President Barack Obama gave Kanye West some advice about running for president in 2020 during a speech at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 10 that featured a performance by the rapper.
“In case Kanye is serious about this whole POTUS thing — or as he calls it, ‘Peezy’ — I do have advice for him,” the president yold a crowd of 1,300 people.
Obama first alluded to how, as president, he’s spent time “dealing with some strange characters who behave like they’re on a reality TV show” — not so subtly referring to West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, and her hit show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
The president then referred to West’s hit 2010 album, warning the rapper that “saying you have a beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy, that’s what known as off-message in politics. You can’t say something like that. A lot of people have lost their congressional seats saying things like this. We don’t do that.”
He also joked about West’s chances of being elected.
“Do you really think this country is going to elect a black guy from the South Side of Chicago with a funny name to be president of the United States? That is crazy,” quipped the president as the audience laughed.
Meanwhile, the reality star, 34, shared two photos on Instagram on Saturday that addressed President Obama’s remarks.
In the first photo, which showed two boxes containing shoes from West’s line, Yeezy Boost, with the name Obama on both, she wrote, “Special delivery #Yeezys.”
In the second photo, President Obama’s signature with the number 44, was next to what looks to be West’s signature with the numbers 46 and 2020, signifying Obama as the 44th president and West as the 46th president, if he were to be elected. “#44 #46,” Kardashian wrote.
She also shared a video of Obama's speech. “From POTUS to Peezy,” she wrote.
The “Power” rapper, 38, originally announced his plan to run for president at the 2015 Video Music Awards in August. The following month, he told Vanity Fair that he had “a lot of research to do, a lot of growing up to do” before then.
“It’s fun to be a rock star, and I’ll never not be one I guess, but there’ll be a point where I become my mother’s child,” he added.
West and Kardashian share daughter Nori, 2, and have a baby boy on the way.
