Kanye West appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience on Saturday for a three hour conversation about everything from his views on abortion, his run for the presidency, and EPCOT Center.
“When I talk, it’s not a rant, it’s a symphony of ideas,” the ever-humble musician and designer said about his sometimes tangent-prone style of elocution. “I don’t think in the black-and-white lines that I’ve been programmed to think in. I think in full color. So when I talk, I have to describe a thought in five ways,” he said. He also referred to himself as “a human version of Instagram.”
Highlights from the episode are still being analyzed by licensed Kanyeologists (a transcript can be found here), but most notable, perhaps, is West’s statement that “my calling is to be the leader of the free world.” He added that “it was something God put on my heart in 2015” and that “it just hit me in the shower, and when I first thought of it, I just started laughing to myself, and all this joy came over my body.”
After he announced his interest in presidential politics at the MTV Music Awards, West says many industry friends, including Oprah Winfrey, told him “you don’t want to be president.”
West ascribes his lackluster polling in the 2020 race to COVID-19. He registered to run so late because he “had the virus,” he said. “I just completely put [registering] off to the side because I was shivering, having shakes, taking hot showers and eating soup.”
He’s bullish on his future prospects, though, affirming that “I’m definitely 100 percent winning in 2024.” He added that he would consider running as a Democrat instead of his current political affiliation, the self-created Birthday Party.
On other topics, West described “feeling bad” listening to rap music, even his own recent music, because there are bare necessities that others don’t have. He listed food, shelter, and family, but also the Internet, decrying how only 1 billion people are online, leaving 7 or 8 billion behind who are not “influenced.”
He also unpacked the recent viral moment, in which he broke down in tears, revealing how he and Kim Kardashian discussed aborting their first child. (He danced around the word abortion, calling it “not-family-friendly,” and replaced it at times with “the A-word.”) Reflecting on his current family unit, he said “the idea of [aborting his child] just tears me up inside, that I was a part of a culture that promotes this kind of thing.” He added “in our culture, we’re doped up, and psyched out, and made to kill our children. We have to decouple the conversation of Planned Parenthood and women’s choice.”
He said that when he gets into office, he will promote something called Plan A, a project he is already developing, which will change foster care to something akin to Disney World.
Concerning his overall method of governance, West reaffirmed his confidence. “I never make the wrong decision when I’m given all the information. That’s my skill set.”
Kanye West is on the ballot in 11 states. He will not win (in 2020) but there are some on social media boasting their support anyway.
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