On Independence Day, Kanye West tweeted that he is running for president. It is not the first time that the rapper has declared his interest in taking over the Oval Office. At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, he announced at the end of his 11-minute Video Vanguard Award acceptance speech that he was aiming for the highest office: “In 2020 I decided to run for president.”
It’s no surprise that wife Kim Kardashian shows her support after her latest announcement. She retweeted the rapper’s July 4 message with an American flag emoji. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is also backing Ye, tweeting in response to West’s announcement, “You have my full support!”
But how does the music community feel about Yeezy 2020? Reactions were mixed after West, who recently released a new song “Wash Us in the Blood” with Travis Scott and has been a vocal advocate for Donald Trump, made her unexpected vacation announcement. Some even made fun of him.
Among those scoffing was comedian Tiffany Haddish, who revealed in 2019 that she is working on a music album. She quoted Kanye’s tweet, but changed the last sentence: “Now we must fulfill America’s promise by trusting God, unifying our vision, and building our future. I am running for President of the United States too! # 2020VISION”
Some, like Band of Ghosts’ lead singer and actor Eric Balfour, were not amused by the statement. “Do you think this is all a joke? That taking votes away from the only nominee who can defeat Donald Trump is cute or fun?” he replied to West’s tweet. “This is the height of privilege, ultimately it won’t hurt you, you are rich enough to survive 4 more years of Trump!”
See what the rapper’s other music creators say about him throwing his hat in the ring just a few months before the presidential election.
