Not long after dropping out of the 2020 race, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang took to Twitter and teased a 2024 campaign. On Thursday night, the CNN political commentator posted a picture of a phone with a sticker on the back that reads, “Yang 2024.” The Venture for America founder’s supporters — many of whom still voted for Yang in the primary — reacted positively to the tweet.
“I think somebody is missing being on the campaign trail already,” one follower wrote.
“You definitely should run in 2024. Don’t sell yourself short. You are better than those remained in the race,” wrote another social media user.
On Friday, Yang again teased his plans by posting a link to a Washington Post piece about his dedicated base of supporters.
“We’ll be back,” he wrote.
In the article, Deana Rohlinger, a Florida State University professor, is quoted as saying that the longevity of Yang’s movement will depend on his next steps.
“Communities can have staying power,” she said, noting that he has to “make some kind of move” to ensure that the community will survive, “let alone make it grow.”
As of now, many of Yang’s supporters are turning their focus to other universal basic income (UBI) advocates and trying to get them into Congress, as noted in a discussion between Yang supporters Paget Kagy and Scott Santens. As of now, many congressional candidates support UBI, including James Ellars, Brianna Wu, Jonathan Herzog, and David Kim.
— Andrew Yang????? (@AndrewYang) February 21, 2020
Yang also revealed that he is “ definitely starting a podcast ” in the future and asked supporters for guest requests. One possible option is Republican presidential candidate and UBI advocate Zoltan Istvan, who many have taken to social media to request.
“Yes!! Hearing a different approach to UBI would be interesting,” one Yang supporter wrote.
Istvan himself responded to the requests and said it would be a “great honor” to be on the serial entrepreneur’s podcast.
My #BasicIncome plan! Lets get everyone out of poverty! #UpgradingAmerica #Zoltan2020 #CSPAN pic.twitter.com/HOJnM5EOax
— Zoltan Istvan ? (@zoltan_istvan) February 14, 2020
Like Yang, Istvan points to job losses due to technological advancement and the difficulty that the current generation faces in the current economy.
“We’re gonna need some sort of universal basic income that will pay people to have shelter, food, even if they can’t find work.”
While Yang proposes a value-added tax (VAT) to fund his UBI by targeting the biggest winners of the modern economy — such as Amazon, Google, and Facebook — Istvan instead pushes the monetization of unused federal lands. On his policy page , he calls such land “150+ trillion-dollar natural resources” that can be used to provide a UBI of $1,000 per month.
