Kanye West is still going ahead with his presidential campaign, naming his running mate, Michelle Tidball.
According to TMZ, West has filed documents to be placed on the ballot in Arkansas and along with it, his newly confirmed vice president.
Tidball, 57, met the rapper in Cody, Wyoming where he currently resides and runs an online Bible Study.
She is a self-described “biblical life coach” who also works in a dental office and charges $65 for a 50-minute one-on-one session, believing she has Jesus on the mainline.
In an interview with The New Yorker, a former colleague of Tidball, Mary L Keller said that she considered herself an “online prophet” and even predicted Trump’s win in 2016.
“We went out for drinks, and she told me about this international group of people who are in touch with the divine and discuss it with each other,” she said. “To her, his election was evidence.”
Keller also stated that West and Tidball are a perfect match, saying it “made sense”.
“They both believe they have direct access to God and read the world as evidence of that access. The religious imagination is about the only thing that can provide language for drought, flood, fire.
“I see Kanye and Michelle as the kinds of voices that people might turn to for a meaningful story in the face of climate change.”
Kanye West’s New Jersey Ballot Contains 600 Defective Signatures
Update: July 30, 2020
A day after Kanye West filed to appear on New Jersey’s ballot as a candidate, 600 of the 1327 signatures submitted have been considered defective.
According to the New York Post, a formal complaint was submitted by election law attorney Scott Salmon, who filed the objection with the state Division of Elections.
Salmon filed the complaint independently after examining the submission, and if found to be correct, West’s numbers will drop below the 800 required to appear on the ballot.
Photographs of the signatures can be found here.
Kanye West Is Still Running for President
Update: July 29, 2020
According to NJ.com, Kanye West is still continuing his presidency bid. West has filed to appear on New Jersey’s ballot as a candidate, submitting 1327 signatures to the state Division of Elections, surpassing the 800 needed.
The filings also state that the “Birthday Party” party founder hasn’t come up with a slogan which is used by candidates to spread their messages.
West is now on the ballot for several states, including Oklahoma, where he had to pay $35,000 to be eligible.
This all comes after last week’s controversial tweets.
Kim Kardashian West Calls for “Compassion” for Kanye West’s Bipolar Disorder
Update: July 23, 2020
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to abortion.
Kim Kardashian West has taken to her Instagram Stories to ask for “compassion” for her husband, Kanye West.
In a series of tiles on her story, Kardashian West addressed Kanye’s recent behaviour, by saying that “anyone who has this [bipolar disorder] or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand.”
“I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a Black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder,” she said, before adding: “Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions.”
Kardashian West then went on to say that West having this diagnosis, does not “diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some,” saying that this was “part of his genius” and that many of his dreams “have come true”.
She further outlined the need to not only have understanding for those who are suffering with the illness but also “the individuals who are living with it in times when they need it most.”
She then called for “compassion and empathy” so that they can “get through this” and thanked “those who have expressed concern for Kanye’s well being [sic] and for your understanding.”
See screenshots of her post below.
Kanye West Breaks Down During First Rally of His Presidential Campaign
Update: July 20, 2020
Kanye West has made an emotionally charged speech during the first rally of his presidential campaign.
The rapper, who spoke at the Exquis Event Centre in North Charleston, South Carolina, did not have a microphone and repeatedly asked his audience to “be quiet” as he talked about the issue of abortion.
“In the Bible it says thou shalt not kill,” he told the crowd.
“I remember that my girlfriend called me screaming and crying. At that time I was a rapper, I was out there, I had different girlfriends. Hey, I don’t give a f–k. So my girlfriend called me [Kim Kardashian] and I just thought to myself, please don’t tell me. And she said I’m pregnant.
“For one month and two months and three months, we talked about her not having this child. She had the pills in her hand. If you take it, the baby’s gone.
“I was sitting up in Paris, and I had my leather pants on. I’m in the apartment where my wife was actually robbed, and I got all my creative ideas … and the screen went black and white, and God said if you f–k with my vision, I’m going to f–k with yours.
“And I called my wife and she said, ‘We’re going to have this baby.’ I said, ‘We’re going to have this child. I know people that are 50 years old that never had children, that have never been able to experience the level of happiness that I experienced.”
West then went on to say that his mum “saved my life” because his dad “wanted to abort me.”
“My mum saved my life. There would have been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy!”
Becoming almost inaudible, West began to ramble and cry, announcing that he: “Almost killed my daughter! I almost killed my daughter!” referring to his daughter, North West.
“They’re going to run this, they’re going to try to tell you that I’m crazy. The world’s crazy,” he said.
West, who said abortion should “always be legal” put forward a policy called “maximum increase”, which gave every woman the option of taking a large payment to help raise her child.
He first proposed a payment of $50,000, before changing it to a million dollars.
“Everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars or something like that,” he said.
Continuing his rant, West kept saying “my body, my choice” before talking about a scenario where a couple were separated and the mother decided: “I’m gonna kill my child.”
West then admitted that he “smoked a little bit last night”.
Kanye West gets emotional while speaking about abortion in South Carolina:
"My Mom saved my life. My Dad wanted to abort me… There would have been no Kanye West."
"I almost killed my daughter." pic.twitter.com/jiGuODxAno
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 19, 2020
Kanye West Is Running for President Under the Banner ‘Birthday Party’
Update: July 9, 2020
On July 4, Kanye West announced via Twitter that he was running for the US presidency. It’s not the first time he’s made that claim, so many weren’t surprised. Moreso confused as to how he’d get his ducks in a row before the November 3 election.
In a recent interview with Forbes magazine, West said that he was “taking the red hat off, with this interview,” and announced he’s running for president under the banner, ‘Birthday Party’.
Previously, the father-of-four had pledged his allegiance to Trump, however, has now pulled his support, saying that his presidency “looks like one big mess to me”.
Back in June, Trump removed himself from the White House and fled to a secret bunker during the Black Lives Matter protests. Something that West did not agree with.
“I don‘t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker,” he said.
As an Independent, the 43-year-old will be up against his former “hero” Trump and Democrat Joe Biden — but he says he has no problem taking votes from either one.
“To say that the Black vote is Democratic is a form of racism and white supremacy.
“I‘m not saying Trump’s in my way, he may be a part of my way. And Joe Biden? Like, come on man, please.
“You know? Obama’s special. Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special.”
The Forbes interview is definitely worth a read. It’s the type of interview that’ll spark dinner table conversations for the next week. West sounds like he’s having us all on and we’re about to watch it all unfold in a spin-off of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. In the interview, he speaks of his experience with COVID-19, police brutality, his campaign slogan (it’s ‘YES’), how he decided to run for president (while in the shower at Kris Jenner’s house) and his suspicions of a coronavirus vaccine.
Kanye West Has Announced He’s Running for President — But Why Is Anyone Surprised?
Update: July 6, 2020
It may all seem like a dream — or the perfect addition to the crazy year that has been 2020 — however, rapper Kanye West has announced he is running for the US presidency.
In a tweet on July 4 (which also happens to be Independence Day in the United States), West wrote: “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!”
Kim Kardashian West retweeted and and billionaire Elon Musk responded that West has his full support.
But why is anyone surprised? Kanye is just making good on a promise he made at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, West spoke about making a difference in the world, finishing his speech by saying: “And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.” Mic drop.
Last November, West pushed his candidacy dreams back, telling the crowd at Fast Company’s Innovation festival that he would now be running in the 2024 contest, however, after current events, he changed his mind again, electing to run opposite his old friend with the “dragon energy”, current US president, Donald Trump.
It’s no secret that Kanye has shown support to Trump, often wearing a red “make America great again (MAGA)” cap.
In April 2018, West visited Trump at the White House, telling him that “something about wearing the MAGA hat, made me feel like Superman.”
In the footage, he says: “I love this guy right here,” before giving him a hug.
WATCH NEXT: Kanye West at the White House. Story continues…
Following the visit, West went on a Twitter rampage after returning from a social media hiatus, after his wife told him to clarify what he meant by “love”, especially asking him to clarify that he “didn’t agree” with everything the current president did.
West went on to say that he loved trump like a “brother” but that he also “loves everyone” including Hillary Clinton who had been running opposite him.
“The mob can’t make me not love him,” he said.
“We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989179757651574784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E989179757651574784%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Fmusic%2Fkanye-west-loves-donald-trump-and-was-addicted-to-opioids-2300545
“If your friend jumps off the bridge you don’t have to do the same. Ye being Ye is a fight for you to be you. For people In my life the idea of Trump is pretty much a 50 50 split but I don’t tell a Hillary supporter not to support Hillary I love Hillary too. [sic]
“I love when people have their own ideas. You don’t have to be allowed anymore. Just be. Love who you want to love. That’s free thought. I’m not even political. I’m not a democrat or a republican.”
So, what has made him run against Trump now and can West really become President of the United States this year?
According to People, the Lift Up Your Voices singer will have an “uphill battle” if he plans to follow through.
The outlet reported that he has already missed a number of deadlines to make it into state ballots and is already ineligible to appear on ballots in nine states, including Texas and New York.
Although he technically can still run in the other states, the process will be complicated as it differs for each territory.
Ballotpedia, explains that a certain number of signatures are required to be eligible to run and also outlines the deadlines to which this has to occur.
For example, in Arizona, candidates have to get signatures equalling to three per cent of all registered voters while in Colorado, 5,000 signatures by July 9.
There’s also the question of who Ye will be running for. According to reports from the US, he will most likely be running as an Independent, however, at the time of publication, he has yet to register as a candidate or file with the Federal Election Commission.
There is one more loop-hole in the circus that is the US election and that is West’s ability to be a “write-in” candidate.
This is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person’s name. They usually only exist in the US, and even then only in certain states. Sounds legit.
There’s only one problem. According to Polyas, write-in candidates almost never win.
After his weekend tweet, West has yet to clarify where he is at in the process.
While this year’s contest is months away and it seems like West has a lot of work to do to get ready in time, there’s also the option that he’ll run in 2024 (maybe he doesn’t know what year it is?!), given last year he said “When I run for president in 2024 we would have created so many jobs I’m not going to run, I’m going to walk.”
Should we start prepping for a Kardashian-West White House? Probs not (hopefully not). But a photoshoot with Kim Kardashian West and North West in Interview magazine in 2017 shows what it could look like.
Let’s hope West doesn’t make it to the White House, purely because it would very likely mean Kim would have to hand over her Instagram password, and a world without thirst traps is a world we want no part in.
WATCH: Kanye West’s MTV Video Music Awards Vanguard Acceptance Speech.