The United States’ (US) presidential campaign has a dark horse and it comes in the form of a multi-award-winning, forward-thinking rap billionaire named Kanye West.
Kanye West holds his first campaign rally
The leader of the Birthday Party took to the stage in Charleston, South Carolina, in what was termed his first official presidential campaign rally.
Except, the event took place at a time when Kanye West has yet to be registered on the ballot in many states. At this gathering of about 100 registered supporters, though, Kanye West’s objective was clear.
The plan was to set off his political philosophy and establish his party’s rhetoric in the race, and hope that this was impactful enough to convince states to slot him in as a third presidential candidate in all states.
Interestingly, Ye was not introduced by his future vice president. Nor was there any indication that his wife Kim Kardashian-West was in the vicinity of the campaign event.
Alas, Yeezy sparked outrage, as expected, with his comments, prompting his supporters to walk out on him after he made bombshell claims about… you guessed it, slavery.
Three reasons why supporters walked out of the campaign event
So, to consolidate everything that led up to this point, we have gathered three key moments in his address that rubbed people who showed up to the event to give Ye a chance, the wrong way.
If anyone made a noise, he would leave
Suffice it to say, Ye is not a politician. If anything, the announcement of a campaign rally felt a bit rushed and there may have not been enough time to prepare for the occasion.
This is evidenced by the fact that there were no microphones at the venue. Kanye literally had to yell to get his point across. Aside from the bizarre “2020” campaign haircut, the other oddity about the event was the wager he had with his supporters: “Don’t make a noise, or I will walk out.”
Kanye West speaks on abortion
Perhaps it may have dawned on his supporters that they were misled when Ye started talking about abortion. His conflicting stance on the issue has left social media divided. On one end of the spectrum, Kanye seems haunted by the notion of unplanned pregnancy, owing his life to his mother for not opting for termination “because my dad was too busy.”
“I almost killed my daughter… even if my wife [Kim Kardashian West] were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn’t want to,” he wailed.
On the other end, he believes abortion should remain legal, but with improved financial support from the government. In fact, this is an understatement.
Kanye West believes that every pregnant woman should receive a million dollars.
“The only thing that can free us is by obeying the rules that were given to us for a promised land. Abortion should be legal because guess what? The law is not by God anyway, so what is legality?” he asked — rhetorically.
His thoughts on Harriet Tubman’s sacrifice
The last straw was pulled when the 43-year-old claimed that Harriet Tubman, a woman credited in history as a slave abolitionist, never actually freed the slaves. In Ye’s perspective, she merely moved them from one plantation to the other.
At this point, his supporters had heard enough, so they staged a walk-out.