President Kanye West? Rapper Peppers Speech With Confession, Confusion, And Politics
It seems unavoidable. After a 2016 presidential race that has seen Donald Trump as the surprise GOP forerunner, Americans could witness another bizarre newcomer in the political arena in four years: Kanye West.
However, following a speech Fox News called “rambling” and “nonsensical,” many are questioning the seriousness of Kanye’s announcement that he plans to run for president in 2020. After all, during his speech at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, West admitted to having “rolled up a little something. I [took] the edge off.”
The declaration concluded a rather strange speech from West, made to accept a Video Vanguard Award. Among the fleeting topics covered was the incident six years ago, when he interrupted Taylor Swift as she accepted her own award at the VMAs. Coincidentally (or maybe not), she had the honor of presenting the Vanguard statue to the rapper, MSNBC reported.
After Kanye called Swift gracious, he turned the speech into a therapy session by confessing to some hard times since that infamous scene — including a stadium full of boos — then slammed MTV.
“You know how many times MTV ran that footage again, ’cause it got them more ratings? You know how many times they said Taylor was going to give me the [Vanguard] award, because it got them more ratings? I still don’t understand award shows.”
Then Kanye attempted to be inspirational, stating “I’m confident. I believe in myself. We [are] the millennials, bro. This is a new mentality. We are not going to control our kids with brands. We are not going to teach low self-esteem and hate to our kids. We are going to teach our kids … to believe in themselves.”
Perhaps that’s a peek into Kanye’s political platform. Because after the oddly disjointed confessions and ruminations, West changed the tune of his speech again. And apparently, Kanye didn’t think the announcement should come as a surprise.
“I don’t know what I finna lose after this. It don’t matter, though; It’s not about me. It’s about ideas. New ideas. People with ideas. People who believe in truth. And yes, as you probably could’ve guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.”
However, this career change isn’t completely out of left field, Politico pointed out — Kanye has gotten political plenty of times before. Ten years ago, West famously skewered President George W. Bush after Hurricane Katrina by saying he “doesn’t care about black people.”
And though he endorsed President Barack Obama, West called him a “jacka**” during his infamous interruption of Swift back in 2009. By 2013, he admitted to feeling used by the Commander in Chief, and made up with him the next year.
There’s no telling what kind of campaign Kanye West would run, but there’s little doubt it would be just as entertaining as Donald Trump’s. The rapper has certainly given the public plenty of controversy in the past. So what do you think of his announcement? Do you think he’d make a good president, or hope he’s just kidding?
[Photo Courtesy Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images]
