TOUCH THE SKY
You should be honored by his lateness! With just four months until the election, Kanye West announces a bid for POTUS — and Kim Kardashian is ready to be first lady
Kanye West has sky-high plans for the future — he’s running for president! Sources tell Us how wife Kim Kardashian feels about the news.
As you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.” That was Kanye West — in 2015, at the MTV Video Music Awards. And on July 4 this year, he made good on his word… sort of. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future,” he tweeted. “I am running for president of the United States.”
SPOILER ALERT
The news came as a shock for lots of reasons, including that many states have already had their primaries; the Nov. 3 general election — whose presumptive candidates are Republican president Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden — is fast approaching; and, as of press time, West had filed no campaign paperwork. But no matter how the news struck the public, a source assures Us that West is serious, even though five days before his announcement, he released a song off his upcoming album, God’s Country, leading some to think it’s a PR stunt. “He genuinely thinks he can make the country better,” says the source. “He really believes that.”
Rachel Bitecofer, an election forecaster and senior fellow at the nonpartisan Niskanen Center, disagrees, telling Us, “I don’t think the Kanye West candidacy would be helpful to our discourse in any way. His whole reputation is divisive and controversial.” She adds that even though “he doesn’t have a chance to win,” if it’s a close race between Trump and Biden, “he could play a crucial role” as a vote splitter. Still, says Bitecofer, “the race would have to be very close for Kanye to play the spoiler.”
As far as his platform goes, another source tells Us, “Kanye believes in supporting big-business tax breaks but also more stimulus and opportunities for minorities and Black people. He believes in massive education reform and wants to build world-class infrastructure projects. He believes he can be a bridge between Republicans and Democrats.”
UPHILL BATTLE
Someone else who believes in him is Kim Kardashian, who is all for her husband’s candidacy, says the first source: “He’s still in Wyoming [on his ranch, and] she’s been really busy… but [she] supports him in anything he’s passionate about.”
About Wyoming: West’s announcement comes at a time when not everyone is a fan of the already divisive family. As the country reels from escalating coronavirus cases, skyrocketing unemployment and continued racial unrest, Kardashian’s been happily posting photos from the family’s luxurious ranch, particularly of their 14 Friesian horses, which can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $600,000 — each. (She also invoked the ire of horse girls everywhere by misspelling the breed as “Freesian.”) On the other hand, West donated $2 million to the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. How that juxtaposition will play with voters remains to be seen.
Whether or not West ends up in the Oval — or even on the ballot — one thing’s certain, at least according to the source: “Kanye’s creative and passionate. His motivations and intentions are authentic — even when they’re misguided.”