Kanye West, the new surprise White House contender, has revealed the details of his presidential bid, including his running mate, and withdrew support for President Trump.
In an interview with Forbes published on Wednesday, the 43-year-old sneaker mogul said he is running under the banner of the Birthday Party because “when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday”.
His running mate will be Michelle Tydball, a relatively unknown preacher from Wyoming, and his campaign slogan will be ”YES!”
West, formerly a staunch Trump supporter who once met with the president in the Oval Office donning a red “MAGA" cap, stated he was parting ways with Trump. “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,” he said.
West added that he had lost confidence in the president. “It looks like one big mess to me,” he explained. “I don’t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker.” He was apparently referring to reports that Trump was rushed to an underground White House bunker during mass demonstrations outside of the White House in early June (Trump insisted he was there for an “inspection”).
Yeezy appears to have no realistic chance of winning the presidency even apart from his third-party affiliation, because he has already missed registration deadlines in at least six states, including New York, Texas and North Carolina. The deadline for seven other states is coming up this month, and West has yet to file the paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission.
The rapper seemingly is much more critical of Joe Biden than of Donald Trump. “I’m not saying Trump’s in my way, he may be a part of my way,” he said. “And Joe Biden? Like come on man, please. You know? Obama’s special. Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special.”
Theories have been swirling that West's bid is a plot to steal votes from Democratic candidate Joe Biden to help Donald Trump get re-elected. “I’m not denying it, I just told you,” he told Forbes. “To say that the Black vote is Democratic is a form of racism and white supremacy.”
Donald Trump didn't seem too bothered about competition from Kanye, saying in an interview with RealClearPolitics on Tuesday that Yeezy will “have to view it as a trial run” for 2024.
