Kanye West reportedly bows out of 2020 presidential race
Must’ve been his “Late Registration.”
Rap superstar Kanye West has already bowed out of his late-entry bid for the presidency, according to a report.
The billionaire rap icon, who announced his entry into the presidential arena in a July 4 tweet, told election strategist Steve Kramer that he was out of the race, New York Magazine reported Tuesday.
Kramer was one of the campaign staffers hired by West to help get his name on the ballot in Florida, South Carolina and other states, according to the magazine.
Last week, according to Kramer, West’s team was “working over weekend there, formalizing the FEC and other things that they’ve got to do when you have a lot of corporate lawyers involved.”
The election strategist was tasked with getting signatures to help the presidential hopeful get on the ballot in those states, for which Kramer said there was significant enthusiasm.
“We had overwhelming support to get him on the ballot,” he said.
Asked by the magazine on Wednesday of last week about West’s presidential bid, however, the rapper’s publicists stopped answering calls.
Eventually, Kramer told the magazine, “He’s out.”
Asked why West was abandoning his presidential bid, Kramer said, “I’ll let you know what I know once I get all our stuff canceled. We had over 180 people out there today.”
On Thursday, Kramer maintained his support for West, telling the magazine, “I have nothing good or bad to say about Kanye. Everyone has their personal decision about why they make decisions. Running for president has to be one of the hardest things for someone to actually contemplate at that level.”
West has not personally confirmed that he has suspended his Oval Office effort.
Speaking to Forbes magazine in an interview published last Wednesday, the musician said he was “taking the red hat off, with this interview,” and starting his own party for 2020, “the Birthday Party.”
If President Trump weren’t already the GOP candidate, West told the magazine, he would run as a Republican, adding, “I will run as an independent if Trump is there.”
Asked why his political party will be called the Birthday Party, he explained, “Because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday.”