Kanye West to hold first presidential rally in South Carolina

Rapper asks fans to sign petition calling for him to be added to election ballot

Kanye West on stage during a service at Lakewood Church in Houston (AP)

Kanye West will reportedly hold his first presidential campaign event in South Carolina on Sunday.

The rapper tweeted on Saturday asking his 29.8 million followers to sign a petition calling for him to be added to the election ballot in the southeastern state.

West’s event will be held at the Exquis Event Centre in North Charleston for registered guests only, according to a campaign document seen by Politico.

Attendees must wear masks, observe social distancing and sign a Covid-19 liability release form.

West, at one-time a Trump supporter, announced he was running for the US presidency on Independence Day.

He tweeted: “We must now realise the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION.”

However, the sincerity of the rapper’s bid for the White House has since been called into question.

Reports emerged on 14 July that West, 43, had already dropped out of the race.

Steve Kramer, a member of his campaign team, told Intelligencer: “He’s out.” The advisor added he was in the process of getting “all our stuff cancelled”.

West then discredited this by qualifying on Wednesday to run as an independent candidate in Oklahoma.

He appears, however, to have missed the cut-off to run in South Carolina.

On Saturday he tweeted: “Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations. You can also sign up at the website.”

The latest polls ahead of the November 2020 presidential election show Donald Trump trailing former vice president and Democratic contender Joe Biden by nine percentage points.