Kanye West 2020 presidential campaign
| Kanye 2020 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Campaign | 2020 United States presidential election |
| Candidate | Kanye West Rapper, businessman, and producer Michelle Tidball Christian preacher |
| Affiliation | Birthday Party / Independent[a] |
| Announced | July 4, 2020 |
| Suspended | November 4, 2020 |
| Headquarters | Cody, Wyoming |
| Key people | |
| Slogan | YES![4] #2020VISION[5] |
| Theme song | "Nah Nah Nah" by Kanye West |
| Website | |
| kanye2020 | |
Kanye West announced his 2020 United States presidential election campaign through Twitter on July 4, 2020, Independence Day. On July 16, 2020, the campaign filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He entered the election after missing at least six states' deadlines to appear on the ballot as a third-party candidate.[6] West selected Michelle Tidball, a Christian preacher from Wyoming, as his running mate.
West's platform advocated for the creation of a culture of life, endorsing environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, buttressing faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer, and providing for a strong national defense.[7] A supporter of a consistent life ethic (a tenet of Christian democracy), West opposed abortion and capital punishment.[8]
West qualified for ballot access in 12 states.[9][10] The campaign sued for ballot access in five additional states (Arizona, Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia and West Virginia), and subsequently lost all appeals, gave up on four other states (Illinois, Montana, Missouri, and New Jersey), and missed the deadlines of a further 29 states, plus the District of Columbia.[9] West additionally appeared on the California ballot, as Rocky De La Fuente's running mate, under the American Independent Party, something to which neither West nor De La Fuente had consented.[11] Despite appearing on the California ballot as running mate, West urged his followers on Twitter to vote for him as a write-in instead.
West conceded his campaign on November 4, 2020, the morning after Election Day, after receiving over 60,000 votes in the 12 states where he had ballot access. West ultimately ranked 4th (5th in Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont) in vote count in his states, and received the 5th highest national vote count for a non-perennial presidential ticket.[12][13] West expressed interest in running again in 2024 on the same day.[12][13][14]
Background[]
West stated in July 2020 that the idea for his campaign occurred when he was offered the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA). While showering in his mother-in-law Kris Jenner's home, West was writing a rap song and thought of the lyric "you're going to run for president". He started laughing hysterically at the thought of including a presidential announcement in his acceptance speech, along with disparaging remarks about award shows.[4] On August 30, 2015, West announced at the VMA that he would be running for president in 2020.[15] The following month, on September 24, West reaffirmed to Vanity Fair that he was considering a 2020 presidential run.[16]
In December 2015, he mentioned his presidential run on his song "Facts".[17] In November 2016, West announced that he supported U.S. president Donald Trump.[18] On December 13, 2016, West met with then President-elect Trump and Ivanka Trump.[19] After meeting with Trump, West implied that he would be running in 2024 instead.[20] When Trump was still running for the Republican nomination, he was asked about running against Kanye and responded, "You know what? I will never say bad about him, you know why? Because he loves Trump!" Though he added, "Now, maybe in a few years I will have to run against him, I don’t know. So I’ll take that back".[21]
In April 2018, West became popular with conservatives and the alt-right after he publicly supported American conservative pundit Candace Owens, alienating himself from his usual liberal fanbase.[22][23][24][25] In May 2018, West stated that his presidential run would be a mix between "the Trump campaign and maybe the Bernie Sanders principles".[26]
In October 2018, West met with Trump at the Oval Office where he gave praise to the president.[27] That same month, West announced he would be taking a break from politics after a falling out with Owens.[28] The following month, West's wife Kim Kardashian stated that he supported Trump's personality but had no understanding of his policies.[29]
In an October 2019 interview with New Zealand radio host Zane Lowe, West declared that he would one day be the U.S. president.[30] In November 2019, an audience laughed when West stated that he would run for president in 2024. He stated that manufacturing for his Yeezy brand would move to the United States, adding that "we would've created so many jobs that I'm not going to run [for president in 2024], I'm going to walk."[31][32] In January 2020, West told GQ that he would be voting during the election cycle and that "we know who I'm voting on."[33]
Campaign[]
Announcement[]
West announced his campaign on Independence Day via Twitter, writing "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States!