Kanye West was one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal celebrity supporters — and now he could become his opponent.
In an interview with RealClearPolitics on Tuesday, Trump was asked about what he thought of West announcing that he’s running for president in 2020.
West tweeted on the Fourth of July, “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.”
While he’s expressed how serious he is about running for office, West has yet to officially file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and is currently unable to appear on the ballot in five states.
This leads Trump to question if he’ll actually run this year. “He may. It’s very interesting,” he said of West, adding that the 43-year-old aspiring politician has a “real voice.”
The president doesn’t seem to have a problem with West making a presidential bid, but thinks it might be the wrong time. “It’d have to be limited to certain states, because in some states the deadline has been missed,” Trump noted. “If he did it, he would have to view this as a trial run for what’s going to happen in four years.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Forbes, West says he is no longer in support of Trump.
“I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,” says the rapper, who has publicly worn a red “Make America Great Again” hat and visited Trump at the White House. “One of the main reasons I wore the red hat as a protest to the segregation of votes in the Black community. Also, other than the fact that I like Trump hotels and the saxophones in the lobby.”
West also criticizes Trump for allegedly going to an underground bunker in the White House during Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C. Trump has denied this ever happened.
“It looks like one big mess to me,” he says of Trump’s presidency. “I don’t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker.”
That being said, West still seems to think the president got one thing right. “Trump is the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation.”
As for how he feels about possibly running against Trump and predicted Democratic nominee Joe Biden, West responds, “I’m not saying Trump’s in my way, he may be a part of my way. And Joe Biden? Like come on, man, please. You know? [Barack] 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.”
