Kanye West’s presidential hopes are real, a source tells 360aproko. Days after the 43-year-old rapper took to Twitter to share that he intends to run for president in 2020, a source close to him tells 360aproko that the announcement wasn’t a joke.
“Kanye is telling people close to him that his announcement of running for president is serious,” the source says. [He] has been toying with the idea for a while and has been getting more and more into politics.”
The source notes that West’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, and his family and friends “fully support his dream to run for president,” adding that they “feel he has more to offer than what people think.”
“Kanye has talked to several high-powered friends over the years about his idea and has gotten their support behind closed doors,” the source adds.
Following West’s tweet, both his pal, Elon Musk, and Kardashian West replied with their support of his campaign.
West first announced his intentions to run for president back in 2015, while accepting his Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards. At the time, President Donald Trump told Rolling Stone that West is “actually a different kind of person than people think, he’s a nice guy.”
“I hope to run against him someday,” Trump added at the time.
Despite his announcement, West, who would have to run as an independent, has missed several deadlines in the presidential race.
According to Ballotpedia, West will be unable to appear on the ballot in Indiana, Maine, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas due to registration deadlines. Though there’s still time for West to officially register in other states, they each have their own rules to get on the ballot.
It is also unclear if West has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, which is a necessary step to getting on the ballot. Even if West instead intended to run as a write-on candidate, some states require that paperwork be filed in advance in order for those votes to be counted, Ballotpedia notes.
