In his first presidential campaign rally, Kanye West ranted and raved for nearly an hour straight about everything from abortion to slavery.
The rapper, 43, spoke to a crowd in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, July 19, two weeks after announcing his bid for the White House. During the rally, which was combative and at times emotional, West wore a bulletproof vest and had “2020” shaved in his hair.
In addition to his rambling speech, the Grammy winner raised eyebrows on social media for briefly mentioning Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby with a laugh, yelling at attendees who clapped while he was speaking and arguing with people in the room.
“That was extremely good. That was extremely bad,” West said at the end of his rally. “I’m winning 2020. Out.”
The Yeezy designer tweeted on July 4 that he planned to run for president and filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission 11 days later. He is running under the self-created Birthday Party and has said that Wyoming-based preacher Michelle Tidball will be his running mate.
West, who was previously a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, told Forbes on July 7 that he has never voted in his life and was not registered to vote until earlier this month.
The “Heartless” singer also told the magazine that he has the support of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk as well as his wife, Kim Kardashian, with whom he shares four children: North, 7, Saint, 4, Chicago, 2, and Psalm, 14 months.
A source recently told Us Weekly exclusively that West “believes he can be a bridge between Republicans and Democrats” in the race against incumbent Trump, 74, and former vice president Joe Biden.
“Kanye believes in supporting big-business tax breaks but also more stimulus and opportunities for minorities and Black people,” the insider said on July 8. “He believes in massive education reform and wants to build world-class infrastructure projects.”
The news of the entertainer’s political aspirations come ahead of the release of his 10th studio album, Donda, which is named after his late mother and is expected to drop on Friday, July 24. He has denied that his run for office is a publicity stunt for the project.
Scroll down to read six of West’s most outrageous statements from his rally on Sunday.
He and Kim ‘Talked About’ Aborting Daughter North
After telling the crowd that he once feared he “gave Kim Kardashian AIDS” because he “had a different girlfriend every day” before they got together, West revealed that the couple considered having an abortion when the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, 39, got pregnant with their first child.
“We talked about her not having this child. She had the pills in her hand,” he recalled. “I called my wife and she said, ‘We’re gonna have this baby.’ I said, ‘We’re gonna have this child.’”
He Would ‘Be at Peace’ If Kim Divorced Him
After sharing the abortion story, the billionaire told supporters, “I know people that are 50 years old that didn’t have children, that didn’t have that child, that never got to experience the level of joy that I experience having a child, so even if my wife were 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.”
His Brain Is ‘Too Big for His Skull’
Between rambling about his “genius” IQ and “superhero friend” Musk, 49, West suggested that he once “went to the hospital because his brain was too big for his skull.”
He Doesn’t ‘Give a F–k’ If He Wins the Election
The Chicago native continued to discuss abortion and Planned Parenthood later in his speech and at one point said that he cares more about making a difference than ending up in the Oval Office.
“I don’t give a f–k if I win the presidency or not,” he said. “I’m not here to win. I care that there are homeless people in front of the Gucci store.”
He ‘Could Shoot AR-15s All Day Without Going to Jail’
West discussed guns while comparing his hometown to Wyoming, where he recently bought a ranch.
“I could shoot AR-15s all day [in Wyoming] without going to jail,” he said. “It feels weird because I grew up in Chicago, where if you used one of the guns that were strategically placed in your community for you to get locked up, you will end up going to jail.”
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