This archive report was first published on 5 July 2020.
On a day when Americans celebrated Independence Day, Kanye West, the entertainment mogul, made a surprise announcement that sent shockwaves across the nation: he is running for the US presidency in 2020.
"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," West tweeted on July 4, 2020.
West's decision to challenge Donald Trump, the incumbent president, comes as a surprise to many, given his long-standing support for the president. In 2018, West met with Trump in the Oval Office, where he delivered a lengthy soliloquy and even hugged the president.
However, in 2019, West revealed that his support for Trump was a way to razz Democrats, and he even announced his own presidential ambitions. "There will be a time when I will be the president of the US, and I will remember... any founder that didn't have the capacity to understand culturally what we were doing," he said in an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music's Beats 1 show.
West's announcement comes days after he released a new song, "Wash Us In the Blood," along with an accompanying video featuring imagery from recent anti-racism protests. His wife, Kim Kardashian, has also been involved in White House affairs, lobbying Trump to pardon a woman for a non-violent drug offense.
As the 2020 presidential election heats up, West's candidacy is likely to shake things up. With Trump lagging behind his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, in the polls, West's announcement may be a game-changer.
