Controversial rapper tells radio host his White House bid ‘will be done’
HE’S dropped hints for years — but in a new interview, the rapper said a presidential bid will be “100 per cent” successful.
KANYE West has given the strongest indication yet he will run for president in 2024.
In a bizarre interview with Power 92 Chicago’s DJ Pharris, the rapper, who is married to reality star Kim Kardashian, confirmed he was planning a possible tilt at the White House.
And he said once he gave the presidential bid his full attention, he would be a shoe-in for the top job.
“If I decide to do it, it will be done, I’m not going to try,” he said on air late last week.
“Yes, 100 per cent it could happen … 2024.”
He said his biggest concern once he was president was taking on the “medical industry”.
“One of my main things once I’m president is the medical industry. I’m going to make sure that the medical industry flourishes,” he said.
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The fashion designer then started discussing the importance of “the paper” — meaning money.
“There’s one thing I learned by hanging around with Jay-Z, and being married to my wife, is you can’t f**k up the paper,” he said.
“That’s the problem with a lot of the radical leaders in the past.
“I’m not going in, when I become president, to f**k up the paper, because I tell you what? Trump ain’t f***ing up the paper. Those jobs are up, those taxes are being saved.”
But despite his well-publicised support for current President Donald Trump, West described himself as a moderate, claiming he “had love” for conservative Trump as well as progressive senator Bernie Sanders.
“For someone to say you can’t ride with both sides … We don’t need to think in divisions,” he said.
“We need to think in arms because we’re actually one race, one people, one civilisation.”
The father-of-three first revealed his political ambitions during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, when he announced: “I have decided in 2020 to run for president.”
The following year, rumours began swirling again after West met with Donald Trump in Trump Tower “to discuss multicultural issues”.
He later tweeted: “These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums, and violence in Chicago … I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change.”
Since then, he has alluded to a possible presidential campaign many times.
As recently as April, he fuelled speculation by tweeting a photo of five identical posters bearing his image and the slogan “Keep America Great” — accompanied by the hashtag “#Kanye2024”.
The 41-year-old’s latest political announcement has made headlines around the world — and unsurprisingly, it has divided the public.
Kanye wants to run for president in 2024. Okay yeah, we all know hes completely self absorbed. The disturbing thing is that there were actually people saying they would vote for him. What in the world, dude. @benshapiro save us. Run in 2024. Please.
— Jordan Graves (@JordanTGraves94) September 2, 2018
President of the United States of America: Kanye West:https://t.co/EnW4GCEKdL
— Noz Urbina (@nozurbina) September 2, 2018
At this point, really, why the heck not?
If he loses is he going to storm the stage of the winner's inauguration?
I honestly think Kanye West would be an even worse president than Donald Trump.
— Jake (@digiitaltomb) September 2, 2018
But West is just one of many celebrities who have discussed running for president in recent years.
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey was widely touted as a possible 2020 presidential candidate following her rousing speech at the 2018 Golden Globes — although she later confirmed she will only contest the position if she received a “sign from God”.
And Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson told Rolling Stone earlier this year he had been having “under-the-radar” meetings with political experts after announcing last year that he was considering a presidential bid.