Conservative commentator Larry Elder said there’s a “strong possibility” he would add his name to the list of GOP presidential candidates running in 2024.
During a recent interview on the Fox 11 Los Angeles program “The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson,” Elder revealed he’s “thinking about” announcing a bid for the nation’s executive office to address issues like the economy, energy independence, and managing the crisis at the southern border.
“There are two things that I think I bring to the table,” Elder said. “One of them is this reputation that America is systemically racist. And the second is the importance of family.”
Elder has long addressed the absence of fathers impacting black American families nationwide. He became a conservative radio icon known as the “Sage of South Central” by speaking his mind about such topics — and steering the national conversation toward those matters.
According to Elder, 70% of black children grow up without a father, while 40% of all children in America experience fatherlessness in the home.
The National Fatherhood Initiative reported U.S. Census Bureau statistics showing 18.4 million children — or 1 in 4 kids — grow up without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.
“It is the number one issue facing America,” he said.
Elder told The Daily Wire earlier this year that the breakdown of the nuclear family could be traced back to the creation of the welfare state, which he claimed “has incentivized women to marry the government . . . and men to abandon their financial and more responsibility.”
“And we don’t talk about that enough and talk about some of the symptoms, whether it’s crime, whether it’s support outcomes in school, we don’t talk about the genesis, and the genesis is that in 1955, 25% of black kids entered the world without a father married to the mother,” he said.
The conservative radio host has previously spoken this year about running for president.
Earlier this year, Elder met with potential donors from Iowa and New Hampshire pending a possible candidacy.
He told the Des Moines Register last September that he has floated the idea of running for president in 2024 even if former President Donald Trump announced his third bid for office, who has since made his announcement.
“I’m running for president,” Elder said. “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 further noted to Fox 11 on Saturday that Trump has a “smaller and shrinking base.”
“A smaller percentage of the public has said they want him to run,” Elder said. “A greater percentage has said they want Ron DeSantis to run.”
“It’s not going to be a coronation,” he added.
Elder previously ran to replace California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a 2021 recall election, but voters overwhelmingly decided to keep Newsom in place.
NEWS: Republican @larryelder says there’s a “strong possibility” he runs for President in 2024.
He’s already visited Iowa & says his message would focus on the economy, energy, border issues & family values.
Watch his debate with @GloriaAllred here: https://t.co/wmiGTCBpvu pic.twitter.com/vtwYqLLgFv
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) December 17, 2022