Al Sharpton Doesn’t Rule Out Running For President, Criticizes Trump

Elias Atienza

Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the most visible figures of Black Lives Matter, has not ruled out running for president in 2020.

Sharpton said he wasn’t currently exploring a presidential run but did not rule out running, BuzzFeed News reported Tuesday.

“I never rule anything out,” Sharpton said.

Sharpton was in Florida Sunday leading protests against Florida’s stand your ground laws after the death of Markeis McGlockton. Michael Drejka shot and killed McGlockton in July. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri did not charge Drejka due to Drejka claiming he feared for his life.

Sharpton has been highly critical of President Donald Trump, calling him a racist at a Sunday rally because Trump stumped for Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida and didn’t mention McGlockton’s name.

“You want to know why we call you a racist? [You] talk like a racist and you walk like a racist and you act like a racist!” Sharpton said at the rally, according to BuzzFeed News.

Sharpton also criticized Pastor Darrell Scott, who called Trump “the most pro-black president that we’ve had in our lifetime,” on Aug. 3. He also argued that black ministers were cowards for not bringing up McGlockton’s name when they visited the White House that day.

“I won’t bow to Pharaoh, and I won’t bow to Donald Trump,” Sharpton said.

If Sharpton were to run, he would join a crowded Democratic primary. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and former Vice President Joe Biden are just a few high-profile Democrats who have hinted at running for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Sharpton has run for office before. He ran for the Senate three times in the 1980s and 1990s and the presidency in 2004.

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