Kanye West makes shock abortion claim as he breaks down during South Carolina presidential campaign launch speech

It seems the rapper is pushing ahead with his bid for the White House
Rachel McGrath13 October 2020
The Weekender

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Kanye West broke down in tears while delivering a lengthy monologue on topics including abortion and international trade at his first presidential campaign rally.

The rapper held a surprise event in South Carolina to officially launch his bid for the White House on Sunday.

During his speech, he made a series of controversial comments, speaking at length about abortion and claiming he and then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian considered terminating their first baby, before claiming all new mothers should be given $1 million after giving birth.

Standing on stage in a bulletproof vest, West, 43, spoke without a microphone as he detailed an incident that allegedly took place shortly after Kim called him “screaming and crying” to reveal she was pregnant with their first child.

Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance

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He told the crowd: “She was crying… and for one month and two months and three months, we talked about her not having this child. She had the pills in her hand.

“I was having the rapper’s lifestyle. I was sitting up in Paris, and I had my leather pants on and I had my laptop up and I got all of my creative ideas.

“ And the screen went black and white and God said, ‘if you f**k with my vision I’m going to f**k with yours'.

“And I called my wife and she said, 'We’re gonna have this baby'. I said, 'We’re gonna have this child'. So even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world when I didn’t want to. She stood up and she protected that child.”

Kanye West - In pictures

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West also claimed his own father wanted his mother to abort him, crying as he said: "My mom saved my life. My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life.

“There would have been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy.”

He also ranted against historical civil rights figure Harriet Tubman, saying the Underground Railroad conductor “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people”.

Those comments drew shouts of opposition from some in the crowd.

Tubman is one of the most respected figures of 19th century America. An African American who escaped slavery, she helped enslaved black men and women travel north to freedom and fought for the Union during the Civil War. She later became a supporter of women’s suffrage.

West has missed the deadline to qualify for the election ballot in several states, and it is unclear if he is willing or able to collect enough signatures required to qualify in others.

However, he did issue a tweet on Sunday using wordplay to seemingly back up his comments on running for the White House, writing only “THE WEST WING”.

Last week, he qualified to appear on Oklahoma’s presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the filing deadline.

West needs to collect 10,000 signatures by noon on Monday to appear on the South Carolina ballot, according to state law.

The entertainer tweeted a list of locations around the Charleston area where petitions could be signed.

West initially announced his candidacy on July 4.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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