Williamson Launches 2024 Presidential Bid

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Facts

  • On Saturday, Marianne Williamson, a self-help author and one-time spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey, formally announced her bid for the 2024 presidential nomination — the first Democrat to announce a challenge to US Pres. Joe Biden, who has said he intends to run for re-election but has yet to announce it officially.1
  • Previously, Williamson attempted to run for the nomination in the 2020 election, proposing a Department of Peace and reparations to Black Americans. She dropped out of the race before it officially started with the Iowa caucuses.1
  • In her 21-minute speech, Williamson focused on economic justice, corporate power, and poverty. She raised $8.4M in the 2020 campaign – more than some establishment candidates — and now she says she’s raised $250k for her 2024 campaign.2
  • Her campaign is likely to focus on New Hampshire, which Democrats have recently replaced as the first primary with South Carolina.3
  • Williamson took to television after her announcement to challenge Biden to a debate and made claims that the Democratic National Committee is “rigging” the system in his favor.4
  • While Williamson is the first Democrat to announce a campaign, several Republicans, including former Pres. Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and biotech and healthcare entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have declared their bids for their party’s nomination.5

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2New York Times, 3FOX News, 4Business Insider and 5CNN.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Guardian. While Williamson may not be the likely candidate, she may be the fresh perspective that the country needs. She recognizes an economic system that perpetuates inequality and has concrete ideas to fix it. More importantly, she's shown herself able to challenge the status quo and disrupt the system that has become dangerously reliant on the deeply-entrenched politicians that are the force behind America's growing problems.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Post. Although polls show that Democrats may seek an alternative to Biden, Williamson isn't a credible option, and she has no chance of winning. At best, she's erroneously attempting to make a positive difference, but at worst — and a more likely scenario — she's merely trying to self-promote. Either way, her campaign is nothing but a cult of personality that deserves no attention from the Democratic party or the media.