Kanye West’s presidential bid ‘aided by Trump-linked staff to bring down Joe Biden’
There are fears Kanye West is being used as a ‘puppet’ to help divide the Democrat vote in the upcoming US elections – which would help boost Trump to a second term
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Kanye West is receiving help in his presidential campaign from at least four people linked to Republican Party politics, it’s emerged – sparking fears he’s being used as a tool to reelect Trump.
The 43-year-old Yeezy designer is steaming ahead with his presidential bid after announcing that he would run as an independent last month.
Although he has missed several important deadlines – meaning he won’t appear on some state ballots – Kanye has surrounded himself with some well-connected political insiders.
His political run has raised questions about whether Kanye might actually split the Democratic vote and play into a Trump win.
On August 4, Kanye West’s Wisconsin nominating petition was dropped off by former state Republican legal counsel, Lane Ruhland.
When the GOP election lawyer was contacted by VICE Media about her contribution to Kanye’s campaign, she declined to comment.
“I’m going to leave any comment about the petitions, the papers and what’s going on to the campaign itself,” she told the publicaion. “I appreciate your reaching out but I’ll let them comment.”
Lane appears to be the latest GOP-linked staffer who is helping in Kanye’s presidential run.
Kanye’s team has also enlisted the help of petitioning company Let The Voters Decide, which is run by Mark Jacoby.
Prior to helping Kanye’s team, Jacoby was arrested on charges of voter fraud in 2008 while working for the Republican Party and pleaded guilty to a misdemenour.
Despite previous ties to the Republicans, Jacoby has maintained that his company is non-partisan, according to The New York Times.
He said in a statement: “Anyone who is qualified to stand for election has the right to run.”
According to the New York Magazine, former director of the American Conservative Union Gregg Keller has also been listed as a contact for Kanye’s campaign in the state of Arkansas.
In 2015, Keller was being considered for the role of Trump’s campaign manager, the NY Times reported.
Chuck Wilton is the fourth figure linked both to Kanye West and the Republican party.
The publication reports that Wilton is acting as an elector for Kanye in Vermont and is also a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
His wife Wendy is also a Trump appointee at the US Department of Agriculture.
Keller and Wilton have also been contacted for comment.
Prior to launching his presidential bid, Kanye was a staunch supporter of Donald Trump – something which his wife Kim Kardashian was reportedly unhappy about.
He has since stepped away from the president, but West also suggested to Forbes that he is OK with syphoning votes from Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
It follows on from a chaotic campaign launch that saw Kanye break down in tears during a rally in South Carolina, where he wore a security vest and shouted over the crowd about wanting to abort his daughter North West.
Kanye’s personal life has also been brought into focus after a slew of erratic tweets where he accused Kim Kardashian of trying to ‘lock him up’.
Running under the The Birthday Party, Kanye’s presidential bid has already faced a string of setbacks after he missed deadlines to appear on 15 state ballots so far, and also withdrew a petition to get onto the New Jersey ballot.
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