“I am trying to bring our country back together,” Yang told Tucker Carlson
By Amy Nelson
On Monday, former U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced he was leaving the Democratic Party. The announcement was made in a blog post, calling the move “the right thing to do.” But the former Democrat-turned-Independent isn’t just leaving one party: he’s decidedly creating his own.
Yang joined “Tucker Carlson Today,” Thursday explaining why he is now starting his own inclusive third party that he believes many Americans will identify with.
“Right now, this duopoly is not working for any of us,” Yang said, of the two-party system. “It’s not working for Democrats, Republicans or Independents. And so this is my new project, the ‘Forward Party’ — not left or right, but forward.”
Yang described his new party as being solutions-oriented and inclusive of all political ideologies. He famously ran for president in 2020 on a platform of promoting universal basic income – an ideal that is foundational to the Forward Party – along with addressing issues like job automation and immigrants’ impact on the U.S. economy.
Yang told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that he ran for president because he saw an economic transformation happening in America and believed it was upending the labor market.
“Our political class really either didn’t understand it or didn’t want anything to do with it,” he said. “So I decided to run for president because I wanted to advance what I saw as real solutions, like a universal basic income that would help millions of Americans transition.”
“It was an act of service on my part. I thought I could make a contribution.”
Yang explained that universal basic income would help Americans with fundamental needs while the economy transitions to automation. Instead of viewing the funds as “unearned,” he sees the money as being an aid for people who have lost jobs to A.I., automation and economic shifts.
“I am trying to bring our country back together,” Yang said, noting the increasing division in America.
Yang said he hopes to elevate diverse viewpoints and work toward real electoral reform. While the Forward Party is currently a PAC (political action committee), Yang is determined to see it reach full fruition as a third party in due time.
“If you look at the writings of the founding fathers, they feared factionalism that didn’t fluctuate, which is exactly what we have with this duopoly,” he said, noting that more than half of Americans want a third party and believe that both the Democratic and Republican parties are out of touch.
The Forward Party, as Yang explained, is focused on finding common ground.
“We’re never going to make progress if we’re not willing to talk to each other. And that’s what the Forward Party is going to be about,” he said.
“I will talk to anyone who wants to actually make our lives better and solve the problems that are getting worse around us.”
