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Kanye West recently sat down with Joe Rogan for a podcast interview, where the two discussed his presidential bid and the reasons why the rapper is seeking a political career move.
At the top of the interview on The Joe Rogan Podcast, West was asked why he’s running for president when he is so successful in the field of entertainment and music.
Of the decision, West said that it is “Something that God put on my heart back in 2015.” He went on to say, “A few days before the MTV Awards, it hit me in the shower. And when I first thought of it, I just started laughing to myself, all this joy came over my body, through my soul. I felt that energy, I felt that spirit.”
He talked about the fact that some people took it as a joke and would tell him all the reasons why he shouldn’t run for president. “I remember running into Oprah one or two days after that, she’s like, ‘you don’t want to be president,'” recalled West.
He referred to those non-believers as “naysayers”and told Rogan how he responded to them. “Well, I’ll definitely be a billionaire by that time, and not that that’s a reason why someone should become president, but it’s to say, you know, at that time I was around 50 million dollars in debt, and I knew I had the confidence that I would be able to turn that around.”
The rapper also spoke of when Trump was elected and the impression it left on him. “When I saw Trump win, [I could see] that you can win if you come from outside of politics.” He referred briefly to Ronald Reagan, who was an actor before he became president, noting he was too young at the time [for that to have influenced him].
Rogan commented that Reagan was governor before the ran for and became president, to which West said, “I believe that my calling is to be the leader of the free world.”
West announced his presidential bid via a tweet in July, which was soon endorsed by tech mogul Elon Musk. West released his first campaign video in October, just weeks before the election.
Watch the entire interview between West and Rogan below.
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