Billionaire Bill Ackman has predicted that Donald Trump will “crush” Joe Biden in the Presidential race. Ackman, a former Clinton supporter, objects to the party’s “racist” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies but nevertheless has given his backing to Minnesota Democrat Dean Phillips, a potential challenger to Joe Biden.
Ackman donated a million dollars to the We Deserve Better PAC, which is backing Phillips as a Biden alternative. The CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management said there is “grave concern” about Biden’s performance “as his health and cognitive health obviously deteriorate.”
Mr. Phillips put himself forward in response to polling figures showing that Americans don’t want another Trump – Biden contest and would vote for a “generic” other candidate if given the chance. In a New York Times/Siena survey, Trump polled ahead of Biden, but when voters were asked if they would back an unnamed Democrat, that theoretical Democrat beat Trump by 8%.
At a rally in Dartmouth, Phillips said, “I’ll be your generic Democrat if that means I can defeat Donald Trump.”
The Minnesota Congressman was among the first to call on President Biden to step aside due to negative poll results. Mr. Phillips called for a new generation of leaders and for “compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats” to step up to the plate. He made remarks in response to a separate New York Times/Siena survey in which 64% of respondents said they want a new Democratic contender.
Bill Ackman has gained notoriety recently as an instrumental figure behind the departure of former Harvard President Claudine Gay. She resigned from the elite Ivy League school following a series of scandals, including her refusal to confirm whether calling for the annihilation of Jews broke the university’s code of conduct, followed by plagiarism allegations that forced her to apologize for using other people’s academic work without citation.
Rev. Al Sharpton protested outside Ackman’s office, accusing him of racism for trying to get Harvard’s first black President sacked.
