Kanye West: Weirdest moments from his Forbes interview

The rapper-turned US presidential hopeful is anti-vaccination, anti-abortion and thinks some chemicals stop us from serving God.

Kanye West confirmed he’s planning to run for President during a sprawling, four-hour interview published in Forbes magazine overnight – and that’s only about the eighth-weirdest thing he said.

Over several lengthy phone calls with Forbes journalist Randall Lane, Kanye vaguely outlined his political platform and offered his thoughts on everything from Donald Trump “one big mess” to the current global pandemic (as with many things for Kanye, “It’s all about God.”)

YEP, HIS WHITE HOUSE BID IS SERIOUS

Vote 1 Kanye West of the Birthday Party – ‘YES!’ Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

And he insists he’s definitely running this year, not at the following election in 2024, despite many questioning how a Presidential candidate could join the race at such a late stage. His party is called Birthday Party (“because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday”). Their campaign slogan? “YES!”

His running mate is a woman named Michelle Tidball, a Wyoming preacher and “biblical life coach”.

And his two key campaign advisers right now? His wife Kim Kardashian and billionaire inventor Elon Musk, who he wants to head up his space program.

HE HAD CORONAVIRUS
West claims that he had coronavirus in late February – “chills, shaking in the bed, taking hot showers”. No word on whether any other members of his family contracted the potentially deadly illness. His verdict on what has caused the pandemic: “It’s all about God. We need to stop doing things that make God mad.”

HE’S *JUST* GONE OFF TRUMP

Friendship ended with Trump, now God is my best friend. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Forbes reports that in earlier communications with them Kanye was signing off text messages with ‘Trump 2020’ – but now he’s soured on Trump over his response to coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter protests.

“It looks like one big mess to me … I don’t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker.” He does say that, if Trump were not in the party, he would run as a Republican.

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HE DOESN’T LIKE BIDEN EITHER

“Joe Biden? Like come on man, please. You know? Obama’s special. Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special.”

Kanye laughs in the face of polio! Picture: Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company

HE’S ANTI-VAXX …

West says any eventual COVID-19 vaccine would be “the mark of the beast”. He suggests those who’ve been vaccinated won’t be able to “cross the gates of heaven” and will “have the Devil inside them”. *Deep, exhausted sigh*

… AND ANTI-TOOTHPASTE?

As your Miss America, Kanye vows to “clean up the chemicals”.

“In our deodorant, in our toothpaste, there are chemicals that affect our ability to be of service to God.”

HIS POLITICAL VIEWS

‘It’s the vibe of it. It’s the Constitution. It’s justice. It’s law. It’s the vibe.’ Quote from The Castle or genuine Kanye policy platform? Who can tell. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

He has no foreign policy to speak of, instead planning to focus on “protecting America, first, with our great military”. He’s anti-abortion – “I’m following the word of the Bible” – and against the death penalty – “Thou shalt not kill”.

Many of his other promises for a Kanye presidency are – how shall we put this – quite churchy, even by US standards. He wants prayer reintroduced in schools, claiming that “human beings working for the Devil removed God and prayer from the schools”.

Four months out from the election, he wouldn’t be drawn on many more policy specifics.

“I don’t have a policy when I went to Nike and designed Yeezy and went to Louis and designed a Louis Vuitton at the same time. It wasn’t a policy, it was a design.”

Yes, Kanye … it’s almost as if designing hideous overpriced footwear and being President are not the same thing.

YEEZY FOAM RUNNER MADE IN USA NOW AVAILABLEhttps://t.co/xutW8Q85QQ#WESTDAYEVER pic.twitter.com/zP8FSKaW9c

— ye (@kanyewest) June 26, 2020

Kanye 2020: Kim, come get your man.