Even though billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered his "full support," some Twitter users aren’t buying rapper Kanye West’s recently announced presidential bid as anything more than a ploy to distract Democratic voters and help President Donald Trump win the 2020 election.
The Grammy-Award winning artist tweeted Saturday: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States...”
Although it wasn’t the most definitive election plan and West has earlier said he would run for president in 2024, many Twitter users shot down West’s tweet given his well-documented fondness for Trump. “Don’t fall for this stunt, folks,” Kevin Alexander tweeted. “Kanye is only trying to take votes away from (former Vice President Joe) Biden so his buddy Trump can win.”
West seemed to confirm his support of Trump in the May edition of GQ magazine when he proclaimed: "It’s better now than when Obama was in office." He also responded to a question about whether his political interests lay elsewhere with: "No, I’m definitely voting this time. And we know who I’m voting on. And I’m not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I’m still here! Jesus Is King was No. 1!”
He also snuck in a critique of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign: “I was told my career would end if I wasn’t with her. What kind of campaign is that, anyway?” West asked. “That’s like if Obama’s campaign was ‘I’m with black.’ What’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t have an opinion? Everybody make their own opinion! You know?"
In 2018, West expressed his opinion quite clearly when he was asked in a TMZ video what message he was trying to send by wearing the “Make America Great Again” hat he’s been spotted in repeatedly. He explained that wearing the hat was about expressing his freedom. "I just love Trump. That's my boy," he said later in the interview.
The clip that went viral in the interview, however, was one in which West gave his views about slavery. “When you hear about slavery for 400 years — for 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he told TMZ. “Like, you were there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all?”
“It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned,” he added.
It's unclear if West is serious about running for president, but if he is he would have to do so as an independent candidate and collect the needed signatures to be on the ballot, according to Politico. Thankfully, so far, the only "Kanye" in the Federal Election Commission database is a Green Party candidate who has failed to raise any funding.
