Kanye west had his first presidential campaign rally in South Carolina on Sunday night speaking to supporters about his possible bid for the White House, despite rumors he dropped out of the 2020 presidential race. His campaign rally unfortunately took off to a bizzare start and proved to be a little uncomfortable. The rapper criticized Harriet Tubman, saying the underground Railroad conductor “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people,” comments that drew shouts of opposition from some in the crowd.
Kanye had a break down while recollecting the moment he and Kim Kardashian found they were pregnant with North while they were dating. He got really personal and he even cried after saying he and Kim considered aborting their daughter North. He went on to say “Even if my wife wants to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world even when I didn’t want to. She stood up and she protected that child. You know who else protected a child? Forty-three years ago, who do you think protected a child?” he said while crying.
West grew emotional when he recalled about his mother and abortion. He said his own mother, Donda West, had made the same choice when she was pregnant with him more than 43 years ago. “My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would have been no Kanye West, because my dad was too busy,” said West, breaking down into tears.
Kanye seems to be wading through troubled emotions right now. The rambling speech, which was posted to social media by some in the crowd, including reporters, was met with numerous groans as the rapper and clothing designer revealed shocking details about his personal life.
The event was reportedly for registered guests only, although a campaign website had no registration or RSVP information. West missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states, and it was unclear if he was willing or able to collect enough signatures required to qualify in others. Last week, he qualified to appear on Oklahoma’s presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the filing deadline.
West needed to collect 10,000 signatures by noon Monday to appear on the South Carolina ballot, according to state law. The entertainer tweeted out a list of locations around the Charleston area where petitions could be signed. Email to an address purportedly associated with the campaign was not returned Sunday afternoon.
West, who is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian West, initially announced his candidacy on July 4.