Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder may have come up short in defeating Governor Gavin Newsom in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, but his showing as the lead Republican challenger in a starting field of 46 struck a chord with the GOP and energized party devotees in what was (for a time) perceived as a tight race. His popularity since in Republican and MAGA circles has only continued to grow with many in the party having urged him to run against Newsom once again in 2022, given that he’d won nearly half of the seven million votes cast for candidates vying to succeed Newsom.
In the end, however, Elder decided against rematch, but was hardly through with politics and in April, announced on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News broadcast that he was running for president.
“I feel I have a moral, religious and a patriotic duty to give back to a country that’s been so good to my family and me. And that is why I am doing this,” Elder said.
“America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable,” he later tweeted. “We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there. That’s why I’m running for President.”
In April, a United Kingdom bookmaker, placed him fourth in tie to secure the Republican nomination, but the field of those running has grown and now even includes another Black republican, Senator Tim Scott.
But those who view his candidacy as little more than a long shot is of little consequence to the 70-year old L.A. native who has long characterized himself as “the sage of South Central” and whose tagline is “We’ve got a country to save”.
Instead, he is focused on the task at hand and his rationale for convincing voters sounds simple enough: if you like what Donald Trump did, but don’t like Donald Trump and are looking for an alternative, then he’s your man.
Says Elder, “There are people who love what Donald Trump did as president but feel —for reasons that may be fair or unfair— that he cannot beat Joe Biden in November 2024, and if that’s your analysis, I’m your guy. I have the same policies. I thought he did a great job as president, but I’m more likable. I’m more relatable and I’ve got a great sense of humor.”
Humor and likeability are hardly the traits for which Elder has become known in the African-American community. Instead, he has been—for the most part—demonized for views he has held that many in the Black community have found offensive including his disdain for “woke” politics.
Elder prefers to cite the number of blacks he says approach him on the streets to say that they approve of what he’s doing and is pleased to see the growing number of Black men for whom the GOP has increasing appeal.
“I think black people have been taught to pull that lever instinctively for the Democratic Party, because the Democratic Party has been successful in marketing itself as a party of social justice. The party that wants to fight against racial prejudice and oppression and they have been able to characterize the Republican Party as wearing the black hat in that fight. Maxine Waters is the prime example of that,” Elder notes. “Most left wing Democrats are examples of that. That’s how they get that 90%-95% black vote without which they cannot win at the top level. I think most black people don’t realize the extent to which they’ve been used…the way they’ve been manipulated, the way they’ve been treated like they’re victims.”
He feels that is misunderstood by Blacks and credits how he is cast in the media as part of the reason why.
“When the LA Times calls me the blackface of white supremacy… and you don’t read conservative media. What are you supposed to think?
“One of the reasons conservatives are maligned is because we’re not treated well by the Black press. When you have those like Tavis Smiley calling me anti-black… If I’m black and I’m listening to s**t like that. Why wouldn’t I hate Larry Elder?
“It’s not fair,” he continues, “and the people who are hurt are black people. You’re yelling and screaming about wanting reparations when we’re 13 times likely to kill each other than white people. 70% of Black kids without a father in the home. Black women incentivized to marry the government and Black men to abandon their financial moral responsibility. And I’m the problem?”
In fact, the biggest part of the reason many Blacks take issue with Elder is his belief that they are wrong about America being rigged against them and racism being a major problem.
“It’s not,” Elder states emphatically. “Look at the crime in our cities. Look at the schools. 85% of Black eighth graders nationwide can neither do math nor read at grade level, which means a number of 13-year old Black teens in America are functionally illiterate and people are running around talking about Donald Trump is a bigot and Republicans are racist.
“What’s going on is a breakdown in the family and that ought to be all we talk about every day, 24/7.
“What Larry is all about in America is work hard; avoid the criminal justice system; don’t make bad moral mistakes. Don’t get somebody pregnant before you’re 20 years old. Get married first. My message is if you do those things, you’ll be fine.”
For those who believe he might be positioning himself for consideration as vice president, Elder’s response is negative.
“I’m angling to be president,” he declares. “If, however, I fall short and if the nominee asked me to be his or her running mate, would I consider it? Absolutely. But that’s not why I’m running. I’m asking people, no matter what their race is, to vote for me for the reasons I mentioned—inflation, crime, the borders, gas prices, the way that Biden pulled out of Afghanistan, which I think inspired Putin to invade Ukraine. He’s been a disaster on every level.”
But does he really believe he could win?
Without hesitation, he states, “I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I had a chance.”