The longshot 2024 independent presidential candidacy of left-wing scholar and activist Cornel West took a hit Friday when Peter Daou announced he is stepping down as West's campaign manager.
Daou, a former adviser to the Democrat presidential campaigns of John Kerry in 2004 and Hillary Clinton in 2016, had been on the job for a little more than a month. He previously worked on author and spiritual activist Marianne Williamson's 2024 Democratic presidential campaign.
"Working for @CornelWest has been an incredible honor," Daou, 58, a Lebanese American jazz keyboardist, posted Friday on X. "He is one of the great minds of our time, with a lifetime dedicated to the people. A true jazz man.
"Yes, I burnt out and need rest from the extreme stress of two campaigns in one cycle. All while dealing with family health challenges and PTSD from my childhood in a war zone. But my mission of challenging the duopoly continues.
"I left both campaigns (Williamson and West) in much better shape than when I joined, with their highest poll numbers, and their finances stable.
"I'm proud of that and thrilled to have met so many amazing people powering their campaigns."
The latest Suffolk University/USA TODAY national poll released Monday showed West at 4% in a four-way race between President Joe Biden (37%), former President Donald Trump (37%), and independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (13%). With Kennedy out of the picture, the poll showed Trump with a 41%-39% lead over Biden, with West at 7%.
Democrats are worried the candidacies of Kennedy and West will peel votes from Biden and ensure a Trump victory. West's platform courts the party's most liberal voters, calling for, among other things, the abolition of poverty and homelessness, a national $27 minimum wage, a constitutional right to clean air and water, reparations for Black citizens, canceling all student debt, and free tuition for all state and community colleges.
"I am very sorry about the resignation of brother Peter @PeterDaou based on his health," West posted on X. "I sincerely pray for him and his precious family and thank him for his service to my campaign."
In another post on X, Daou indicated Israel's aerial bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas' terrorist attack on Oct. 7 has affected him physically.
"I'm soul-tired of human violence and brutality," he wrote. "I'm soul-tired of the U.S. enabling and supporting it. My PTSD from growing up in Beirut under constant bombardment is being triggered in a big way by this #genocide. I'm going to take time off and pray on everything."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.