July 4: Kanye West announces he is running for president, declaring that 'we must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future'.
West receives early backing from his wife Kim Kardashian and from SpaceX supremo Elon Musk. However, there is much skepticism about whether he genuinely intends to run.
July 8: Forbes publishes an interview with Kanye in which he says he has never voted before, wants to model his presidency on the fictional country of Wakanda in the movie Black Panther, and no longer supports Donald Trump after previously appearing in the Oval Office with a Make America Great Again hat.
West also says he was ill with Covid-19 in February and is sceptical of developing vaccines against it, and suggests that Musk should be head of America's space program.
July 14: West scores two per cent in a poll of the presidential race, with 56 per cent of respondents believing that the rapper is not serious about running for president.
July 15: Kanye appears to take a further step towards running for president, as a filing with the Federal Election Commission shows the establishment of a Kanye 2020 campaign committee under the banner of the Birthday Party or BDY. West says the name is chosen because 'when we win, it's everybody's birthday'.
July 18: Kanye urges his supporters to sign a petition to get him on the ballot in South Carolina. Two days later, state officials say the deadline has passed and that that West did not submit the required paperwork in time. However, he is listed on the ballot in Oklahoma.
July 19: West holds a campaign rally in South Carolina, wearing a bullet-proof jacket marked 'security' and with '2020' shaved into his head. In a rambling speech, he reveals that he and Kim had considered aborting their daughter North and sparks outrage by claiming that abolitionist Harriet Tubman 'never actually freed the slaves'.
July 20: In a series of tweets, Kanye claims that Kim Kardashian is trying to have him locked up on medical grounds, compares himself to Nelson Mandela and suggests the movie Get Out was about him.
The tweets spark further concern for his well-being, but Elon Musk says that 'we talked about an hour ago' and that Kanye 'seems fine'.
July 21: Kanye claims he has been 'trying to get divorced' since Kim Kardashian allegedly met rapper Meek Mill to talk about prison reform at the Waldorf Hotel. He also calls his mother-in-law Kris Jenner 'Kris Jong-Un' and accuses the pair of 'white supremacy' in another freewheeling series of tweets. Most of his tweets are quickly deleted.
Earlier in the day, he had hinted he could postpone his presidential run until 2024 after saying 'I guess all black people supposed to vote for Biden'. He also heaped praise on comedian Dave Chappelle for visiting him at his Wyoming ranch. A source told Page Six that while the Kardashian family had decided to stand by Kanye, they believe the situation is 'really bad'.
'I don't know if they can survive it,' the source claimed of Kanye and Kim's marriage.
Also on Tuesday, Kanye questioned whether he should postpone his controversial run on the Oval Office until 2024 in a tweet late Tuesday night in which he also shared a confusing look at his '2020 Vision'.
'#2020vision or maybe '24,' he wrote alongside a picture of a piece of paper in his trademark orange, listing what appears to be the tracklist for his upcoming album.
'I guess all black people supposed to vote on Biden? Y'all want me to run on nah???' the rapper then asked.
He shared the list again later Tuesday as he repeated that he had a new album being released this Friday.
'DONDA: WITH CHILD new album and movie this Friday,' he wrote.
The 43-year-old rapper returned to Twitter on Tuesday to share a video of him and Dave Chappelle in Wyoming - a day after he posted a series of rambling tweets about his wife and her family that he deleted within an hour
West spoke about his upcoming album and a movie that he claims is to be released this Friday on Twitter Tuesday night
A TIMELINE OF KIM AND KANYE'S RELATIONSHIP
2003: Kim and Kanye meet through mutual friend, the singer Brandy
2008: Appear on screen together for the first time for a pilot TV show. Kim later describes this moment as 'when we first really connected'
August 2011: Kim marries NBA pro Kris Humphries
2012: The couple start dating, taking their relationship public in April of that year
December 2012: Kim announces she is pregnant with the couple's first child, North
June 2013: North West is born
October 2013: Kanye proposes to Kim
May 2014: The couple marry in Italy
December 2015: Kim gives birth to their son Saint
December 2016: Kanye is hospitalized
January 2018: The couple welcome daughter Chicago via a surrogate
August 2018: Kanye posts to Twitter spark concern
May 2019: The couple welcome their fourth child, son Psalm West
July 2020: Kanye tweets he has been 'trying to get divorced' from Kim
West had been critical of Biden when he gave an interview to Forbes last month to speak about his presidential platform.
'A lot of times just like political parties they feel all Blacks have to be Democrat. This man, Joe Biden, said if you don't vote for me, then you are not Black,' he said.
'Well, act like we didn't hear that? We act like we didn't hear that man say that? That man said that. It's a rap. We gonna walk, all the people. Jay-Z said it best.'
'For the other candidates, I just gracefully suggest y'all bow out—Trump and Biden, gracefully bow out,' West continued. 'It's God's country, we are doing everything in service to God, nobody but God no more. I am in service of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and I put everything I get on the line to serve God.'
Biden was criticized in May for telling popular radio show host Charlamagne tha God he 'ain't black' if he can't figure out who to pick between Donald Trump and him.
'I should not have been so cavalier. I've never, never, ever taken the African-American community for granted,' Biden said in an apology, according to the Associated Press. 'I shouldn't have been such a wise guy.'
West's 2020 run had been controversial from the off but hit a new peak this week following his first campaign rally and a now deleted Twitter rant calling out his wife.
However with his recent revelation that he is planning top drop an album this week,it has led some to claim that the turmoil is all part of a PR stunt.
'I see it as perfect timing with the drop of a new album. None of this is coincidental; he merely has a need to be talked about in the worst way,' Chief Executive of RLM Public Relations, Richard Laermer, told Fox News.
'He isn't 'running,' per se, because that would be a ton of work. And this guy has proven that, while he has a lot of energy, isn't actually interested in the head-down work it would take to be the leader of a political campaign.'
IS KANYE WEST'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN A PR STUNT FOR HIS ALBUM RELEASE?
At the end of a lengthy Twitter tirade on Monday night, Kanye West revealed that his new album, DONDA, would be released on Friday.
He also appeared to tweet a track listing for the new album, which is named after his late mother.
It has led some to claim that the recent turmoil in his family and with his presidential campaign is all part of a PR stunt.
'I see it as perfect timing with the drop of a new album. None of this is coincidental; he merely has a need to be talked about in the worst way,' Chief Executive of RLM Public Relations, Richard Laermer, told Fox News.
'He isn't 'running,' per se, because that would be a ton of work. And this guy has proven that, while he has a lot of energy, isn't actually interested in the head-down work it would take to be the leader of a political campaign.'
'The goal here is to get media to talk about him,' Laermer added.
'It's working, to a degree. But most of it has been mocking him, particularly since he has no platform to speak of, and with that no reason to be president.'
Former Obama campaign adviser Spencer Critchley agreed, but added that it may be hurting West more than it's helping.
'I think it absolutely could be a PR ploy, and unfortunately that's all too typical of this moment in history as well,' Critchley said to Fox.
'We've come to take it as normal that everyone we hear from seems to be selling something, including by turning themselves into a brand name and selling that. But Kanye's behavior is so erratic that if this is PR, I think it's hurting him more than it's helping.'
Kim and Kanye, who wed in 2014 and have four children, were said to be living at opposite ends of their LA compound due to rising tensions before Kanye moved to their family home in Wyoming.
'Since lockdown they've had daily bust-ups over literally everything. But mainly about the kids, their future, and the different directions they're going in,' a source told The Sun, adding that the couple were 'at each other's throats'.
'They've barely had a functioning marriage for the last year and Kim has been finding living with him too difficult.
'He's very demanding and always obsessed with one of his schemes - she's exhausted. They live totally separate lives now.'
Sources claim Kanye is holed up in a 'compound' at the Wyoming ranch with 'a lot of building work' apparently taking place, much of it 'geared towards security'.
The compound reportedly includes an 'underground bunker' with a 'panic' room which is stocked up with food and designed for the family to take refuge in an emergency.
Kanye is said to have surrounded himself with 'a small group of people he trusts', not including his wife or her family.
Last week he reportedly changed his Twitter and social media passwords to lock everyone else out, amid claims he feels 'paranoid'.
Another source told The Sun that Kim 'is living through the worst nightmare of her life right now'.
'Originally Kim was happy that Kanye chose to go to Wyoming as he's always calmer when he's there. Now she's regretting it,' they said.
A source has also told Entertainment Tonight that Kim is 'completely devastated' by Kanye's tweets and that she has been trying to get her husband help for his bipolar disorder but he has refused.
'Kim has always been public about everything in her life, but with Kanye and him being bipolar she has always respected to keep that more private and within the family,' the source said.
'Kanye tweeting about the family and painting her as trying to 'lock him up' has upset Kim because that wasn't her intention and she only ever wants the best for her husband.'
Meanwhile, another source told Us Weekly Kim and the rest of the Kardashians think Kanye 'crossed a line' by airing private family matters.
'She's tried so hard to help him, but now Kim and her family feel as though he's really crossed a line by talking negatively about them publicly and sharing private family matters with the public,' the source said.
'She feels helpless at this point.'
In addition to saying his wife was trying to lock him up, Kanye's earlier Twitter rant on Monday also referenced Kim's prior Playboy shoots and vowed to never let his children do the same.
He also slammed his mother-in-law and he suggested the movie 'Get Out' was based on his own life.
'Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday,' West said in one of the since-deleted tweets.
In other tweets, he also appealed directly to Kim and Jenner, to contact him at his ranch in Wyoming where he has been living, adding that he didn't want his mother-in-law around his four children.
'Kriss don't play with me you and that calmye are not allowed around my children Ya'll tried to lock me up,' he said, apparently referencing Jenner's boyfriend Corey Gamble.
Kanye also took a stab at the Keeping Up With The Kardashians, saying he loved his wife and wanted his family to live with him despite them filming the reality TV series.
The rapper also shared a number of illustrations with his own condensed speak that the 'father is coming'
Among West's tweets, was this picture of himself with his children. Along with this picture, he wrote that 'West children will never do playboy' in a hit at his mother-in-law Kris. Both Kim and her youngest sister Kylie have appeared in Playboy
On Monday night, West tweeted out this apparent screengrab of a text message he sent Kris
Among his barrage of tweets was one in which he compared himself to Nelson Mandela, saying: 'If I get locked up like Mandela yall will know why'.
He also referenced 'Get Out', a horror film about race relations, in a few of the tweets: 'Everybody knows the movie get out is about me.'
The film is about a black man who meets his white girlfriend's parents for the first time and discovers the creepy things the family does to guests in an effort to extend their lives, including organ harvesting and brain transplants.
Kim Kardashian's Playboy cover from 2007
In other tweets, he directly addressed his mother-in-law and posted a screenshot of an apparent text message he had sent Kris Jenner: 'This Ye. You ready to talk now. Or are you still avoiding my calls.'
When tweeting about his wife and their children, Kanye referenced Kim's leaked 2007 sex tape with then boyfriend Ray J and the Playboy cover she did later that year.
'West children will never do playboy,' Kanye also tweeted, alongside a picture of himself with his children.
'I put my life on the line for my children that North's mother would never sell her sex rape [sic],' he tweeted.
'I put my life on my God that Norths mom would never photograph her doing playboy and that's on God,' he added, revealing 'I'm at the ranch ... come and get me.'
'I love my wife My family must live next to me It's not up to E or NBC anymore,' Kanye also tweeted, referring to the TV network and the parent company of the reality series Kardashian stars on, Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
'NBC locked up Bill Cosby,' he later added.
All of those tweets were deleted.
Kanye also took aim at Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actor Shia Laboeuf in connection with his own work with fashion retailer GAP.
'Anna Wintour always showed me love but when I told her I was going to GAP she looked at me like I was crazy,' he claimed, adding: 'Then she called back kissing my a**.'
He also claimed that Laboeuf had been 'deposed to do the first YZY GAP shoot and he never showed up', referring to the Yeezy line of clothing for which GAP has signed up Kanye in a 10-year contract.
Kanye had claimed during his South Carolina speech that he would 'walk away' from his contracts with GAP and Adidas if he was not appointed to their boards.
Kanye appeared to end his Twitter rant by saying: 'Ima focus on the music now.'
He returned to posting 45 minutes later and announced he would release a new album on Friday named after his late mother.
Kanye tweeted 'DONDA coming this Friday', along with what appears to be the tracklist for the album.
Later Monday, West would go on to tweet that his album, DONDA, name for his mother, would be released on Friday While supporters expressed concern for him on social media after the outburst Monday, his billionaire friend Elon Musk reassured one fan by tweeting: 'We talked about an hour ago. He seems fine.'
West's Twitter storm appeared to generate concern online, with celebrities and other notable names tweeting about him.
'oh s**t,fool you said you almost killed your daughter. your wife knows best, sit your a** down. Happy wife happy life,' 50 Cent wrote while sharing a screengrab of Kanye's tweet about Kardashian flying a doctor out to Wyoming and comparing it to Get Out.
Other social media regulars were more sympathetic.
'The Kanye West stuff isn't funny. Either he's doing this for PR or he's got serious mental health issues and laughing and poking fun isn't right. Either way it's the dark side of social media,' actor Devon Sawa tweeted.
'Kanye needs prayer & help,' Masika Kalysha, head of Khari Barbie Beauty tweeted. 'Mental illness is no joke. You don't know how hard it is to get someone committed who doesn't think they need help. It's close to impossible. Add in the fact that he has an unlimited amount of $, access & resources & ur doomed. Praying 4 u @kanyewest.'
'RELAX BUBBA THIS NOT FOR THE JABRONI TWITTER,' pro wrestler The Iron Sheik wrote.
'Prayers for Kanye. I hope he gets the help he needs,' singer Malynda Hale tweeted.
'@kanyewest I have seen a movie similar to this one 3 years ago. Protect your family. You will never look back. Act now,' wrote former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci.
West's billionaire friend Elon Musk reassured one fan tweeting: 'We talked about an hour ago. He seems fine'
North West, Kardashian, West and Saint (L to R) are pictured together in New York City in 2019
Kanye has previously said that his wife along with billionaire and founder of Tesla Elon Musk were his advisors at the moment. He has also suggested that the CEO of SpaceX could be 'the head of our space program.'
Kanye has been open about his struggle with bipolar disorder and, in 2016, he spent time in hospital after a 'psychiatric emergency' that forced him to cancel 21 concert dates.
West has already missed the deadline to officially run for president in South Carolina in November – and never even applied to make the ballot in the state where he held his first campaign rally.
'The petition deadline has passed for the 2020 general election and the state election commission did not receive a petition from Kanye West,' Chris Whitmire, a spokesman for the South Carolina Board of Elections, said. 'There are no exceptions to the deadline,' Whitmire said.
West spent the required fee to make the ballot in Oklahoma last week and filled out the proper Federal Election Commission paperwork to officially make a run for the White House in November.
West filled out FEC Form 1: Statement of Organization, that shared the information about his campaign, and Form 2: Statement of Candidacy, which triggers candidacy status.
According to the forms, West is running as an independent for BDY, which he says stands for the Birthday Party because 'when we win, it's everybody's birthday.'
Among the surprising statements West made during the rally Sunday, was that after Kardashian called him 'crying' that she was pregnant, 'We talked about her not having this child. She had the pills in her hand! I almost killed my daughter!'
He also noted that while he was considering what to do about the pregnancy, he received what he interpreted as a sign from God while he was working on his laptop in Paris.
'My screen went black and white. And God said, if you f**k with my vision I f**k with yours,' West yelled during the rally. 'And I called my girlfriend and said we're going to have this child.'
Kris Jenner and Kanye West are seen together in this image that Kris posted on Instagram
Later in the unscripted speech, West said: 'Even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into this world, when I did not want to.'
He also talked about how his father had wanted his mother, Donda West, to abort him, but she had refused.
'My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would've been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy,' he said during the rally.
A Kardashian source told Entertainment Tonight that part of the reality star's fury over West's comments was due to the fact that 'She knows this is something North will see when she gets older and that's heartbreaking.'
Beyond the shocking abortion revelations, the Kardashian sisters are also 'horrified' that West did not engage in any coronavirus social distancing measures during the rally, according to the Kardashian source.
To see 'Kanye interacting indoors with people without a mask on and that alone was enough to make her freak the f**k out,' the source said about Kardashian.
West's friends, according to the source, are said to be 'concerned' about him and worry that his current behavior could lead to a breakdown for him.
'They can only describe Kanye's current situation as a ticking time bomb,' the source said, noting that the situation is 'very difficult' for Kardashian.
'In addition to worrying endlessly about Kanye she has to deal with the constant public embarrassment of him making claims what's left of her private life,' the source told The Sun.
Kardashian is said to want to 'keep the family together,' but isn't sure 'how much more she can take of this.'
Kardashian has not publicly addressed West's Sunday night rally comments nor his Monday night Twitter spree.
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