In an American Independence Day surprise, hip-hop musician Kanye West announced that he would run for President of the United States this year. If the 43-year-old Mr. West were to launch a campaign, he would be running against Democrat Joe Biden and the incumbent, U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom he has a friendly relationship. His victory would also mean reality show celebrity Kim Kardashian, who is married to Mr. West, would become First Lady of the U.S.
“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!” the celebrity wrote on Twitter.
Tesla and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk backed Mr. West’s announcement, tweeting, “You have my full support!”
Mr. West has made similar announcements before, as per an NBC report. He had announced at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards that he would run for office in 2020. Last year again he said he would run for the presidency in 2024, possibly under the name, “Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West.”
Mr. West was the country’s highest-paid hip-hop musician in 2019, making $150 million between June 2018 and June 2019 as per Forbes . The magazine had said Mr. West was unhappy with it not giving him billionaire status in 2019 — something it did in April this year after the star shared financial documents. Mr. West’s net worth was calculated to be $ 1.3 billion and mostly based on his Yeezy sneaker brand.
Trump’s Friend
Mr. West supports Mr. Trump, referring to the President as “his brother” in an April 2018 tweet, in which he also said the two of them shared “ dragon energy.” Within an hour of posting the tweet, he wrote, “ My wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don’t agree with everything Trump does. I don’t agree 100% with anyone but myself.”
Mr. West’s visit to the Oval Office in October 2018 to discuss criminal justice reform and African American employment became a media spectacle. His remarks, delivered in a style similar to Mr. Trump’s own, touched on a wide range of topics, including mental health, the 13 Amendment of the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery and philosophical references to parallel universes.
At this press interaction, Mr. West had also shared details of his own mental health — saying he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder first, but was later told by a high profile neuropsychologist that he was just sleep deprived.
While there is no clear information on whether Mr. West has filed campaign papers, he would need to run on a third-party platform or as an independent if he is to follow through on his announcement. The deadline to run as an independent has not yet passed in many States, Reuters reported.
Published - July 05, 2020 10:03 am IST
