iStock(NEW YORK) — Tom Steyer, the billionaire liberal activist who earlier this year said he would not pursue the Democratic nomination for president, reversed course on Tuesday, announcing his campaign for president in 2020.
“The other Democratic candidates for President have many great ideas that will absolutely move our country forward, but we won’t be able to get any of those done until we end the hostile corporate takeover of our democracy,” Steyer said in a release. “As an outsider, I’ve led grassroots efforts that have taken on big corporations and won results for people. That’s not something you see a lot of from Washington these days. That’s why I’m running for President.”
Steyer, who has poured millions of his own money into electing Democrats throughout the years, said in January that he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, instead saying he would redouble his efforts to impeach President Donald Trump.
But in a four-minute video released Tuesday, he unveiled his platform for his presidential bid, focused on curbing the influence of corporations in politics and combating climate change.
“I think what people believe is that the system has left them,” he said in the video. “I think that people that corporations have bought the democracy, that the politicians don’t care about or respect them, don’t put them first, are not working for them, but are actually working for the people who have rigged the system. Really what we’re doing is make democracy work by pushing power down to the people.”
“Americans are deeply disappointed and hurt by the way they’re treated by what they think is the power elite in Washington, D.C. and that goes across party lines and it goes across geography,” he continued. “We’ve got to take the corporate control out of our politics…We care about improving the world and handing it on to the next generation in a way so that they can lead better lives than we’ve had.”
“And that’s exactly what I’m doing,” he added.
Steyer’s entrance keeps the massive Democratic field at 24 candidates, following California Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit Monday.
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