Marianne Williamson backs Andrew Yang in Iowa caucuses because 'we need to lighten up'


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Marianne Williamson is looking for a Democratic candidate who can give us all a good "chuckle," and she knows just the one to do it.
Williamson, the author and self-help guru who ended her 2020 campaign earlier this month, announced on Instagram this week she's backing Andrew Yang in the Iowa caucuses.
In the post, Williamson praised Yang's "self-confidence, levity, and positivity," writing these qualities are "every bit as important" as his stance on the issues because "we will beat [President Trump] by forging an emotional connection with the American people that is more compelling than his."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
She went on to praise Yang for "taking us back to a more innocent time, making us remember to chuckle ... This is not an unserious issue at all, for that chuckle has more power to take us over the line in 2020 than does all the anger in the world. Quite simply, the demon doesn't know how to eat it."
While Williamson said she admires both Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), she's backing Yang to "hopefully to help him get past the early primaries" so he can "remind us not to take ourselves too seriously," as "we need to lighten up on a personal level."
Williamson did make clear in her post she isn't offering an official endorsement here, only saying Yang is who she's backing in Iowa. Warren and Sanders appear to be her candidates of choice after Yang, though if either hopes to earn an official endorsement, they'll likely have to prove themselves just as chuckle-worthy as Yang. A Last Comic Standing-style stand-up competition may be in order.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published