Daily US Times: US rapper Kanye West has again said he is running for president, possibly pitting himself against a man he says he admires, Donald Trump.
He tweeted: “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!”
His supermodel wife Kim Kardashian Entrepreneur Elon Musk endorsed him. But it is still unclear whether he is still running.
Kanye West does not appear to have registered his name with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for November’s election. The closest name the FEC database shows is a candidate called “Kanye Deez Nutz West”, who filed their papers with the Green Party in 2015 under the address “1977 Golddigger Avenue, Suite Yeezus” and appears to have raised no money.
This is also not the first time the rapper has claimed that he is running for the White House.
He said at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards that he had decided to run for president in 2020.
He pushed the date back in last November, saying he would actually run in the 2024 contest. “What are you laughing at?” he asked the crowd at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival about his comment.
“We would have created so many jobs that I’m not gonna run, I’m gonna walk,” he said, adding he was considering changing his name for the run to “Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West”.
In his tweet on Saturday, US Independence Day, the 43-year-old did not say if his supposed run would be affiliated with a particular political party.
Contesting the nomination of one major parties would be impossible at this stage in any case, with the election only four months away.
If he wants to be on the ballot as an independent candidate, he would have to gather a certain amount of signatures and register in states by a particular deadline.
The deadline has already passed in some major states but Mr West would still technically have time to file in many others.
This year’s contest is likely to be a straight battle between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump.
West made a bizarre appearance in 2018 at the White House with President Trump during which he wore a Make America Great Again hat and made an expletive-filled rant that Mr Trump described as “quite something”.
“I love this guy right here,” the music star said, walking behind the desk to hug the seated president.
“That’s really nice,” the President replied.
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