Kanye West denies rumors Trump and GOP are bankrolling his White House bid

Kanye West has denied speculation he is running for president in an effort to help Donald Trump gain re-election and insisted that no one is bankrolling his campaign.  

The rapper discussed his unlikely presidential bid in an interview with Nick Cannon’s podcast, Cannon’s Class.  

In a preview clip of the interview, West brought up rumors that he is in ‘cahoots’ with Republicans.  

‘They’re saying that they’re paying you to do what you’re doing to be a distraction,’ Cannon said in reply. 

West quickly quashed that suggestion, saying: ‘Bro, can’t nobody pay me! I got more money than Trump!’

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The pair shared a hearty laugh before Cannon said: ‘But people are saying that you’re a distraction, and because they don’t want four more years of Trump, maybe you might.

‘You want an alternative of four years of Ye. Is that realistic right now in 2020?’

‘I’m not running for president – I’m walking,’ West replied. 

The interview recorded at the West Mountain Ranch in Cody, Wyoming, will be released in full on Tuesday. 

West’s claim that he’s richer than Trump appears to be untrue, as Forbes lists the former’s net worth at $1.3billion and the latter’s at $2.1billion.  

But the rapper disputed Forbes’ estimate when it came out back in April, saying that his true worth exceeds $3billion. 

West announced his presidential candidacy in early July – just four months before election day. 

‘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,’ he tweeted on Independence Day.  

The announcement was met with with mixed reactions of skepticism and excitement, as online bookmakers placed his odds of winning at 50/1 – or two percent.

Since entering the race, West has done little to promote his candidacy and has only managed to get his name on the ballot in ten states so far, per CNN: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont. 

His ballot status is still under review in Virginia and he still has time to file in Arizona, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Rhode Island. 

In the remaining 33 states, West either missed the deadline to file for a ballot application or was denied because he didn’t have enough signatures.  

Trouble within West’s campaign has fueled speculation about his motives for staying in the race – including claims that Trump and the GOP may be bankrolling him in an effort to siphon black votes from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.  

Concern among Democrats ratcheted up earlier this month after Jared Kushner, the senior White House adviser who also has a hand in Trump’s re-election campaign, confirmed that he had spoken with West several times, along with other members of the billionaire’s long-shot presidential campaign.

‘Kanye’s been a friend of mine for — I’ve known him for about 10 years,’ the president’s senior adviser said during a White House press briefing.

‘There’s a lot of issues that the president has championed that he admires,’ Kushner said of him.

West publicly aligned with Trump in a series of tweets in October 2018 that sparked concerns over the rapper’s mental state.  

Soon after, he paid a visit to Trump at the White House – while wearing the president’s trademark MAGA hat – and delivered a rambling, profanity-laden speech in which he discussed alternate universes and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he said was actually sleep deprivation. 

Speaking to a crowd of reporters in the Oval Office he said the hat was like a Superman cape and said that Trump made him a billionaire.