Kanye West drew controversy from fans when he announced his support for President Trump and publicly sported a MAGA hat. But now he has a different person in mind for U.S. president.
Himself.
"God is so good," the 19-time Grammy-winning artist tweeted Tuesday. "Today I am voting for the first time in my life for the President of the United States, and it's for someone I truly trust...me."
The 43-year-old rapper drew headlines when he announced on Independence Day he would run for president. But West only succeeded in becoming a candidate in 12 states.
These states include Tennessee, Colorado and Mississippi but not his home state of Illinois. Because of the limited number of ballots West appears on, he cannot earn enough votes to become the next U.S. president.
West spent $10.3 million on his campaign, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. He is polling at 0%, according to the latest Ipsos/Reuters poll.
Many have accused West of running a spoiler campaign against presidential candidate Joe Biden. A spoiler campaign is meant to draw votes away from another candidate.
NPR's Barbara Sprunt reported the number of ways Republicans have boosted West's bid. The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee denied any coordination with West's campaign.
West's wife, reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, also tweeted an Election Day message Tuesday but did not mention her husband's campaign.
She shared a link to former first lady Michelle Obama's voter registration and engagement organization, When We All Vote.
Over the summer, West was slammed for several comments he made during his first campaign event. West claimed onstage that abolitionist Harriet Tubman "never actually freed the slaves."
"She just had the slaves go work for other white people," West said.
Kim Kardashian West took to social media and asked for empathy following the backlash.
"As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder," she said, according to CNN. "Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand."
"Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions," she wrote.
Kayne West has had his eyes on a presidential bid for years.
He said he was running as an independent candidate under a party he created called the "Birthday Party," he explained to Forbes for a simple reason:
"Because when we win, it's everybody's birthday."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxNzg0MDExMDEyMTYyMjc1MDE3NGVmMw004))
