Kanye West is following through with his 2015 promise to run for president in 2020. The rapper marked the Fourth of July by announcing he plans to run for Commander in Chief, offering a very general idea of how the “promise of America” could be realized. West already picked up an endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“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,” West tweeted, adding the hashtag “2020 Vision.” The tweet quickly racked up over 12,000 replies, including one from Musk. “You have my full support!” Musk responded about five minutes after West published his tweet.
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You have my full support!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
This is not the first time West has announced plans to run for president. During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, West made headlines by announcing he would run for president in 2020. “I don’t know what I finna lose after this. It don’t matter, though; It’s not about me. It’s about ideas. New ideas. People with ideas. People who believe in truth,” the “Closed on Sunday” rapper said at the time, reports CNN. “And yes, as you probably could’ve guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.”
West later moved his political ambitions another four years into the future. In September 2018, West told Power 92 Chicago’s DJ Pharris he would “100%” run in 2024. He repeated this goal during an appearance at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in December 2018. “When I run for president in 2024, we would’ve created so many jobs that, in fact, I’m going to walk,” West said while the audience laughed. “What I’m saying is, when y’all read the headlines, ‘Kanye’s crazy,’ this and that, this and that, it’s like one in three African Americans are in jail and all of the celebrities are in jail also because they can’t say nothing! They’ve got no opinion! They’re so scared!”
West has made it clear he has political ambitions. The closest he has come to acting on them was his infamous 2018 Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, when he wore a red “Make America Great Again” hat. Trump said he thought West could run for president, calling West a “smart cookie.”In January 2019, West’s sister-in-law Khloe Kardashian riled up social media for wearing a “Kanye West for President” hat.
More recently, West joined protests against police brutality and racism in his hometown of Chicago, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He also created a college savings plan for Floyd’s daughter Gianna and donated $2 million to the families of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
