Kanye West has ended his 2020 presidential run, according to new report in New York Magazine’s Intelligencer. The report cites Steve Kramer — hired by West to get him on the ballot in Florida and South Carolina — who told the magazine, “he’s out.”
A representative for West didn’t immediately return a request for comment from TheWrap on whether he had ended his campaign.
West gave a wide-ranging interview to Forbes last week in which he renounced his support for President Donald Trump and said he would be running for the presidency on the “Birthday Party” ticket.
“I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,” said the rapper, who has famously supported Trump and met with him at Trump Tower and in the Oval Office.
West’s presidential bid slightly dinged Democratic presumptive Joe Biden’s odds to win the 2020 election when it was first announced on July 4, according to one of the largest online sportsbooks.
According to Bet Online, political betting markets opened the next day with West added at +10000 (100/1) odds to win the 2020 election. Those are the same odds 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had when the markets opened, though she is not in the race and has thrown her support behind Biden.
From that Saturday to Sunday, Biden — the outright favorite — moved from -180 (5/9) to -160 (5/8) odds, according to Bet Online. Republican and incumbent Trump’s odds to win immediately improved with West’s weekend announcement, moving from +150 (3/2) to +130 (13/10).
It remains to be seen what impact the dropped campaign will have on Trump and Biden, but others are taking the news in stride.
“According to my calculations @kanyewest‘s presidential aspirations lasted one full Scaramucci,” said Anthony Scaramucci on Twitter, referencing his notoriously short stint as White House communications director.
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton simply shared the news with laugh-crying emojis.
BBC One’s “Have I Got News For You” also jumped in with a joke: “Kanye West drops out of 2020 presidential race, on grounds he could split the incomprehensible narcissist vote.”