Self-help author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson announces her long-shot primary challenge to Biden with a call to use love to ‘override the forces of hatred’ and take on a ‘sociopathic economic system’
- Williamson is the first Democrat to launch a campaign to challenge Biden
- Her self-help books earned her appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show
- She blasted ‘crony capitalism’ and ‘a system of legalized bribery’ in DC
Self-help author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson launched her primary challenge to President Joe Biden in Washington Saturday with a call for ‘a vision of justice, of love that is so powerful that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear.’
Williamson delivered a fiery speech before hundreds of supporters, where she attacked poverty and what she called a ‘system of legalized bribery’ – but avoided shots at President Joe Biden, who she ran against but ultimately endorsed in 2020.
She alluded to a plan to get herself back on the presidential debate stage, where three years ago she called for battling Donald Trump with ‘love.’
Sporting a pink suit in an ornate ballroom inside Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, Williamson referenced the Civil Rights movement, the civil war, and the founding of the republic – even while railing against powerful economic forces.
She did inveigh against an establishment she described as determined to keep her out of the national debate, in a race where many prominent figures are clearing the field for Biden despite his relatively low popularity and advanced age.
Self-help author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson launched a primary challenge to President Joe Biden in Washington, DC on Saturday
‘I am not naïve about the forces which have no intention to let anyone into this conversation who does not align with their predetermined agenda,’ Williamson said, in a speech where she did not take directly attack Biden, whom she ultimately endorsed in 2020.
‘This country is drowning in information and starving for understanding,’ she said at the top of her remarks.
Williamson, 70, became a breakout figure and internet search topic with her unconventional performances during the 2020 presidential debates, before she got bumped off based on polling criteria.
Now, she is the first Democrat to announce she will challenge Biden in the primaries, where her political message laced with her New Age spiritual message could pose a headache for the 80-year-old incumbent with low approval ratings.
‘This is a campaign to win,’ her advisor Mark Van Landuyt told DailyMail.com.
‘The fact that she is going to be alone on that stage with the incumbent president will assure that her voice and her vision will be heard more prominently,’ she said.
But there will be opportunities for friction with party leaders who want President Biden to make it through the process unscathed.
‘We’re going to try very hard we hope that the dem party bels in democracy and belives in adding more voices, not taking voices away,’ said Van Landuyt. He said Williamson was ‘very hopeful that the DNC will have a robust dialogues and there won’t be any coronations.’
Williamson has penned best-selling self-help books. Her first one, “A Return to Love,” landed her on Oprah Winfrey’s show and launched her to fame.
‘I am not naïve about the forces which have no intention to let anyone into this conversation who does not align with their predetermined agenda,’ Williamson said, in a speech where she did not take directly attack President Joe Biden, whom she ultimately endorsed in 2020
In a January statement about her decision, she called for tackling “the economic injustices endured by millions of Americans due to the influence of corporate money on our political system.”
It was not yet clear to what extent she plans to go after Biden who’s approval numbers are stuck in the low 40s. After competing against him, she endorsed Andrew Yang, then Bernie Sanders – before backing Biden in his run against President Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Committee announced its ‘full and complete support’ for Biden this month.
Biden challengers will have the opportunity to exploit dissension over the new primary calendar, where DNC backed by Biden moved to move South Carolina to jump ahead of traditionally first-in-the-nation New Hampshire.
In 2020, Williamson provided much-discussed performances on the debate stage.
She gushed about ‘forgiveness’ and ‘love’ as antidotes to President Donald Trump, at a time when Democrats were desperate to displace him.
