Eccentric hip hop superstar Kanye West is known for being just a little bit out there, so when he announced that he would be running for president in 2020, most Americans didn’t really bat an eye. This was typical, bombastic behavior from the rapper, whose friends and family have publicly stressed that the artist may not be mentally well at times.
But there is something different about this latest attempt to aggrandize his persona, as it could come at the expense of other candidates in a tight and turbulent race.
According to West’s latest admission, this may be quite purposeful.
A late-night tweet from Kanye West this week strengthened the impression that establishment Republicans are helping the musician and fashion designer in his quest to get on the ballot in some states as a third-party candidate for president.
“I’m willing to do a live interview with the New York Time[s] about my meeting with Jared where we discussed Dr. Claude Anderson’s book Powernomics,” the post reads.
“Jared” is Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser.
The New York Times reported that Kushner and West met privately last weekend in Colorado. Neither the White House nor West’s camp responded to NPR’s requests for comment.
For his part, Kushner did not shy away from the insinuation either.
Kushner addressed the meeting himself during a White House press briefing Thursday afternoon, noting that he’s been friends with West for about a decade.
“We both happened to be in Colorado and so we got together and we had a great discussion about a lot of things,” Kushner said.
“He has some great ideas for what he’d like to see happen in the country and that’s why he has the candidacy that he’s been doing. But again, there’s a lot of issues that the president’s championed that he admires and it was just great to have a friendly discussion.”
So, is this just another case of “Kanye being Kanye”, or is there really something to the rumor that he’s being employed to play the spoiler role in 2020?
