John Legend seems to believe that Kanye West running as a third-party candidate in the current presidential election is being backed by Donald Trump supporters who want to steal votes away from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Legend addressed the issue on Twitter, Wednesday, Aug. 5, one day after The New York Times reported that Republican operatives are helping West get on the ballot in several states.
Legend, who’s been friends and a longtime collaborator of the Chicago producer, first tweeted a message about him on Tuesday, Aug. 4, that said, “Just in case anyone needs some clarity around what’s happening here.”
The singer and pianist then retweeted a report from Vice News that said Lane Ruhland, a lawyer who works for the Trump campaign, is one of the people helping West with his presidential run.
“A little update, the GOP lawyer who helped @kanyewest get on the ballot in Wisconsin is actively working for @realDonaldTrump’s campaign. She’s the lawyer of record in their lawsuit to try to get a @prioritiesUSA anti-Trump ad pulled,” read the Vice News message.
Legend followed up that tweet by writing, “Anyway…. Anyone reckless and/or misinformed enough to fall for the okey doke probably wasn’t voting for Biden (or voting at all).”
West has been a loyal supporter of Trump and his presidency since Trump won in 2016 but said last month in an interview that he no longer supports him because his presidency “looks like one big mess.”
The rapper announced that he was running for president last month, however, he’s already missed deadlines to get on the ballot in several states. But on Wednesday, Aug. 5, signatures were filed on his behalf to get on the ballot in Wisconsin and Ohio, two key swing states.
Trump has already addressed the possibility of West affecting the election when he responded to a reporter who tweeted that, “Kanye could be trying to siphon Black votes away from Biden.”
“That shouldn’t be hard,” Trump responded. “Corrupt Joe has done nothing good for Black people!”
But on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at a White House briefing, Trump denied that he encouraged anyone in the GOP to help West get on the ballot, while also talking about how fond he is of him.
“No, not at all,” Trump said about assisting the famed producer. “I get along with him very well. I like him. I like his wife. … [Kim’s] got a good heart, very good heart. And I like Kanye very much, but no, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot. We’ll have to see what happens. We’ll see if he gets on the ballot. But I’m not involved.”
Besides Ruhland being mentioned as one of Trump’s supporters helping West, The New York Times mentions others, including Chuck Wilson from Vermont, who’s listed as a convention delegate for Trump.
Rachel George, a Republican operative, is also helping West get on the ballot in Colorado.
