Kanye West isn’t serious about running for president.
Even after landing on the ballot as an independent in Oklahoma, the rapper has just 14 days to get on the ballot for the five states with an Aug. 3 deadline or his candidacy will be mathematically unviable to reach the 270 electoral votes required to win the White House in November. Even then, there are only 306 electoral votes left in states where deadlines haven’t yet passed.
If nothing else was clear following the rapper’s bizarre campaign speech in South Carolina over the weekend, the American presidential race doesn’t need a West entrance.
Still, there’s a cause that’s ripe for West to champion which kills more black lives than any other societal illness in America today: abortion.
West is clearly passionate about the topic having recently slammed Planned Parenthood as the real “white supremacists” doing “the Devil’s work,” referring to the group’s eugenic origins and early working relationship with the Ku Klux Klan.
On Sunday, West again showcased his feelings on the sensitive issue, opening up about his own family’s decision to move forward with pregnancy over an abortion with regard to his life and his daughter’s, even to his wife’s reported dismay.
“My mom saved my life. My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would have been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy,” West said as he began to break down. “I almost killed my daughter! I almost killed my daughter!”
Kanye West gets emotional while speaking about abortion in South Carolina:
"My Mom saved my life. My Dad wanted to abort me… There would have been no Kanye West."
"I almost killed my daughter." pic.twitter.com/jiGuODxAno
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 19, 2020
It was a surreal moment as the 43-year-old celebrity spilled his heart out to a crowd of supporters on live-stream over the intimately personal subject.
“I called my wife and she said, ‘we’re gonna have this baby.’ I said we’re gonna have this child … So even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world when I didn’t want to. She stood up and she protected that child,” West said.
While likely on a publicity tour masquerading as a presidential campaign to sell his next album, West made clear he doesn’t want an outright ban on abortion despite illustrating a severe aversion its practice. To the contrary, West proposed doling out “a million dollars” to each new parent, however unserious that might be, to incentivize parents to reconsider discarding the child.
Still, West’s plea to mothers that they abandon their plans for abortion is one that could finally make waves among an audience too often out-of-reach from pro-life activists who for decades have been condemning the devastating procedure.
There’s a place in America’s contemporary politics that could welcome West’s activism. If the rapper could channel his newfound civic energy on abortion, West could ignite a more positive impact on society than hundreds of political leaders have in years by mainstreaming pro-life popularity.
