Imagine a world where a party manipulates the campaigns of third-party presidential candidates to ensure its own victory in an upcoming presidential election.  

Now, stop imagining it—we’re living it. 

Let’s start with a bombshell admission from third-party candidate Cornel West, the wildly left-leaning presidential candidate. His policy ideas include universal healthcare, no military actions, giving reparations to Black people, and cutting funding to police departments across the country. 

West said that Kamala Harris tried to bribe him to leave the race. He claimed she offered him a job in her administration and promised to pay off his campaign debts. 

West made the surprising accusation in an interview with independent journalist Jordan Chariton on the Status Coup News podcast right after last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

Chariton asked West about the offers he got and how he responded. West said the Harris campaign told him he should join their cause, saying it was a “special time, especially for Black people.”  

When asked if they offered him a job in Kamala Harris’s administration or any money to drop out, West said he got different offers but didn’t want to give details. Chariton mentioned that the offers were not for a low-level job and asked if any involved offers included a cabinet position.. West confirmed that they discussed several offers, but he declined to share anything more.  

He said he told the campaign they were “talking to the wrong person.” He said he doesn’t care about positions or resources.  

West has already gotten on the ballot in critical swing states like Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, even though the Democratic Party tried to block him. This week, a Michigan judge ruled that West will be included on the state’s presidential ballot. This worries Harris’s campaign because they are concerned that her position on the Gaza war might upset the large Muslim community in Michigan. 

It’s a scene Democrats are familiar with. In 2000, Ralph Nader, a well-known progressive, ran as the Green Party candidate and helped Al Gore lose the election. 

Even though Nader got less than 3 million votes overall—about 2.74% of the total votes—he received 97,488 votes in Florida. This was much more than the 537 votes by which Gore lost Florida and the presidency. 

In 2020, Biden’s winning margins in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin were less than 2%. 

However, the Harris campaign knows that Republicans also lose votes to third-party candidates. That’s why they refuse to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the ballots in swing states despite his leaving the race last week. 

RFK Jr. worked for months to get his name on the ballot in every state. At the time, he faced fierce resistance because of fears he would take votes away from Biden. 

Now that Biden is gone, savvy Democrats recognize that RFK Jr. poses a more significant threat to Trump than Harris. 

RFK Jr is frantically trying to remove his name from the ballot in several swing states. He worries that being on the ballot in these states will hurt former President Donald Trump’s chances against Vice President Kamala Harris.  

It’s what the left is counting on. 

On August 23, Kennedy paused his campaign and supported Trump. He said his name would stay on the ballot in some states where it doesn’t matter much. However, in the key states where the election is close, he asked to have his name removed.  

Kennedy explained that if he stayed on the ballot in those crucial states, he might end up helping the Democrats, who he disagrees with on significant issues. Some states have agreed to remove his name, while others refuse.  

Kennedy will stay on the ballot in Michigan because the state’s secretary of state’s office said it was too late for him to withdraw. He got on the ballot through the Natural Law Party, a small party with access to the ballot. This way, he didn’t have to gather thousands of signatures like other independent candidates.  

Kennedy is also on the ballot in North Carolina. The State Board of Elections refused his request to drop out because millions of ballots are already printed, and the first absentee ballots will be sent out on September 6. Reprinting the ballots now would delay voting and cost a lot of money.  

In Wisconsin, Kennedy’s name will stay on the ballot, too. State law says once a candidate’s name is on the ballot, it can’t be removed unless they die. 

However, states have made exceptions before, especially regarding Biden’s name appearing on the ballots despite missing submission deadlines. Refusing to remove RKF Jr. is a coordinated effort to siphon votes away from Trump. 

But remember, kids. It’s Trump who poses a threat to democracy.