There is a new blog post, entitled “The expendable worker.”
Horse race
I don’t know if this constitutes a formal announcement, but
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
Absolutely. He’s playing Jill Stein. He’s trying to take you g black voters from Biden. It’s disgusting. https://t.co/9tlAkn3JxU
— Debra Messing✍🏻 (@DebraMessing) July 5, 2020
You just can’t stop dipping can you @DebraMessing? Your connotation is racist🤬.
1. Black voters are not owned by anyone. Our vote should be earned every election cycle. 2. We can think for ourselves & don’t need your help. 3. Sometimes it’s best to stay out of family business. https://t.co/RVsqJFDbS4— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) July 5, 2020
I think Nina Turner might be missing a point here that Donald Trump himself may have put Kanye West up to this.
Amid a dizzying array of—I’m failing to find an adequate word—bullshit emanating from the White House since Trump took office, there was that visit. Yes, Kanye West visited the White House, gave a speech, appeared with the delusional raging narcissist-in-chief.
[Kanye] West spoke to reporters for nearly 10 minutes in the Oval Office. Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, he repeatedly complimented [Donald] Trump, who nodded in agreement. . . .
Trump was asked whether he thought West could be a future presidential candidate, and responded “could very well be.”[1]
And we know that Trump may well be planning to retain office even if he loses the election,[2] which is to very strongly suggest that even in his demented condition, Trump realizes he could lose.
Turner’s tweet is righteous and Debra Messing’s tweet might be partisan, but there is an obvious practical consideration here in which West might siphon enough votes that might otherwise go to Joe Biden to deprive the latter of victory. Much depends on the relative popularity of the two men—and, though the ploy is pretty fucking obvious, not just among Blacks. That’s something I honestly can’t assess. Because popular culture just ain’t my thing.
I do wonder what my old formerly favorite professor, the one who had no answer for and resented being asked the question of whether a political system that depends on war crimes should survive, thinks.
- [1]Ayesha Rascoe and Brian Naylor, “‘Quite Something’: Kanye West Makes A Statement In The Oval Office,” National Public Radio, October 11, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/10/11/656561471/quite-something-kanye-west-makes-a-statement-in-the-oval-office↩
- [2]Timothy E. Wirth and Tom Rogers, “How Trump Could Lose the Election—And Still Remain President,” Newsweek, July 3, 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/how-trump-could-lose-election-still-remain-president-opinion-1513975↩