Rapper Kanye West has reportedly dropped out of the presidential race after attempting to get on the ballot in Florida and South Carolina.
New York Magazine reported late Tuesday that a campaign specialist who had been hired by West to get him on the ballot told the outlet West was “out.” The specialist, Steve Kramer, runs a firm helping mostly Democratic candidates getting on the ballots and told the magazine’s Intelligencer that he had been hired to help West. Kramer told the outlet that West’s team was “working over weekend there, formalizing the FEC and other things that they’ve got to do when you have a lot of corporate lawyers involved.”
The Intelligencer reached out to West’s publicist, who added another spokesperson to the email chain. No one said anything for a while, so the Intelligencer reached back out to Kramer, who said simply, “He’s out.” When asked for details, Kramer told the outlet: “I’ll let you know what I know once I get all our stuff canceled. We had over 180 people out there today.”
An hour later, the Intelligencer wrote, West tweeted a video of himself registering to vote in Cody, Wyoming.
“I want to show you how I just registered to vote,” West said in the video. Text then displayed: “I thank God and I am so humbled at the opportunity to serve. Vote.”
This was last week. On Thursday, the Intelligencer said, Kramer provided a vague statement about his time with the West campaign.
“I have nothing good or bad to say about Kanye. Everyone has their personal decision about why they make decisions. Running for president has to be one of the hardest things for someone to actually contemplate at that level,” Kramer said, noting that “any candidate running for president for the first time goes through these hiccups.”
The outlet further reported that while West was tweeting on Friday about a text message exchange with radio host Charlemagne Tha God, a Kid Cudi song, and a note he wrote that said “YEEZY SOUND ROSTER PROPOSAL,” the deadline to get on the Nevada general election ballot passed.
West has not said anything since the Intelligencer report was published. His last four tweets were about a chair.
The news of his alleged departure from the presidential race comes just 10 days after he announced his candidacy on July 4. On that day, he tweeted: “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 then sat down for an interview with Forbes and said he no longer supported President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Chance the Rapper said in a series of tweets that he trusted West more than presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
On Wednesday, a poll from consulting firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies, reportedly the first to ask voters the presidential preferences since West announced his candidacy earlier this month, found Biden in the lead with 48% followed by Trump with 40%. When West was included in the poll, Trump’s percentage dropped to 39%.