Leftist presidential candidate Cornel West has claimed that Kamala Harris attempted to bribe him to drop out of the race, even going as far as offering him a job in her administration and a promise of paying off his campaign debts.
In an interview with independent journalist Jordan Chariton on the Status Coup News podcast, West made a series of shocking accusations following the close of last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Here is a transcript of the exchange:
HOST: What were, you know, the offers that they made and your response?
WEST: Well, I mean a number of them reached out just saying I need to get on the bandwagon — this is a historic moment, especially a black moment … I told them, I said you all just talking to the wrong brother. You can offer resources or position or what have you — that’s that’s not what I’m all about. That’s not the game I play…
HOST: Can you specify, if you can, you mentioned offering positions, resources. Were you offered a position in the Harris administration? Any financial incentives to drop out?
WEST: Oh, I mean there was definitely various kind of offers. I won’t go into concrete details of it — I really won’t, because I don’t I — I don’t even want to make that the focus of the interview…
HOST: Let’s let’s just say they did not offer you the janitor’s position they offered you something relatively high up.
WEST: Well, I don’t think it was that high up,
HOST: Did they, just one more on this , did they offer you did they offer you a cabinet position, a lower position and offer to pay off any of your campaign debt?WEST: Well, they offered serious, substantive conversation about all of those that could lead toward some real [unintelligible].
Earlier this week, a judge in Michigan ruled that West must be allowed to appear on the state’s presidential ballot. This is of particularly concern to the Harris campaign, which fears a backlash among the state’s large Muslim population over her stance on the war in Gaza.
West, meanwhile, has already qualified by ballot access in a handful of crucial swing states, including Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, despite efforts from the Democratic Party to stop him.
Among his policy proposals include universal healthcare, opposition to all military intervention, giving black people reparations and defunding police departments across the country.
