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Political Analyst: Elder Will Use Recall Loss to Promote His Hustle
Hutchinson says Elder believes his far-right, anti-Black rhetoric
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom survived a recall effort and defeated Larry Elder, a far-right talk show host who makes a living bashing Black people. Newsom won by gathering 60% of the vote. But Elder says he plans to run again. I talked to Los Angeles-based political analyst and author Earl Ofari Hutchinson, who has appeared on FOX News and MSNBC, to make sense of this.
Otiko: Are you surprised that Larry Elder wants to run for governor again, even though he lost by almost a 70 percent margin?
Hutchinson: No, the flip side is he got over 2 million votes, national name identification, and a big boost in the GOP and probably more face time on Fox and possibly a syndicated radio show. So, it’s all a win-win for him.
Otiko: As a long-time Los Angeles resident and a member of the political community, you have had experience with Elder. Does he actually believe what he says, or is he doing it for the publicity?
Hutchinson: He believes it and by believing it, he has turned that far-right, anti-Black dog and pony show of his into a lucrative hustle.
Otiko: What message does the repudiation of Elder/Trumpism send to national politics?