Just when we all thought 2020 couldn't get any weirder, rapper and fashion designer Kanye West took to social media on July 4 to announce that he was going to be running for president in 2020.
Writing to his 29.4 million Twitter followers, the 43-year-old announced his intentions on running a campaign between now and November in a bid to become POTUS.
Writing on Twitter, the hip-hop star wrote:
"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."
West capped the tweet off with the hashtag "#2020VISION", And in a matter of hours, West's tweet has already amassed over 766,000 likes and 391,000 retweets - so it is safe to say he has some support.
Despite the fact it is still unclear whether or not West has filed any official paperwork to appear on state election ballots, per The Guardian, the deadline to add independent candidates to the ballot has not yet passed in many states - so he is still in with a shot.
Now, this isn't the first time Kanye has declared his ambition to sit in the Oval Office.
Back in 2015, West accepted the Video Vanguard lifetime-achievement honor at the MTV Video Music Awards. However, rather than simply thank his fans, friends, and family, he ended his rambling 11-minute speech by saying:
"And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president."
And per Yahoo Music, last November at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, West once again declared his presidential bid - but for 2024.
The announcement drew laughter from the crowd, to which West responded by saying:
"What y'all laughing at? We would create so many jobs! I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk. When you see headlines saying 'Kanye's crazy' — one in three African Americans are in jail and all the celebrities are in jail also because they can't say nothing, they got no opinion, they're so scared!"
So, is this just West making good on his promise? Well, others believe they have found the true motives behind the rapper's declaration.
Taking to Twitter, many social media users believe West is actually submitting his name on the ballot papers simply as a means of drawing votes away from Donald Trump's biggest opposition, Joe Biden - therefore handing Trump a secure victory.
Republican candidate and gun rights activist Joseph Theodore Lewis bluntly tweeted his thoughts, asking: "Is Kanye going to try to pull votes from Biden?"
And US actress and TV personality Tami Roman echoed Lewis, writing: "Kanye running for President!
"Now I love his musical legacy and I got a few pair of Yeezy's but... is this an attempt to split the vote, take votes away from Biden so Trump can win again? I mean you've been known to wear a maga hat."
In fact, there are many people appear to agree with this theory:
Back in 2018, Kanye was pictured visiting the White House to discuss prison reform with Trump.
During the visit, West proudly wore a red 'Make America Great Again' baseball cap, and even hugged the President in front of the doting cameras. West then told the press: "I love this guy right here" - gesturing to Trump.
But West does have his own support network, with perhaps his biggest advocate being none other than the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, who replied to the rapper's declaration, saying: "You have my full support."
Maybe the presidency run was what the two were discussing when they met up earlier this month:
Of course, if successful in his campaign, this also means that Kanye's wife, reality star Kim Kardashian, will hold the title of First Lady.
Responding to her husband's announcement, Kim did retweet Kanye's declaration, along with a US flag emoji:
Kardashian is once again somebody people may be quick to criticize, but nobody can deny her amazing work with 'Justice Project', in which she is challenging the prison reform system and fighting for fair sentencing.
Speaking to Time in April about the project, Kim said: "I really do believe that, if people do a crime, they need to do the time. But it's a matter of, what is that fair [amount of] time?"
How will 2020 end? At this rate, it is anybody's guess...