Kanye Reportedly Hasn't Actually Filed Any Paperwork For His Presidential Run

As if 2020 couldn't get any more stressful.

Just when it seemed Trump's impossible incompetence in handling the coronavirus pandemic (and virtually all other aspects of American life,) might have cleared the path for a Joe Biden presidency, Kanye West decided there was no better time to upend any prospect of a return to half-stable leadership.

Taking to Twitter on the 4th of July, West announced he was bumping up his bid for the nation's highest seat by entering this year's shitstorm of a presidential race. "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future," said West in his announcement, capping the tweet with #2020VISION (presumably the campaign slogan.)

Saturday's announcement isn't the first time West has threatened to derail a presidential election. The Chicago rapper has been bouncing between prospective campaign years for much of the last decade. Initially teased at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2015, West has thrown out both 2024 and 2020 as years in which he intended to run. But now it appears he's settled on one and there couldn't be a worse scan of the room. Should he actually make the ticket (as an Independent?) West's presence on a ballot is projected to siphon votes from Biden's pool of prospective supporters.

Since announcing his run for president, the BBC has reported that West hasn't registered his name with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for November's election, and that the closest name the database has to the rapper is a candidate called "Kanye Deez Nutz West." This candidate filed papers in 2015 with the Green Party.

The only way West could appear on the ballot as an independent candidate is if he's able to get a certain amount of signatures and register in states by a particular deadline. Although that deadline has already passed in some major states — including New York, Texas, North Carolina, Maine, New Mexico, and Indiana — he could still try and file in others.

It should be noted, however, that it's also entirely possible that West is simply staging another spectacle to bolster his non-political ambitions. Earlier this week, the rapper released the new song "Wash Us In The Blood" with Travis Scott and announced a partnership between his Yeezy line and The Gap. Here's hoping it's all ploy. Unfortunately, we'll just have to wait and see.