirmed killed.
Israeli media: Preliminary reports of shooting operation at Allenby crossing with Jordan.

Biden having an 'LBJ moment', won't run for re-election: Cornel West

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 16 Dec 2023 08:40
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

The 'LBJ moment' refers to when Lyndon B Johnson who took office after the assassination of John F Kennedy in November 1963, announced on March 31 1968 that he would not run for re-election. His reasons were the war in Vietnam and internal divisions, while his former secretary, George Christian, claimed health was a factor.

  • x
  • President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
    President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, in Washington. (AP)

In an interview with Politico, academic and independent presidential candidate Cornel West forecasted that US President Joe Biden will "have an LBJ moment" and opt out of running for re-election next year.

"I’m not even sure whether I’ll be running against Biden," West said, adding, "Biden – I think he’s going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back."

The 'LBJ moment' refers to when Lyndon B Johnson, who took office after the assassination of John F Kennedy in November 1963, announced on March 31 1968 that he would not run for re-election. His reasons were the war in Vietnam and internal divisions, while his former secretary, George Christian, claimed health was a factor.

Biden is already the oldest president ever sworn in at 78 and would be 86 at the end of a second term.

According to West, Biden may end up competing against a "B team" of younger Democrats such as California governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer because Biden was "running out of gas".

West also sees that former President Donald Trump was a "bona fide gangster, neo-fascist Pied Piper leading the country for a second civil war", and called Biden "a milquetoast neoliberal with military adventurism, possibly leading the world toward world war three".

"I’m more concerned about Trump domestically," West expressed. "I’m more concerned about Biden in terms of foreign policy."

Related News

White House drafts order on political violence after Kirk killing

US removes Syria envoys as Kurds face pressure to join Damascus

Voting for a 'gangster'

A Trump spokesperson responded to West by saying that he should "go back to liberal academia instead of playing pretend politics. He still hasn’t graduated from the kids table."

West told Politico, "I don’t accept the spoiler category. A vote for Biden, a vote for Trump is a vote for Biden and a vote for Trump... There might be slices of people [who say], ‘If I didn’t vote for West, I would have voted for Biden.’ But that’s not to me a spoiler. If you’re in a race, and you make a case, and they vote for you, how do you become the spoiler?"

West admitted to campaigning for Biden back in 2020 but did not vote for him because "I don’t know if it was the Holy Ghost [but] something hit me: I said, ‘Naw, I can’t vote for this gangster.’"

The academic, previously linked to the People’s Party and the Green Party before becoming independent, said he was "trying to touch that 38% who don’t vote at all and young people more and more wrestling with cynicism of various sorts".

From New York to California, through Nebraska and back to Utah, my campaign is on the move! In our flawed electoral system, ballot access is the name of the game, and we've got a plan to secure it. But this movement requires the lifeblood of financial support to keep up with our… pic.twitter.com/erTrD6IsKn

— Cornel West (@CornelWest) November 30, 2023

"If you are concerned, primarily and solely, with your president being married only one time, I’m not the one for you. And I’m certainly not the Black man for you."

Support among Black voters for Biden, who represents a key demographic for the Democrats, has seen a decline since October. Additionally, young voters aged between 18 to 34 years, another vital group for the party, have expressed displeasure with Biden's approach to student loan forgiveness. This group is also likely to be critical of his handling of the Israeli war on Gaza.

He continued, "But if you’re looking at somebody who has a record that encompasses a whole host of things, politically, intellectually, over time and space, alongside my personal life, then I might in fact, be somebody you consider very seriously."

  • United States
  • Cornel West
  • Joe Biden
  • Lyndon B Johnson
  • 2024 US elections

Most Read

Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS