Kanye West: ‘I Have Decided In 2020 To Run For President’ (Video)

Music artist Kanye West Sunday night announced he will mount a presidential campaign in 2020.

Rapper, songwriter, producer, and fashion designer Kanye West delivered a 13-minute acceptance speech Sunday night for the MTV Video Vanguard Award. Towards the very end of what the Washington Post described as an “epic, rambling, confusing, inspiring” speech, and Politico labeled “a rambling, emotional and at times bizarre” speech, West announced his presidential intentions.

“As you probably could’ve guessed, by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.”

Politico noted West’s “announcement came after the hip-hop artist said he had just smoked ‘a little something.'”

Talking Points Memo noted West “did not go into detail about his politics on Sunday night, but he and wife Kim Kardashian attended a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton earlier in August.”

West began his speech with a lengthy revisit to his infamous incident with Taylor Swift six years ago, then lambasted award shows, proclaimed he will always defend artists, then said he’ll be running for president.

Here’s an excerpt, the last half of West’s speech, in which at one point he says, “I’m not no politician.” 

Sometimes I feel like, you know, all this about beef and all that, sometimes I feel like I died for the artist’s opinion, for the artist to be able to have an opinion after they were successful.

I’m not no politician, bro! And look at that. You know how many times MTV ran that footage again, because it got them more ratings? You know how many times they announced Taylor was going to give me the award because it got them more ratings? Listen to the kids, bro!

I still don’t understand award shows. I don’t understand how they get five people who work their entire life, one that sold records, sold concert tickets, to come stand on a carpet, and for the first time in their life be judged on a chopping block and have the opportunity to be considered a loser. I don’t understand it, bro! I don’t understand when the biggest album or the biggest video — I’ve been conflicted, bro! I just wanted people to like me more.

2015! I will die for the arts, for what I believe in, and the art ain’t always going to be polite. Y’all might be thinking right now, I wonder, did he smoke some before he came out here? The answer is yes — I rolled up a little something, I knocked the edge off.

I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, bro. But all I can say to my artists, my fellow artists: Just worry how you feel at the time, man. Just worry about how you feel and don’t never — you know what I’m saying? I’m confident. I believe in myself. We the millennials, bro. This is a new mentality. We not going to control our kids with brands. We’re not going to teach low self-esteem and hate to our kids. We gonna teach our kids that they can be something. We’re going to teach our kids that they can stand up for themselves. We’re going to teach our kids to believe in themselves.

If my grandfather was here right now, he would not let me back down. I don’t know what I stand to lose after this. It don’t matter, though, because it ain’t about me, it’s about ideas, bro. New ideas. People with ideas, people who people who believe in truth.

And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.

 

West’s presidential announcement comes after the 12 minute mark:

 

Image: Screenshot via MTV/Twitter