For those of you who were expecting to tell Kanye West, “Congratulations, President-Elect Kanye West”...well, you can’t tell him nothin’. We may not know yet who our next president is—but it certainly isn’t Kanye.
According to Billboard, Kanye admitted defeat in the 2020 presidential election race. The 43-year-old rapper tweeted “KANYE 2024” along with a graphic of himself in front of a United States map.
Actually, he initially tweeted “WELP KANYE 2024” but deleted that tweet and left out the “Welp” in the new tweet. Unlike his 2020 presidential run, screenshots are forever.
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, ‘Ye tweeted a few pictures showcasing that he was casting his vote. He tweeted, “The first vote of my life. We are here to serve. We pray for every servant leader in the world.”
West was a latecomer to the 2020 race, announcing his candidacy in July. Initially focusing on abortion and faith, he later drew up a 10-point platform, calling for support for the environment and arts, an anti-interventionist foreign policy, and reforms to the legal system and policing.
He struggled to make it to the ballots of many states, including some that legally barred him from appearing, and encouraged supporters to write him on to their ballot papers.
Kanye managed to make it on the ballots in 12 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont. He amassed about 50,000 votes (or more, but definitely fewer than 60,000). Apparently, he gained the most success in Tennessee, where he landed about .03% of the total vote in that state. Here in California, I saw Kanye’s name on the ballot during the early voting period, but not for president—he was listed as a vice presidential candidate under Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente Guerra.
Kanye had initially decided to run for president in 2024, so I guess this was just his practice run? Sure.