Rapper Kanye West’s presidential run has made headlines after widespread reports that Republican operatives were behind West’s campaign.
And on Tuesday, just before midnight, West confirmed The New York Times report that he recently met with senior White House advisor Jared Kushner.
The rapper tweeted, “I’m willing to do a live interview with the New York Time about my meeting with Jared where we discussed Dr Claude Anderson’s book Powernomics.”
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1293391411560230912?s=20
The Times reported that West and Kushner met in Colorado over the weekend and that West’s tweet was posted after Times reporters reached out to the rapper to ask about the meeting.
In a recent interview with Forbes, West praised President Donald Trump and when asked if his campaign is intended to hurt Democratic nominee Joe Biden, he responded, “I’m not denying it.”
When asked about West’s presidential run in an early August press conference, Trump said, “I like him. He’s always been very nice to me.”
Asked if he has encouraged West to get on the ballot, Trump said, “No, not at all. Other than I get along with him very well.”
President Trump on Kanye West: "I like him. He's always been very nice to me." https://t.co/G1qXV9VF3P pic.twitter.com/rUTQ6dMTI6
— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2020
Among the Republican operatives who have helped West get onto ballots are Mark Jacoby, who runs a firm that has been hired by West’s campaign. While working for the California Republican Party in 2008, Jacoby was arrested for voter fraud.
Lane Ruhland, a lawyer who recently represented Trump’s campaign, dropped off the signatures needed to get West on the ballot in Wisconsin. In Vermont, one of West’s electors, Chuck Wilton, is also a convention delegate.
In Arkansas, longtime Republican operative Gregg Keller, who was briefly in the running to be Trump’s 2016 campaign manager, was listed as the point of contact for West’s campaign.
West’s only campaign event so far was an appearance in South Carolina in which he declared, “Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people” and at one point broke down into tears.
His wife, Kim Kardashian West has said that her husband suffers from bi-polar disorder and asked for compassion.