Kanye West Indicates That He's Running to Hurt Joe Biden's Campaign
Kanye West’s bid for president may be part of a strategy from Republican activists to siphon votes from Joe Biden.
Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that the effort to get Kanye on the ballot as a third-party candidate in several states is “increasingly looking like an operation run by President Trump’s allies and Republican activists that is aimed at diverting votes” from the presumptive Democratic nominee.
In an interview by text with Forbes on Thursday, Kanye seemed to indicate that his spoiler campaign was indeed designed to damage Biden’s chances.
“I’m not denying it,” he said.
When asked about his ongoing bid for the White House, Kanye said that rather than running, he was “walking…to win.”
THE GOAL IS TO WIN
— ye (@kanyewest) August 7, 2020
West would not say whether Republican operatives, some with ties to President Trump, are helping to get him on presidential general election ballots. He did, however, reveal that he is working on “designing a school within the next month” and plans to meet with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos “about the post-COVID curriculum.”
West also didn’t respond when asked whether he feels he’s being used. When Forbes said that the operation to get him on the ballot didn’t feel like a “Kanye West production,” he said it was a “God production.” Others including his longtime collaborator John Legend appear to agree that Kanye is being used as a tool for the Trump campaign.
Anyway…. Anyone reckless and/or misinformed enough to fall for the okey doke probably wasn’t voting for Biden (or voting at all).
— John Legend (@johnlegend) August 5, 2020
Trump has denied that he is responsible for efforts to get Kanye on the ballot. “I like Kanye very much,” he told reporters at the White House this week. “No, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot. We’ll have to see what happens.”
In an earlier interview with Forbes, Kanye renounced his support for Trump. “It looks like one big mess to me. I don’t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker,” he said about Trump’s presidency, while slamming Biden in the process. “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.”