MUMBAI: US President Donald Trump has brushed off reports of American rapper Kanye Wests bid for the November presidential election and his subsequent comments that he no longer supported the President, according to media reports.
“He is always going to be for us, and his wife is going to be for us,” The Hill news website quoted Trump as saying on Thursday in a Fox News interview, referring to West and reality TV star Kim Kardashian West.
Trump brushed off comments that West made earlier this week, telling Forbes that he was “taking the red hat off”, referring to the President’ signature red “Make America Great Again” campaign baseball caps.
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The President maintained that he thought the rapper will support him in his re-election bid.
“(He’s a) very good guy. He is a person that I get along with very well,” Trump said.
“At the end I think he would support us over anyone else, we have to stop the radical left from taking over our country.”
In a tweet on July 4, the 21-time Grammy winner said: “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.”
It was not immediately clear which party the 21-time Grammy winner would pick in his apparent challenge to Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
While there is no official deadline to enter the presidential race, candidates must meet certain filing requirements under Ballot Access Laws that vary by state.
The deadline to add independent candidates to the ballot has not yet passed in many states, including California.
But while speaking to the Forbes magazine earlier this week, West said that he should be allowed extra time due the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m speaking with experts, I’m going to speak with Jared Kushner, the White House, with Biden,” The Hill news website quoted West as saying to Forbes.
The rapper has sparked speculation over the years that he would potentially enter the presidential race one day, most recently in November 2019, when he said he planned to run in 2024, according to a report by the Daily Mail newspaper.
In 2018, he visited Trump at the White House, wearing the “Make America Great Again” cap and delivered a speech in which he discussed alternate universes and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he said was actually sleep deprivation, the report added.
Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian has also met the President on more than one occasion lobbying for criminal justice reform.
(Source: IANS)
