Billionaire Kanye West’s fashion company, Yeezy LLC, received a loan between $2 million and $5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to Department of Treasury.
And now he’s running for president as an Independent, perhaps to help Donald Trump’s reelection bid.
The rapper’s clothing and sneaker brand reported the PPP small business loan was included in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed in March.
Yeezy, best known for its $250 sneakers, just announced a major deal with Gap that will have the rap superstar designing hoodies and T-shirts that will be sold in the chain’s 1,100 stores around the world.
West owns 100 percent of the company which Forbes estimates brought in close to $1.3 billion in 2019.
Officials in Cody, Wyoming had just signed off on West’s plans to build a 52,000-square-foot home on his ranch.
The mansion, which he’ll use for himself, his reality TV star wife, Kim Kardashian, and their four children, will replace a set of lakeside cabins and dwellings currently there.
The plans also show that West wants to build two 10,000-square-foot underground garages.
West and Kardarshian already have one mega-mansion — their eight-bedroom compound in Hidden Hills.
The couple spent $20 million and several years expanding and renovating the compound, which has two swimming pools, bringing its value to around $60 million.
Politically, the 21-time Grammy Award winning musician has been a staunch supporter of Trump.
In a 2018 meeting with Trump at the White House, Kanye said: “I love this guy right here.”
But with just four months until election day, West surprised fans over the weekend when he announced he was running against Trump and Joe Biden.
West tweeted: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”
We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States 🇺🇸! #2020VISION
— ye (@kanyewest) July 5, 2020
West revealed in an interview yesterday that he would run under a new banner, the Birthday Party, because ‘when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday,’ he reasoned.
Wife Kim, 39, is standing by her husband’s decision.
West added that he would receive guidance from Elon Musk, his billionaire pal who has been engaged in an ongoing feud with California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
You have my full support!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
Musk has offered support to Trump during his presidency, tweeting in 2017: “I agree with creating great jobs, restoring US strength as a great manufacturer of products and anything that makes the future exciting.”
West said he had selected Michelle Tidball, a preacher from Wyoming, to be his running mate.
It’s clear on the political scale that West is an evangelical conservative, opposing abortion and claiming the coronavirus is a ‘message from God.’
He noted during the interview that he had never voted before in his life and said he believes that vaccines are the ‘mark of the beast.’
Also in the four-hour interview, West said he envisions a White House management model based on the secret country of Wakanda in the film Black Panther.
But some are skeptical about his true motives, suggesting the known Trump supporter really wants to split the vote among young people.
West has the money to put together a campaign without relying on fundraising efforts.
But he’s also going up against the COVID-19 era when it’s difficult to organize, Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told Newsweek.
An election victory is “very unlikely,” Burden predicted, but he could “have an effect in any state that’s close.”
“I think he has little chance to win the popular vote anywhere but if there’s a close divide in a state like Michigan, maybe Kanye could play the role of the decider,” Burden said. “Minor parties often end up playing that role.”
CJ Pearson, president at activist youth organisation Last Hope USA, said: “If Kanye runs in 2020 he’d only take away votes from Joe Biden. Young people are already unenthusiastic enough as is about Biden’s candidacy but he’d also chip away at Biden’s black support. Trump voters are TRUMP voters. His base remains unchanged.”
Replying to Pearson, political analyst Rachel Bitecofer claimed Trump’s campaign had “worked Kanye West via Elon Musk” to siphon off votes.
Meanwhile actor Eric Balfour of 24 fame tweeted: “Do you guys think this is all a joke? That potentially pulling votes away from the only nominee who can defeat Donald Trump is cute or funny? This is the height of privilege, ultimately it won’t hurt you, you’re wealthy enough to survive four more years of Trump! Come the f*** on!”
Another Twitter user said: “Last known, Kanye West is an avid Trump supporter. A candidacy steering potential Biden votes is certainly one way to increase chances of a Trump win. The best interest of a nation is at stake. Stay focused.”
Where does West stand on the issues?
- Kanye West on Democrats: West said that he had been threatened as a Black man to support the Democrats or his music career would be over. He added that this was the reason why he had been too ‘scared’ to register to vote before now. He said there is a form of ‘racism’, ‘white supremacy’ and ‘white control’ that says all Black people need to be Democrat.
- Kanye West on why he supported Trump: West said Trump is a president who allows God to be part of the conversation. He said he wore the MAGA hat to protest the segregation of votes in the Black community.
- Kanye West on abortion: West said that his belief in God and the words of the bible have led him to be pro-life.
- Kanye West on vaccines: West referred to vaccines as the ‘mark of the beast’ and said he was skeptical when scientists say they will treat Covid-19 with a vaccine. he continued that ‘they want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven.’
- Kanye West on coronavirus: West said he was praying and that the virus was all related to God, suggesting humans need to stop doing things that make God mad.
- Kanye West on the moment he decided to run for president: West said he was in the shower when it hit him that he would run for president. ‘I just laughed in the shower, I don’t know for how long, but that’s the moment it hit me.’
- Kanye West on his foreign policy: West admitted that he had not yet developed a foreign policy and he would concentrate on America first.
- Kanye West on the Wakanda management model: West referred to the film Black Panther to outline his election platform, saying the Wakanda framework was the best to describe what he would do in the White House. He added: ‘You got Kanye West, one of the most powerful humans—I’m not saying the most because you got a lot of alien level superpowers and it’s only collectively that we can set it free.’
Trump doesn’t seem too worried about the potential of another controversial celebrity entering the 2020 presidential race, saying in an interview yesterday that West will “have to view it as a trial run” for 2024.