By Leo Wolfson
Cody Enterprise
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CODY — Cody resident Kanye West announced Saturday on Twitter his intention to run for president.
“We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future,” West said. “I am running for president of the United States.”
Also in the post, West included the hashtag #2020VISION. On Sunday, West posted a photo of structures being built on his West Ranch property with the same #2020VISION description.
Multiple West representatives did not immediately respond for comment about details pertaining to West’s campaign. There has been no other public mention made from him or his staff regarding his run for presidency.
This is not the first time West has announced his candidacy for president.
In 2015, he said on multiple occasions he would run for president in 2020, but then reversed course to 2024.
When Donald Trump entered the fold as a legitimate candidate and later elected president, West appeared to have stepped back his 2020 intentions. West has voiced his support for and friendship with Trump on numerous occasions.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has voiced his support for West’s campaign.
In May 2018, West told RollingStone magazine his presidential campaign would be a combination of “the (Donald) Trump campaign and maybe the Bernie Sanders principles.”
West has been particularly vocal on a number of political and social issues including reducing taxes, creating housing for the homeless, opposing abortion and improving racial inequality. When it comes to the latter, West recently expressed frustration with the relationship between the African American community and Democratic party, and in 2018 criticized the 13th Amendment as a green light to enslave convicts.
On his most recent album “Jesus Is King” he discussed many of these issues.
“The liberal will try to control a black person through the concept of racism because they know we are very proud, emotional people,” he said during a 2018 visit he paid to Trump at the White House.
During that visit he voiced his support for the second amendment, and has also expressed a need for fashion manufacturing to become more environmentally friendly.
This June he also released a song opposing police brutality and he donated $2 million to help multiple victims of police brutality, including paying off George Floyd’s daughter’s college tuition.
West has pledged to bring manufacturing back to the United States through his Yeezy line.
“We would’ve created so many jobs that I’m not going to run (for president), I’m going to walk,” West said in a 2019 interview.
The desire to bring back American jobs seems to be one of the motivating factors for him bringing certain operations for his company to Cody. He recently told the Enterprise the Gap partnership Yeezy recently entered in will bring jobs to Cody.
“I’m here to be of service and be a servant to Jesus Christ, to my wife and children, to my uncles, aunts and cousins, to my friends, to my community, and you know I got to do it to my country,” West said.
A spring 2018 CNN poll found West a favorable candidate of only 23% of voters, with 24% unsure.
He had not filed as of Monday morning and has missed the filing deadline to get on the ballot in five states.
