Kanye West tweeted an image of a ballot where he was written in as a presidential choice, a photo West posted with the caption “Friends writing me in” just before midnight on Thursday, Oct. 8. It instantly sparked reactions from users — and many people weren’t happy about it.
“A lot of y’all somehow forgave the ‘Slavery is a choice’ comments, but hoping the final straw for y’all is Kayne intentionally trying to ruin millions of people’s lives by using his massive platform to influence gullible voters in one of the most important elections to date,” user @TheDejaKing tweeted.
“You’re seriously trying to get Trump re-elected, aren’t you. Just stop. This s–t isn’t a game. Use your platform in a positive way, not in a way to steal votes,” user @Jumpman3223 responded.
“We’ve said it once, now we say it again: a vote for Kanye West is a vote for Trump. Please, please, please, don’t vote for Kanye. Not even as a joke,” High Snobiety magazine tweeted, along with a link to an op-ed they wrote on the subject.
Not everyone had a problem with West’s tweet, however. Some people celebrated it.
“I’m not going to lie, this made me cry a tear of joy. Even if you don’t win, it makes me so happy to see that someone can go from the south side of Chicago to the Presidential ballet. You should be so proud, that’s a big accomplishment. Keep shining. I hope that inspires others,” user @elizableu wrote.
Others took it as an opportunity to encourage voters to place more emphasis on local elections, not just presidential ones.
“The ‘most important election(s) to date’ are your local elections. There needs to be a mass re-education of the negro. Local elections affect your day to day life faster than presidential ones,” wrote user @eArPhBoUnD.
West announced he was running for the U.S. presidency this year the evening of July 4 but it wasn’t the first time he brought up the idea.
The “Jesus Is King” rapper first said he would run for the highest office in the land during one of his infamous rants at the MTV Music Awards in 2015. West stated his intentions again in November 2019 at the Fast Company Innovation Festival. However, at the time he said he would run in 2024.
After being a very public and avid Trump supporter, West launched his campaign to get his name placed on the presidential ballot in various states. The eccentric artist held his first — and only — presidential rally in South Carolina July 19. He spent over $87,000 in the state in an unsuccessful attempt to get on the South Carolina general election ballot, The Post and Courier reported.
During the rally, West cried and shared personal information about his marriage in what some deemed another bipolar episode. He then went on a disturbing Twitter rant that raised further concern about his mental health.
West also revoked his support of Trump and said the current president’s term “looks like one big mess to me.” Though West made no recent attempts to campaign for president, he still seems happy to have support from “friends.”
Black conservative and avid Trump supporter Terrence K. Williams said he had no problem with people writing in West on the ballot because it’s their constitutional right.
“I’m voting for President Trump but I’m okay with people writing in Kanye West because they have the right to do that. It’s called Freedom,” Williams tweeted.
