Reports that Kanye West is dropping out of the presidential race have been confused by a new FEC filing in his name, but jokes abound. Anthony Scaramucci even compared the rapper’s bid to his own short stint in the White House.
“According to my calculations @kanyewest’s presidential aspirations lasted one full Scaramucci,” the former White House director of communications joked on Twitter in reaction to reports of West dropping out of the race on Wednesday.
According to my calculations @kanyewest’s presidential aspirations lasted one full Scaramucci
Scaramucci lasted a whole 11 days in his White House position in 2017, which would be one more day than the amount of time West spent running for president if he has in fact bowed out.
Yet, screenshots of a filing West appears to have made with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday seem to suggest that the ‘Jesus Walks’ singer is not taking his hat out of the ring just yet. Although, West himself has made no official announcement on the matter — and false filings have been made in his name before.
Scaramucci’s self-deprecating system for measuring time in politics evidently caught on and his name began trending on Twitter, with thousands joining in to either blast or praise the aide-turned-critic of President Donald Trump.
Kanye West's candidacy lasted 11 days, or exactly one Scaramucci
On Tuesday, the Intelligencer claimed to have spoken to sources within West’s campaign, including Get Out the Vote’s Steve Kramer who said he was informed by West’s publicist that “he’s out” in light of the intense amount of legwork needed to get on the Florida ballot (the deadline has already passed).
Since announcing his intention to run for president, West has said he no longer supports Trump and wants to create his own third party called the Birthday Party, because when he wins it will be “everybody’s birthday.”
Asked about the possibility of his former supporter running for president, Trump acknowledged the musician would have trouble getting onto certain state ballots, but he could have a “real voice” in the process. West has also received public messages of support from SpaceX founder Elon Musk, his wife Kim Kardashian West, and fellow musician Chance the Rapper.
Whether West did in fact last ‘one Scaramucci’ or more in the race remains to be clarified.
