Kanye West is running for president as a Republican in 2024 — his new album proves it. And he'll probably win

West's recent rebrand, coupled with wife Kim Kardashian's law degree and his endorsement of Trump, may well be aimed at making himself more palatable in the eyes of the American public

Kanye West dropped a new album this week — not just any album, but a faith-based gospel record complete with a choir. Jesus Is Lord pairs nicely with Kanye's other new(ish) project Sunday Service, where he travels all over the country to host a Christian worship service on — you guessed it — Sundays.

Coming from someone who once wrote a song declaring: "I am a god," it remains to be seen if this latest, more reverent trend in Kanye's life will last. Christians have questioned whether he's faking it. Personally, I don't think that's our place to question. Instead, I question whether or not he's running for office.

West teased a possible presidential run once in 2015 and again in 2018. It’s true that he has been increasingly vocal about politics ever since he became one of the Trump administration's most outspoken and unexpected supporters — but he actually has a long history of making political statements. Back in 2005, during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, West made his brutal and infamous comment: "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

A full decade later and Kanye is kicking it in the Oval Office with the first Republican president since Bush. In what seems like rebrand after rebrand, he has changed opinions or shifted positions fairly regularly. His primary policy goals seem to include something about the 13th Amendment and also prison reform. What is perhaps surprising to some is that West and his wife Kim Kardashian have a pretty strong record on that issue. Kim has widely promoted the First Step Act since its passage and even guided some of President Trump's pardons as well.

It hasn't been all smooth sailing, however. After a brief honeymoon period with TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk and his accomplice Candace Owens, Kanye burned out on politics. He got a taste of the rot that exists in the system and seemed to realize that cynical people would use you for their personal gain. Many pro-Trump activists (including myself) believe that Kirk and Owens are wholly to blame for the brief running out of Trump's biggest supporter in the black community thanks to their incessant grifting.

But Kanye's new album and a dramatic shift in his lifestyle suggest he's still considering that run in 2024. It's my view that American politics is 90 per cent name recognition, 5 per cent policy, and 5 per cent public perception. It goes without saying that Kanye has incredible name recognition — almost as pervasive name recognition as Trump when he ran. He's improving his public perception in the eyes of the US public with this shift towards Christianity. And with his brief history of criminal justice reform and focus on repairing the black community, Kanye's got the policy.

More than that, West can't be touched. The man has survived several “cancelings”. There's no further opposition research to be done; the Hollywood tabloids would've published it long ago. Kanye's wife might have a sex tape, but in this day and age, does that really hurt anymore? And speaking of Kim Kardashian, she's getting a law degree to help with her forays into prison reform activism — another step that will make the family more palatable to the public.

Then there's the base Kanye is appealing to: Republican, evangelical, and deeply supportive of Trump. That's his new target demographic, and he seems to be dragging his old demo along as well.

A Kanye West presidency is entirely plausible thanks to the current president. Trump opened the door for more Hollywood tough guy superstars to run for office at any level. When you have a reality star in the Oval Office, a world-famous rapper isn't that much of a stretch.

So, Kanye's got the black vote, he's got the Trump-lovers, he's got the evangelicals, and he's got the youth (obviously). Not only is Kanye going to run for president, but I wouldn't bet against him to win.

Alec Sears (@Alec_Sears) is a conservative writer based in Washington DC