Dave Chappelle endorses 2020 presidential candidate: 'Let’s do this for our kids'
Dave Chappelle has officially joined the “Yang Gang.”
The comedy legend announced his presidential endorsement on Tuesday, telling fans he’d be supporting entrepreneur Andrew Yang in 2020.
"I’m Yang Gang!" the "Chappelle Show" comedian said in a statement released by the Yang campaign.
"Thank you @DaveChappelle and welcome to the #yanggang. You are the best. Let’s do this for our kids," Yang wrote on Twitter, along with a photo of the two men.
Thank you @DaveChappelle and welcome to the #yanggang. You are the best. Let’s do this for our kids. 🙏👍 pic.twitter.com/HGznFG00kr
— Andrew Yang🧢 (@AndrewYang) January 14, 2020
Chapelle, who recently received the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for Humor, has also announced that he will be performing two stand-up shows in support of Yang later this month.
Both shows will take place in South Carolina — a crucial, early-voting state in the 2020 primary. Chapelle will perform in Columbia on Jan. 29 and North Charleston on Jan. 30, CNN reported.
"Dave is one of the most important voices in our country today and I’m thrilled he has thrown his support behind this campaign," Yang said in his campaign’s statement. "He and I share similar concerns about the future and hopes for what it could be. We are also parents who see the world that we are leaving to our kids and believe they deserve better."
The endorsement isn’t necessarily a surprise. Yang, who landed at sixth place in Politico’s latest Democratic primary poll, told the New England Cable News last week that he and Chappelle had recently met to discuss the campaign.
"We sat down and talked about his concerns for the country and what we need to do for the next generation," Yang said. “Dave’s a dad like I am. And then after we met, he said, ‘Look, I want to help, and what can I do to help?'”
Yang has received endorsements from numerous celebrities in recent weeks — despite not polling well enough to qualify for January’s Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Donald Glover, comedian Ken Jeong and Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo have all announced their support for the 45-year-old.
The issue of Yang’s campaign is his proposed Freedom Dividend, a form of universal basic income that would provide $1,000 per month to every American over the age of 18.