Meghan McCain says Kanye West's 2020 run can't be taken seriously due to his 'erratic and unhinged' behavior
Meghan McCain slammed Kanye West on Sunday, July 5, after the rapper's announcement of a 2020 presidential run, saying he cannot "be taken seriously" considering his behavior in the past. The View co-host, in a tweet, also called him "unhinged and erratic" and made it clear that she would not be supporting the rapper if he officially ran for president this year.
"There is no woman on planet earth, celebrity or private who could behave as unhinged and erratic as Kanye has the past few years & be taken seriously as a presidential candidate,” The View co-host tweeted on Sunday, July 5. “Women are punished for raising our voices on tv, let alone saying things like ‘slavery was a choice.'"
McCain was referring to Kanye's controversial 2018 remark in an interview with TMZ, where he stated that slavery was a choice. "When you hear about slavery for 400 years … For 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he stated at the time. “You were there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all. It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned."
The talk show co-host's statement came a day after West, on July 4, Saturday, announced that he is running for president. However, it is not yet clear whether he plans to run for the current 2020 presidential race or an election in the future. He took to Twitter on the Fourth of July to announce: "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."
Kanye's declaration of a presidential run has evoked contentious reactions from people on social media, however, they are many who support the rapper's decision, including his wife Kim Kardashian and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Although Kardashian has not made a comment on her husband's potential run, she retweeted Kanye's post and added an American flag to it.
Billionaire Mark Cuban also appeared to encourage Kanye's political career, tweeting: “If there was Rank Choice voting available and @kanyewest was on the ballot with @JoeBiden and @realDonaldTrump, I would have @kanyewest ahead of @realDonaldTrump,” he said. The billionaire eventually confirmed that he was planning to vote for Biden this election.
West's declaration to run now would be a late registration and it is likely that the rapper would have to register as an independent in multiple states if he wishes to make his way to the ballot. It is highly unlikely West would unseat President Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee or former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, leaving the rapper to run as an independent candidate. However, an independent candidate run has its own requirements.
It appears that West, at this juncture, would also not be able to register in a few key states, including Texas, New York, and Illinois. White House Correspondent for Yahoo News, Hunter Walker, took to Twitter to state that these "three [states] are of the top six in terms of electoral college votes. There are several other deadlines coming up in the next couple weeks."