Rapper Kanye West announces US presidential bid on Twitter

Washington: American rapper Kanye West, a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump, announced on Saturday that he would run for president in 2020 in an apparent challenge to Trump and his presumptive Democratic rival, former Vice-President Joe Biden.

"We must now realise the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States," West wrote in a Twitter post, adding an American flag emoji and the hashtag "#2020VISION".

Rapper Kanye West shakes hands with US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in 2018. Credit: Bloomberg

It was not immediately clear if West was serious about vying for the presidency four months before the November 3 election or if he had filed any official paperwork to appear on state election ballots.

The deadline to add independent candidates to the ballot has not yet passed in many states.

There remains, however, a long list of hurdles toward running that would be nearly insurmountable for most candidates, including starting a campaign from scratch in July of an election year. He would need to qualify for ballot access across 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as build a presidential-grade political organisation from scratch without the support of a party infrastructure.

At the moment, West doesn't appear to have filed forms with the Federal Election Commission to run for office.

West, 43, has talked about running for president for years, and last year told an audience he'd run for president in 2024.

He and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, have worked with President Donald Trump a number of times including on the release of prisoners. West donned a red "Make America Great Again" hat for a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in 2018.

At one meeting in October 2018, West delivered a rambling, profanity-laden speech in which he discussed alternative universes and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he said was actually sleep deprivation.

The tweet by West, who has 29.3 million Twitter followers, instantly went viral and was endorsed by Elon Musk, the chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla and another celebrity known for eccentric outbursts. "You have my full support!" he wrote.

Reuters, Bloomberg