American rapper Kanye West, a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump, has announced that he would run for president in 2020.
This is an apparent challenge against Trump and his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Adding an American flag emoji and the hashtag #2020VISION, West wrote;
We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.
We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States 🇺🇸! #2020VISION
— ye (@kanyewest) July 5, 2020
It is however not clear if West is serious about vying for 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.
He offered no further details on his campaign, four months before the November election.
The 43-year-old immediately gained the endorsement of Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX who responded the tweet.
He wrote: “You have my full support.”
You have my full support!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
West and his equally famous wife Kim Kardashian West have visited Trump in the White House.
Kanye long ago broke ranks with most of the left-leaning entertainment industry to loudly voice his support for Trump.
In 2018, they met in the Oval Office – a surreal tete-a-tete that included a hug from the rapper as well as an on-camera rant featuring an expletive, profanity-laden ramble.
That year, West also delivered a lengthy soliloquy to a president who many deem racist, telling him he loved him – to the dismay of many Democrats and fellow artists.
However in 2019, during an interview with, he said his support for Trump had been a way to razz Democrats – and announced his own presidential ambitions.
He said;
There will be a time when I will be the president of the US, and I will remember any founder that did not have the capacity to understand culturally what we were doing.
It was unclear to whom the artist was referring.
Also, in 2018, his wife, the reality TV star has formed her own contacts with the White House as she champions criminal justice reform.
She has successfully lobbied Trump to pardon a sexagenarian woman for a non-violent drug offense.
The presidency run announcement come days after West, who has taken a very public turn towards Christianity in recent years, released a new song, Wash Us in The Blood, along with an accompanying video including imagery from recent anti-racism protests.
For weeks now Trump, criticised for his response both to the coronavirus pandemic and to anti-racism protests, has been lagging in the polls behind his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
There was no immediate response to West’s announcement from either candidate.
