Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, are no strangers to breaking the internet. However, it seems like West’s Fourth of July announcement that he’s running for president in 2020 has taken the world by storm.
Although West previously touted his allegiance to President Donald Trump, he declared to Forbes on July 8th that he no longer supports the president. So who is down with West’s run? When the dad-of-four first tweeted about his presidential bid, Tesla mogul Elon Musk tweeted at West, quote, “You have my full support.”
However, as West has become more public about what his platform will look like – calling vaccines “the mark of the beast” and strongly opposing abortion – Musk seemingly pulled away. In a since-deleted tweet, Musk said of West and his campaign, “We may have more differences of opinion than I anticipated.”
“Let’s see. Where did that fall apart?” Speaking of Musk, he certainly would have been a fascinating pick for West’s vice president. However, the rapper revealed on July 19, 2020, that he asked another high-profile entertainer to be his running mate, though West was apparently turned down.
That dream running mate turned out to be none other than rapper Jay Z, though this isn’t the end of Yeezy’s running mate story. Kanye West spoke with South Carolina-based journalist Kris Kaylin on July 19, 2020, and he revealed some vital information about his campaign.
West stressed that he is primarily in, quote, “service to God”, as he ventures forth on his political journey, saying that his presidency will follow the scripture, quote: “On earth as it is in heaven.” Kaylin introduced the question of West’s running mate by inquiring: “I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Jade Simmons. She is a Black woman who is also running for the presidency.
Have you thought about maybe teaming up with her?” Kaylin’s question is a good one, considering Simmons’ platform sounds a lot like West’s in some ways. The pianist and Independent candidate’s website states her mission is to “restore the United States of America to its God-given identity of being a unified nation, that honors God and serves ALL people.”
Despite this promising connection, West explained that he was interested in a much more sensational and well-known running mate. He said: “I reached out to [Jay-Z] to possibly be my vice president, my running mate.
We have Michelle Tidball, who is a Christian pastor out of Wyoming, who is my running mate. But she would be open to taking another position if we found another running mate.” West confirmed he recorded his conversation with Jay-Z on the phone, but the audio was unavailable for the interview with Kaylin.
As many fans already know, West and Jay-Z go way back. In fact, West’s first album, College Dropout, was released through Jay-Z’s label, Roc-A-Fella. Although the two men had a close working collaboration and were also friends, their bond reportedly ruptured when Jay-Z and his wife, Beyonce, didn’t attend West’s 2014 wedding to Kim Kardashian.
Jay-Z and Beyonce’s absence really hurt West’s feelings, which he discussed in a May 2018 chat with Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club: “I was hurt about them not coming to the wedding. I understand they were going through some things, but if it’s family, you’re not going to miss a wedding.
Although their relationship has had its ups and downs, things seem to have leveled out to a place of understanding between Jay-Z and Kanye West. Jay-Z spoke about their friendship with The New York Times in November 2017, saying: “It’s a complicated relationship with us because Kanye came into this business on my label, so I’ve always been like his big brother.
And we’re both entertainers. It’s always been like a little underlying competition there with your big brother. And we both love and respect each other’s art too, so it’s like, we both- everyone wants to be the greatest in the world.
Then it’s like a lot of other factors that play in it. But it’s- we’re gonna always be good.” Who knows, maybe this means Jay-Z and Kanye West can embark on a political journey together. However, if Jay-Z isn’t interested, former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner wants to be considered for VP, according to TMZ.
Jenner reportedly told the outlet she thinks they would make a great team, and she has already reached out to West with her offer to join his political party, the Birthday Party.
So, summing up, we’ve got Jay-Z, Michelle Tidball, Jade Simmons, and Caitlyn Jenner, all attached in some way to the possibility of running with Kanye. Of course, this list might get even longer before we have a final answer!