Kanye West Doesn’t get on South Carolina Ballot After Chaotic Rally Sunday

Kanye West held his inaugural campaign event in South Carolina on Sunday, in a last-minute attempt to gather voter support, just a day prior to the deadline to file as an independent presidential candidate. By the state’s cutoff time on Monday, West had not filed the required paperwork.

West’s presidential campaign has been rocky since he tweeted his candidacy on the Fourth of July. The media speculated that the announcement was a publicity stunt for his latest album. Fans became concerned about West’s mental state after he gave a discursive interview in which he specified his plans to structure the White House similarly to the fictional society of Wakanda.   

The rapper proved his intent to run by hiring a 180-person campaign staff in a race to get on the ballots of the states with fast approaching filing deadlines. At the time of his announcement, West had already missed filing dates in six states.  

West gained the support of fellow celebrities Elon Musk and Chance the Rapper, who was criticized for promoting Kanye over Biden. However, it was reported that wife Kim Kardashian was worried his unpredictable behavior was a symptom of Bipolar Disorder. Less than two weeks into the race, Kardashian’s concerns seemed founded, when West’s election strategist made a statement that the presidential run was over.  

As it turns out, Kanye was far from done. On Saturday, he put a call out on Twitter for South Carolinians to help him get the 10,000 signatures required to get on the state’s ballot.

Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations You can also sign up at the websitehttps://t.co/ZURvTEW9ee pic.twitter.com/3rV5ujExPm

— ye (@kanyewest) July 18, 2020

The next day he held an hour-long rally at the Exquis Event Center, and went on rambling tangents, liberally peppered with curses and references to himself in the third person. While on stage he made wild statements, threats against two major brands, and went as far to speak about the conception of his eldest daughter. 

The event started off with West, wearing a bulletproof vest, asking audience members to speak about education and police brutality, but went off the rails when he remarked “Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people.” Then went on to threaten to walk from his deals with Adidas and GAP if not immediately placed on both company’s board of directors. 

West continued to spiral when he called for an end to abortion by proposing “everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars.” And went on to break down sobbing becasue his father wanted to abort him and he “almost killed my daughter,” by pressuring Kardashian to get an abortion while she was pregnant with North West. 

? what the F**k did he just say. This is all Jay Z fault, Kanye’s first Rally. LOL #bransoncognac #lecheminduroi pic.twitter.com/q2I0dNAzYU

— 50cent (@50cent) July 19, 2020

The mogul received audience backlash and harsh responses from critics online, which might have caused him to reconsider the 2020 run. On Monday’s South Carolina filing deadline, West had not submitted the paperwork required to be added to the ballot. 

The day continued to derail for Kanye when he went on a Twitter frenzy accusing Kardashian of trying to lock him up. 

Marie Finn