Kanye West's bizarre 'campaign' is designed to help Trump

Kanye West's bizarre 'campaign' is designed to help Trump

It's easy to dismiss the bizarre presidential campaign of the rapper -- who has bipolar disorder -- particularly after his series of disjointed tweets following his chaotic South Carolina kickoff event. His behavior compelled his wife, Kim Kardashian West, to call for compassion and respect for her family's privacy

The situation seems closer to a regrettable public breakdown than a presidential run.

But there are a handful of Trump-orbiting GOP operatives pushing West's helter-skelter, supposedly independent campaign for president. According to CNN, one such operative with ties to the Trump campaign, Lane Ruhland, has filed paperwork to get West on the ballot in Wisconsin.

But West and his team are working to get on the ballot in several states, including Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri -- even listing a self-described "biblical life coach" from Wyoming as West's running mate.

West cannot win the election. He's missed too many deadlines to get on the ballot in too many states. But he could be a spoiler for President Donald Trump's reelection by siphoning off key portions of the Black vote in select states like Wisconsin and Ohio, with filing deadlines this week.

The artist who once declared that former President George W. Bush "doesn't care about Black people" (and who former President Barack Obama once called "a jackass appears) to be being played by conservative operatives.

If this all sounds a bit far-fetched, then you haven't been paying attention. In his essential and insightful new book, "It Was All a Lie," the Republican operative Stuart Stevens describes discovering a tried and true formula in Mississippi Republican campaigns, "a truth as basic and immutable as the fact that water freezes below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit: race was the key in which much of American politics and certainly all of southern politics was played. It was really very simple: the Democratic candidate needed 90-plus percent of black votes to win. If a significant portion voted for a third party, the Republican would win."

Whether West is on board or not, that's what's at work here -- plain and simple.

Remember: West briefly went full MAGA, praising Trump for the economy and their shared "dragon energy" -- an evolution that paralleled his embrace of evangelical Christianity, which inspired his last album. A messianic streak also fits the impulse to run for president, but there isn't anything holy about this run.

By: John Avlon

Source: CNN: Kanye West's bizarre 'campaign' is designed to help Trump.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/opinions/kanye-west-republican-operatives-2020-avlon/index.html