Conservative radio host Larry Elder suggested in a recent interview that he may run for president in 2024, adding that a presidential run by former President Donald Trump would not make him back down.
Elder, who stepped down from hosting “The Larry Elder Show” in April and who previously made an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Gavin Newsom as California governor, told the Des Moines Register of his intentions for 2024.
He said, “I don’t feel I’m running against [Trump]. I’m running for president. And I’m not running against anybody on the Republican side. I’m running against Joe Biden if he runs, or Kamala Harris if she runs.”
Elder, 70, gave a keynote speech at an Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition event in Des Moines on Saturday where he urged the crowd to avoid dependence on the government, which he implied seeks to break up the nuclear family.
“We know that our welfare state incentivizes women to marry the government, and incentivizes men to abandon financial and moral responsibility,” Elder said.
The topic is one that Elder has stressed over the years.
The never-ending growth of the welfare state is the biggest, long-term, domestic problem that continues to face America. Will Republicans talk about that anymore?#WeveGotACountryToSave pic.twitter.com/VMjHK7SXJe
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) September 17, 2022
He wrote in a Western Journal Op-Ed from 2020, “The number one problem in the black community is that 70 percent of black kids are born without the father married to their mom.
“Barack Obama said kids growing up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty, nine times more likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. Blame government welfare.”
Would you like to see Elder run for president?
After Elder failed in his run for California governor, he moved to instead focus on aiding Republican candidates in an attempt to help the GOP to retake control of Congress. However, this goal may change if he decides to seek the presidency.
Elder’s comments shouldn’t come as a surprise. He hinted at a possible presidential run in early August, telling independent journalist Phoenix Legg that he was “getting a lot of feedback about a possible run for some higher office” and “would consider running for something other than governor of California.”
According to the New York Post, he said at the time, “There aren’t too many offices that are more important [than] governor of California other than maybe some office in Washington, D.C. I can’t think of what that office might be. But I’m not ready to make any announcement just yet.”
If Elder seeks the White House in 2024, he’ll be facing some strong opponents within his own party.
According to the latest polls, Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are currently leading as the preferred Republican presidential nominees. Trump currently sits at the top of the list at around 53 percent, according to a poll average from the last 60 days. DeSantis, meanwhile, is at around 25 percent.
However, neither candidate has officially announced a presidential campaign.
