In a bizarre appearance, rapper Kanye West attempted to kickstart his campaign for the Presidency. West held a rally in Charleston, South Carolina where he once again raised fresh questions about whether he genuinely wants to become President, and his own mental state.
During the event, held on Sunday night, West appeared on stage with ‘2020’ shaved into the side of his head. He also spoke without a microphone, wore a bulletproof vest and got emotional throughout the event.
West broke down in tears during his remarks on abortion. He told the crowd that his parents almost aborted him because his dad ‘was too busy.’ Then he moved on to discussing his life and said that he wanted to abort one of his children, North, but didn’t, praising his wife Kim Kardashian for giving birth.
Credit – Wikipedia
Perhaps unexpectedly, West stated that he didn’t believe abortion should be illegal. He offered an alternative suggestion, that each new mother ‘should be given a million dollars.’ He went on to say that ‘abortion should be legal because guess what? The law is not by God anyway, so what is legality?’
West sparked ire with his remarks about Harriet Tubman, the 19th century abolitionist who escaped slavery and assisted in secretly rescuing many others through the underground network of contacts and safe houses known as the underground railroad. The rapper suggested that she ‘never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go to work for other white people.’
West’s erratic performance raised fresh concerns about his mental health. However, it also convinced others that he’s attention seeking in an attempt to raise publicity for his new album which he announced on Monday.
Though West has never held back from politics, this is certainly his most bizarre and confusing intervention so far. He has also missed the deadline to register for the ballot in many states and seems to be swinging between running and not running. In a tweet just before he released the image of his new album, he wrote that he’s going to ‘focus on the music now.’
Who knows what’s going on? Maybe this is just a practice for 2024?
Here’s some more information about the unconventional campaign.
Featured Image Credit – Flickr
