Former Cleveland mayoral candidate Bashir Jones has returned to politics.
Jones, the first Muslim elected to the Cleveland City Council, is currently the Muslim public affairs adviser for Cornel West's presidential campaign and showed West around Cleveland last week.
West, a former professor at Harvard University and professor emeritus at Princeton University, wrote the book “Race Matters” in 1993 and co-hosted a public radio show with commentator Tavis Smiley. He is currently running for president as an independent, though unlikely, on a platform well to the left of President Joe Biden's political stance.
West's visit culminated in a town hall meeting at the First Cleveland Mosque, where he said he was running for president to “dismantle the American empire,” meaning to end US military presence overseas.
He also criticized the leading contenders for the 2024 presidential election, calling former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump “out of control” and saying there was “a good chance he'll end up in prison.”
“He has the charisma of a dead fish in a lot of ways, and I'm not talking about age. I'm old, too,” West, 71, said of Biden.
Jones wasn't just there to introduce West. He also served as the financial wrap-up, urging attendees to donate to West's presidential campaign. Jones told the crowd not to listen to Democrats or Republicans' criticism of West.
“Nobody is more vocal about what's going on in Palestine and the issues that Muslims face across this country,” he said. “Nobody who is not Muslim is more vocal on behalf of our community than Dr. Cornel West.”
The town hall ended with an appearance from another Cleveland politician, former congressional candidate Nina Turner, whose father attends First Cleveland Mosque, who closed the event with her trademark stemwinder in support of West.
Jones encouraged mosque attendees to sign a petition to put West on the ballot in Ohio, which so far has only seen him on the ballot in a handful of states.
