Kanye West has announced officially, via social media that is, that he’s throwing in his hat for president of the United States. This comes after the rapper shared his interest in running for president in 2015 at the MTV Music Awards and later in 2019 at a business festival, where he announced he would run in the 2024 election. Over the weekend, the “Jesus Walks” rapper showed that he’d had a change of heart in waiting, when, on July 4, 2020, the Chicago native launched off a tweet suggesting that he’d be running in the 2020 presidential elections.
“We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision, and building our future,” West tweeted. “I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION.”
However, with the elections just four months away, it’s uncertain whether the 43-year-old West is even eligible to put his name on the ballot. This news would also mean that the rapper would be running against President Donald Trump. Despite his stance on critical issues such as race and the Black Lives Matter movement, West has repeatedly and publicly shown support for Trump.
News of West’s presidential plans had people on social media split. West’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, subtly showed her support for her husband when she retweeted the rapper’s declaration with a USA flag emoji. Meanwhile, billionaire and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk replied to West’s tweet, saying “You have my full support!”
But not everyone is in favor of West’s plans to move into the White House. Celebrities and fans alike mocked the news and urged the public not to take West seriously. This includes television personality and activist Marc Lamont Hill, who tweeted “Ignore him.” Twitter user @Vanessa_ questioned the rapper’s motives asking, “Is this a ploy to try and get trump re-elected.”
Former NBA star Matt Barns revealed that he isn’t here for West’s presidential aspirations either. “This is a dangerous game he’s playing,” the athlete expressed in a post on Instagram over the weekend. “If this is serious, he will definitely divide the minority vote!! Just remember comments like ‘slavery was a choice’ and how buddy buddy he is w trump! Much respect for the artist & his impact on fashion, but this is a HUGE F—K NO 4 PRESIDENT.”
Meanwhile, actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish spoofed West’s exact tweet to announce her candidacy. Haddish then wrote a follow-up tweet that fellow comedian Dave Chappelle would be joining her ticket. “Well this just in Dave Chappelle will be my running mate. #HaddishCappelle2020.”
Singer Toni Braxton joined in on the fun tweeting, “Toni for President.”
There’s no word on what political party West would represent. However, to be on the ballot as an independent candidate per se, he would have had to garner a certain amount of signatures and register in states by a particular deadline. This deadline has already passed in many major states.
And according to a report from BBC News, the “College Dropout” rapper doesn’t even appear to have registered his name with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for November’s election. The report also stated that the closest name in the FEC database shows a candidate called “Kanye Deez Nutz,” who filed their papers with the Green Party in 2015 under the address “1977 Golddigger Avenue, Suite Yeezus” and, despite that address, hasn’t raised any money.
