White House looks forward to Kanye West’s presidential bid

Associated Press

Kanye West for 2020? The White House says it is anticipating the Chicago rapper’s potential bid for president.

Yeezy claimed he would run for president while accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says of the announcement that he looks “forward to seeing what slogan he chooses to embroider on his campaign hat.” Earnest was traveling aboard Air Force One with the president to Alaska.

In Maryland, a black Republican activist quickly created a political action committee to back West’s candidacy.

Eugene Craig filed paperwork Monday to launch “Ready for Kanye” and created a Facebook page for the cause. Craig, 24, told The Washington Post that he would encourage West to run if there’s no incumbent Republican in the White House.

“I think he will bring an interesting dialogue to our party,” Craig said, noting one of West’s early hits was “Jesus Walks.”

During the speech, West covered a range of topics in nearly 13 minutes: He bashed MTV, apologized to Taylor Swift for taking her microphone in 2009 and observed, “I don’t understand awards shows.” He said he was upset that Justin Timberlake and Gnarls Barkley lost album of the year to the Dixie Chicks at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

West admitted he “rolled up a little something” before rambling onstage to accept the award from Swift.

Sister-in-law Kourtney Kardashian, who watched the speech at the awards alongside West’s wife Kim, tweeted a swift commentary:

This isn’t the first time the outspoken Chicago rapper has dabbled in talk of politics. West is noted for criticism of President George W. Bush and the federal government’s response after Hurricane Katrina. He has also compared the world’s fascination with his wife Kim Kardashian to that of the first lady.