Presidents and Celebrities: Donald Trump and Kanye West
Kanye Omari West, better known as Kanye West, is a 45 year-old American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer, who is considered to be one of the most influential hip hop musicians of his generation. He was born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, and was a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several artists. He released his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), to critical and commercial success. West founded his record label GOOD Music later that same year.
West is also known for his outspoken views and life outside of music, and he has attracted significant media coverage. He has been a frequent source of controversy for his conduct on social media and at award shows, and has made a number of comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, and on race relations. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign.
West had once been a supporter of the Democratic Party. He has made modest financial contributions to Barack Obama's re-election campaign in 2012, and to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. He also donated $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2014. In September 2015, West announced that he intended to run for President of the United States in 2020, but after Donald Trump's surprise victory, West stated in a Tweet that instead he would run for president in 2024, in deference to Donald Trump. West later confirmed this in an interview in September 2018, and he said that his main political concern is health care in the United States.
On December 13, 2016, West met with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Plaza in New York. West told reporters, "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues. These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change." West did not vote for any candidate in the 2016 election, but said that he would have voted for Trump if he had voted.
The two had an on-again off-again relationship. In February 2017, West deleted all his tweets about Trump because he disagreed with the president's policies, particularly the travel ban. But a year later, West reiterated his support for Trump in April 2018 in a text to American media executive Ebro Darden in which he said "I love Donald Trump. I love Donald Trump." West also posted a picture of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat alongside a series of tweets defending President Trump and Trump later retweeted several of West's tweets.
West returned to Twitter in April 2018, and posted a number of pro-Trump tweets. He tweeted "I love the way Candace Owens thinks." Owens, is a promoter of black conservatism, and a supporter of President Trump. She has called him "the savior of the Free World" and has also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. In May 2018, West said in a radio interview, when asked if he thought Trump was racist, that "racism isn't the deal-breaker for me. If that was the case, I wouldn't live in America."
On October 11, 2018, West visited the Oval Office and he met with President Trump to discuss a range of issues. He and several other musicians watched Trump sign the Music Modernization Act, a bill that adapted copyright law for music to modern media conditions. Later that month, West and his wife visited the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, a noted Trump. On October 26, President Trump praised West during his speech at the Young Black Leadership Summit, adding "I think Kanye may be the most powerful man in all of politics."
Also in October of 2018, West was reported to have given his support to the Blexit movement, a campaign began by Candace Owens to encourage black Americans to abandon the Democratic Party and register as Republicans. West had advised on the design of the campaign's logo, and branded merchandise, including T-shirts. But he later distanced himself from the movement, tweeting "My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!"
In 2019, West once again re-affirmed his support for Trump. He expressed his opposition to abortion, and criticized those who want to remove religion from the public square. In an interview with GQ in January 2020, West implied he would be voting for President Trump.
West appeared to have changed his mind on who he would be supporting in the 2020 election once again, when on July 4, 2020, West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. On July 7, West was interviewed by Forbes about his presidential run, where he announced that his running mate would be Wyoming preacher Michelle Tidball, and that he would run as an independent under the banner of the "Birthday Party." He explained the reason for his choice of that name, stating that he chose the name, "Because when we win, it's everybody's 'birthday'." West also said that he no longer supported Trump because, in his words, Trump had "hid in a bunker" during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was also not endorsing Joe Biden. He told the media, "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." West also said that he had no problem with siphoning off black votes from the Democratic nominee. He told the interviewer, |"’m not denying it, I just told you. To say that the Black vote is Democratic is a form of racism and white supremacy.”
On July 15, 2020, official paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission for West, under the "BDY" Party affiliation and he held his first rally that weekend, on July 19. His platform focused on Christian democracy. It called for environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, support for faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer, providing for a strong national defense, and "America First" diplomacy. West told Forbes that he is ignorant on issues such as taxes and foreign policy.
On November 4, 2020, West's concession came in the form of a tweet which read "KANYE 2024". He had received 66,365 votes in the 12 states he was on the ballot in. Write-in votes in other states gave West an additional 3,931 votes across 5 states.
West has not expressed any intention to support a Trump 2024 Presidential run. He has stated his intentions to run for president again in the 2024 presidential election. He said, "When I run for president in 2024, we would've created so many jobs that I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk." On October 24, 2020, while running for president, West told Joe Rogan on his podcast that he would be open to running for Governor of California. West's representatives have stated, "Kanye West has not decided whether to become a candidate for president in the 2024 election." In subsequent interviews, West has repeatedly suggested that he will indeed run.
West is also known for his outspoken views and life outside of music, and he has attracted significant media coverage. He has been a frequent source of controversy for his conduct on social media and at award shows, and has made a number of comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, and on race relations. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign.
West had once been a supporter of the Democratic Party. He has made modest financial contributions to Barack Obama's re-election campaign in 2012, and to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. He also donated $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2014. In September 2015, West announced that he intended to run for President of the United States in 2020, but after Donald Trump's surprise victory, West stated in a Tweet that instead he would run for president in 2024, in deference to Donald Trump. West later confirmed this in an interview in September 2018, and he said that his main political concern is health care in the United States.
On December 13, 2016, West met with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Plaza in New York. West told reporters, "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues. These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change." West did not vote for any candidate in the 2016 election, but said that he would have voted for Trump if he had voted.
The two had an on-again off-again relationship. In February 2017, West deleted all his tweets about Trump because he disagreed with the president's policies, particularly the travel ban. But a year later, West reiterated his support for Trump in April 2018 in a text to American media executive Ebro Darden in which he said "I love Donald Trump. I love Donald Trump." West also posted a picture of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat alongside a series of tweets defending President Trump and Trump later retweeted several of West's tweets.
West returned to Twitter in April 2018, and posted a number of pro-Trump tweets. He tweeted "I love the way Candace Owens thinks." Owens, is a promoter of black conservatism, and a supporter of President Trump. She has called him "the savior of the Free World" and has also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. In May 2018, West said in a radio interview, when asked if he thought Trump was racist, that "racism isn't the deal-breaker for me. If that was the case, I wouldn't live in America."
On October 11, 2018, West visited the Oval Office and he met with President Trump to discuss a range of issues. He and several other musicians watched Trump sign the Music Modernization Act, a bill that adapted copyright law for music to modern media conditions. Later that month, West and his wife visited the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, a noted Trump. On October 26, President Trump praised West during his speech at the Young Black Leadership Summit, adding "I think Kanye may be the most powerful man in all of politics."
Also in October of 2018, West was reported to have given his support to the Blexit movement, a campaign began by Candace Owens to encourage black Americans to abandon the Democratic Party and register as Republicans. West had advised on the design of the campaign's logo, and branded merchandise, including T-shirts. But he later distanced himself from the movement, tweeting "My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!"
In 2019, West once again re-affirmed his support for Trump. He expressed his opposition to abortion, and criticized those who want to remove religion from the public square. In an interview with GQ in January 2020, West implied he would be voting for President Trump.
West appeared to have changed his mind on who he would be supporting in the 2020 election once again, when on July 4, 2020, West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. On July 7, West was interviewed by Forbes about his presidential run, where he announced that his running mate would be Wyoming preacher Michelle Tidball, and that he would run as an independent under the banner of the "Birthday Party." He explained the reason for his choice of that name, stating that he chose the name, "Because when we win, it's everybody's 'birthday'." West also said that he no longer supported Trump because, in his words, Trump had "hid in a bunker" during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was also not endorsing Joe Biden. He told the media, "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." West also said that he had no problem with siphoning off black votes from the Democratic nominee. He told the interviewer, |"’m not denying it, I just told you. To say that the Black vote is Democratic is a form of racism and white supremacy.”
On July 15, 2020, official paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission for West, under the "BDY" Party affiliation and he held his first rally that weekend, on July 19. His platform focused on Christian democracy. It called for environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, support for faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer, providing for a strong national defense, and "America First" diplomacy. West told Forbes that he is ignorant on issues such as taxes and foreign policy.
On November 4, 2020, West's concession came in the form of a tweet which read "KANYE 2024". He had received 66,365 votes in the 12 states he was on the ballot in. Write-in votes in other states gave West an additional 3,931 votes across 5 states.
West has not expressed any intention to support a Trump 2024 Presidential run. He has stated his intentions to run for president again in the 2024 presidential election. He said, "When I run for president in 2024, we would've created so many jobs that I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk." On October 24, 2020, while running for president, West told Joe Rogan on his podcast that he would be open to running for Governor of California. West's representatives have stated, "Kanye West has not decided whether to become a candidate for president in the 2024 election." In subsequent interviews, West has repeatedly suggested that he will indeed run.