The Idea Really Is to Hurt Biden, Kanye Indicates

There was plenty Kanye West wouldn't reveal—or clarify, even—about his presidential campaign in a text interview Thursday. The rapper wouldn't say whether Republican officials are helping to get his name on the ballot. He didn't answer when asked whether he's being used in this effort. But he did seem to confirm that the idea isn't really to win the presidency, it's to take votes from Democrat Joe Biden, Forbes reports. When told he won't be on the ballot in enough states to possibly win 270 electoral votes, the candidate said: "I'm not going to argue with you. Jesus is King." In fact, he's not so much running for president, West said, as he is "walking." President Trump, who has had West's support in the past, addressed the issue Wednesday with reporters. "I like Kanye very much," he said. "No, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot."

West was not interested in criticizing Trump, and he said he likes the idea of hurting Biden's prospects. "I'm not denying it; I just told you," West told Forbes. Signatures to put him on the ballot were filed Wednesday in Ohio and Wisconsin, the New York Times reports. "We welcome Kanye West and all other candidates who qualified for ballot access to the race," a state GOP spokesperson said. Some Democrats were appalled by reports that Republicans are behind West's campaign. "What a disgusting dirty trick that shows no respect for voters or whatever Kanye is going through," Benjamin Rhodes, a national security aide to President Barack Obama, tweeted. West has bipolar disorder, and his wife, Kim Kardashian has said publicly that he's struggling now with mental illness. One Republican he said he's working with is Trump's education secretary. "I'm meeting with Betsy DeVos about the post-COVID curriculum,” West texted Thursday. (More Kanye West 2020 stories.)