Kanye West Holds First Campaign Rally for 2020 Presidential Race

As it turns out, Kanye West is still running for president after all. Days after confusion surfaced from West's camp about whether or not he was legitimately running, the campaign for the hip-hop artist has announced its first official campaign rally. Taking place Sunday in North Charleston, South Carolina, West is holding an invite-only rally to formally launch his campaign. Taking place at the Exquis Event Center, tickets are available "for registered guests only."

Those who get invited to attend will be required to wear masks and social distance. They'll also be expected to sign a COVID-19 liability release form to indemnify West and his campaign from any potential lawsuits.

To date, the rapper-turned-apparent-politician has only been added to the ballot in Oklahoma. He managed to be added to the general election ballot as an independent candidate after paying a $35,000 fine. His campaign stop in South Carolina comes the day before the state's deadline for it's November ballot. South Carolina requires 10,000 signatures for presidential ballot access, and the deadline is Monday at noon local time; the locale doesn't allow write-in candidates for president.

The deadline for West to get on the ballot has already passed in four states. Those states included North Carolina (March 3rd), Texas (May 11th), New Mexico (June 25th), and Indiana (June 30th).

Earlier this week, news surfaced West and his team had filed the required paperwork with the Federal Election Campaign to launch an official presidential campaign. That news came hours after a former campaign adviser said West was "out" of the race.

West was a staunch supporter of then-candidate Donald Trump (R) during the 2016 presidential race. "The media puts musicians, artists, celebrities, actors in a position to be the face of the race, that really don't have any power and really are just working for white people," West said at the time. "When it's said like that, it's kind of obvious, right? We emotionally connect to someone of our color on TV and feel that this person is speaking for us. So let me say this: I am the founder of a $4 billion organization, one of the most Google-searched brands on the planet, and I will not be told who I'm gonna vote on because of my color."

Cover photo by Rich Fury/VF20/Getty Images for Vanity Fair