Kanye West in the run
WASHINGTON: American rapper Kanye West, a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump, announced on Saturday that he would run for president in 2020 in an apparent challenge to Trump and his presumptive Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“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,” West wrote in a Twitter post, adding an American flag emoji and the hashtag “#2020VISION”.
It was not immediately clear if West was serious about vying for the presidency four months before the election.
Kanye West, the entertainment mogul said on Saturday that he is challenging Donald Trump for the US presidency in 2020.
“We must now realise the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION,” the born-again billionaire rapper tweeted as Americans marked Independence Day.
West offered no further details on his supposed campaign, four months before the November election, and it is unclear if he has officially registered to run for office.
Hundreds of thousands of Twitter users reacted to the star’s announcement and “Kanye” shot to become the top trending term on the platform, although many questioned whether the volatile rapper would go through with his plan and others claimed it was a publicity stunt.
His wife, reality star Kim Kardashian, replied with a US flag emoji, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote: “You have my full support!”
The 43-year-old has mentioned running for president several times and he said last year he would run for president in 2024.
West long ago broke ranks with most of the left-leaning entertainment industry to loudly voice his support for
Trump .
In 2019, during an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music’s Beats 1 show, he said his support for Trump had been a way to razz Democrats - and announced his own presidential ambitions. “There will be a time when I will be the president of the US, and I will remember... any founder that didn’t have the capacity to understand culturally what we were doing.” It was unclear to whom he was referring.