Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

American rapper Kanye West announces 2020 presidenti­al run

- Agence France-presse letters@hindustant­imes.com

WASHINGTON: 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.

 ??  ?? Kanye West at a meeting with US President Trump.
AFP/FILE
Kanye West at a meeting with US President Trump. AFP/FILE

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