Erik Ose, Mic
Kanye West's presidential campaign continues to be marred by allegations of fraud and deceptive tactics. Voters in several states allege that they were fooled into signing to put him on the ballot. Now, a Mic investigation has uncovered evidence that West's campaign team may have broken election laws in Missouri while gathering signatures for him there. Voters who signed his campaign's petitions have filed complaints alleging they were lied to and told they were instead signing to keep West off the ballot.
From the moment West announced he was running on July 4, his campaign has been suspected of being nothing more than a late attempt to ensure Donald Trump's re-election. The president’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner were visiting Wyoming over the Fourth of July weekend, where Kanye currently lives on a 1,400-acre ranch in the small town of Cody. Associates of West later told Forbes that Kanye claims he and Kushner — whom The New York Times called Trump’s “de facto campaign manager” — speak “almost daily.” In the same interview, these sources described the reverse psychology techniques Kushner is apparently using to keep West in the race; Kanye has told several people that “Jared’s scared and doesn’t want me to run because he knows that I can win,” according to Forbes.
The worst interpretation of this scenario is that Kushner is intentionally exploiting West's well-publicized bipolar disorder at a time when those close to Kanye are reportedly acknowledging that he is in the throes of a serious manic episode. Still, West himself confirmed he is running as a spoiler to try and block former Vice President Joe Biden from winning the White House. “I’m not denying it; I just told you,” he admitted to Forbes in a July interview. “I would run as a Republican if Trump wasn’t there. I will run as an independent if Trump is there.” Read more >>