Third-party candidates react to Donald Trump's election win

Third-party presidential candidates cast blame on Democrats after Republican Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 race for the White House.

Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz blamed Democrats for Donald Trump's 2024 election win.
Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz blamed Democrats for Donald Trump's 2024 election win.  © REUTERS

Third-party and independent contenders blasted Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party for ushering in Trump's second term in office by failing to address the issues central to the American people.

"Let's be clear: the Democrats are responsible for losing and have no one else to blame but themselves," Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) candidate Claudia De la Cruz shared in a video statement on social media.

"The Democratic Party has abandoned and betrayed the working class, and as expected, the working class has abandoned the Democratic Party," she continued, blasting Harris' party for failing to provide meaningful economic relief to struggling Americans, all while continuing to back Israel's genocide in Palestine.

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"Socialism is the only force that can defeat the far right, and we must continue the work of our fight-back campaigns, take the streets, and move millions into action," De la Cruz said.

"Only the people will save the people," she added, inviting listeners to join the PSL movement. "We need to build our own independent political organization by and for the working class that's ready to take power."

Jill Stein blasts corporate duopoly after Trump win

Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein has encouraged Americans to continue the fight for justice and an end to endless wars beyond the 2024 election.
Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein has encouraged Americans to continue the fight for justice and an end to endless wars beyond the 2024 election.  © REUTERS

Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein shared a similar message after Trump's win.

"Once again the two-party system has delivered a disastrous result for the American people," she posted on X. "Now we must continue the uprising for people-powered politics and demand the world we deserve – which will never be delivered by the twin parties of war and Wall Street."

Stein slammed Democrats for failing to adequately speak to the issues driving many voters, including ending the genocide in Gaza and addressing the climate emergency.

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The message echoed remarks Stein made during her Election Night watch party in Dearborn, Michigan, in which she hailed the Green Party for delivering a real, grassroots alternative to American voters.

"Everything we have achieved together is a victory for working people, for justice, for peace and a future where all of us can thrive," Stein encouraged supporters Wednesday.

"The pressure will continue to build for the political transformation that the American people demand. The political elites will continue to tell you that resistance is futile. Ignore them. This is our moment."

Cornel West says Democratic Party is "beyond redemption"

Independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West has called for the creation of a "genuine alternative" to the Republican and Democratic parties.
Independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West has called for the creation of a "genuine alternative" to the Republican and Democratic parties.  © Matthew Hatcher / AFP

Independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West called Trump's victory a "catastrophe" during a post-election interview on the Tavis Smiley Podcast.

"The truth is that we live in a veritably sick society. The truth is that we live in a declining and dying empire obsessed with organized greed and weaponized hatred with spectacle and image and don't want to deal with substance and content," West emphasized.

The Justice for All Party founder called Trump a "sign and symptom" rather than the cause of American capitalist corruption. And he didn't let the Democratic Party off the hook either.

West criticized the high-dollar Democratic efforts to keep candidates like himself off the ballot, as well as Harris' choice to court Republicans rather than listening to the needs of struggling Americans and shoring up her own base.

"I think the Democratic Party is beyond redemption," West diagnosed. "I think it has become so corrupt, so dominated with big, big, big money – not just corporate money but billionaires – that it just doesn't listen to working people. It just doesn't listen to poor people."

"We've got to generate some kind of genuine alternative," he said, emphasizing the need for a true Black agenda including reparations.

Chase Oliver decries "tyranny" of two-party system

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver described Donald Trump as a "war criminal" during his Election Night watch party.
Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver described Donald Trump as a "war criminal" during his Election Night watch party.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

After Trump's victory became clear, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver said he was "happy" that Ross Ulbricht might be released from prison in January.

Ulbricht got a life sentence without the possibility of parole in 2015 after being convicted of masterminding the Silk Road dark web marketplace and facilitating the sale of narcotics and other illegal goods under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts."

Securing a pardon or commutation for Ulbricht has become a key cause among Libertarians. Speaking at the Libertarian National Convention in May, Trump promised to free the 40-year-old on his first day in office.

"Joe Biden, your term is coming to an end. This is the final chapter. I am appealing to you, someone who lost a son too soon, to immediately grant the pardon of Ross Ulbricht," Oliver urged the outgoing president.

During his Election Night event in Dallas, Texas, the Libertarian candidate called Trump a "war criminal" while criticizing both parties' failure to meet the needs of the American people.

"I have grown up knowing that both the Republican and the Democratic Party have not been there for me," he said. "They have robbed me of my wealth. They have robbed my generation of the ability for us to buy a home, to raise a family, and to have true prosperity, and we need to hold them accountable for that."

"As a millennial candidate, I was proud to speak to the fact that the next generation should not have to suffer the way my generation did under the tyranny of the two-party system."

Harris conceded the presidential election to Trump on Wednesday. The Republican is due to start his second term in office on January 20, 2025.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Imagn Images, JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP, IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire & REUTERS

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