Kanye West’s ill-fated presidential campaign may not have put him at odds with his buddy Donald Trump, but this remark just might.
The rapper made an appearance on Nick Cannon’s podcast Cannon’s Class to set the record straight on his essentially unwinnable run for the presidency — and speculation he’s deliberately running a spoiler campaign in favor of President Trump.
In a clip from the show, which will be posted in full on Tuesday, the former America’s Got Talent host commiserated with Kanye over their shared controversial status.
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The Yeezus artist said:
“People keep on saying, ‘I think that … you and Republicans … are in cahoots.'”
Cannon elaborated:
“They’re saying that they’re paying you to do what you’re doing, to be a distraction.”
With humor, the 43-year-old denied:
“Bro, can’t nobody pay me. … I got more money than Trump!”
Now, first of all, nobody really thinks that West is being bribed financially to run his bizarre vanity campaign. That’s a weird interpretation by Cannon.
What we have heard is he was manipulated into launching his run with appeals to his ego — and egged on by his pal Jared Kushner. Plus, he may have denied getting paid by Republicans, but that doesn’t explain the major GOP operatives working on his already fraudulent campaign (that’s about the definition of “cahoots” if you ask us). And on top of all that, he said in his own words that he’d like to thwart Biden’s presidency… so, all in all, color us unconvinced by this denial.
Perhaps more interestingly, Kanye’s claim that he has “more money than Trump” was a weird flex that may have inadvertently targeted the president right where it hurts the most.
In case you didn’t know, Don really doesn’t like when people under-value his net worth — even if that number is much lower, in reality, than the one he’s claimed. Trump’s longest, most vicious feuds have been with people like Rosie O’Donnell who questioned his riches. In the past, the 74-year-old has gone so far as to sue for libel over a book that included a net worth value he didn’t agree with.
When he announced his candidacy he claimed his worth at $10 billion; Forbes put him at $4.5 billion. For years, Trump has disagreed with the money mag over their estimation of his fortune. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Kanye also feuded with the money mag over his supposed billions. (For what it’s worth, Forbes estimated Kanye is worth $1.3 billion and Trump $2.1 billion, meaning the Yeezy founder wasn’t even correct in his claim.)
The clip concludes with Cannon asking Kim Kardashian West’s husband:
“But people are saying you’re a distraction, and because they don’t want four more years of Trump — maybe you might, I don’t — but you want an alternative of four years of ‘Ye. Is that realistic right now in 2020?”
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West responded with what is now a familiar refrain:
“I’m not running for President… I’m walking.”
The line got a laugh out of Cannon, but we’re not really finding the meaningless slogan very funny. If there’s more to Kanye’s run than an ego-stroking spoiler campaign — that skirts the line of legality with its ballot signatures — we have yet to see it. And with countless lives on the line and Trump’s campaign creeping further and further into fascist territory, we’d really prefer if Kanye walked somewhere else. Like toward Los Angeles where his children live.
The last thing this country needs right now is two narcissistic rich guys squabbling over their fortunes on a national stage. But if this insult drives a wedge between Kanye and Trump, we won’t be mad about that either.
[Image via WENN, Instar & Avalon]
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