Please, for the love of this country, do not vote for Kanye West

In 2016, several "news reports" claimed that anywhere between 11,000 to 15,000 people had cast votes for Harambe, the gorilla who was shot and killed by zookeepers at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden when a child climbed into his enclosure. Okay, so he didn't actually receive anywhere near that number of votes, but it's possible that some voters actually did write in his name on their voting ballot, Snopes.com states. Those folks aren't the reason why Hillary Clinton lost so terribly to now-President Donald Trump in the electoral college, but in 2020, Kanye West might just be the reason Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden doesn't beat out our ignorant Orange-in-Chief.

That very year (which feels like a decade ago), Charing Ball writing for Madame Noire predicted that the hip hop superstar with a serious case of internalized racism would run for President in 2020. And here we are (side note: can I get my future read too? This lady wants to know if 2021 is finally the year mercury in retrograde doesn't eff her over). While she argued that he would run as a Republican, there are high chances that if West does anything at all about his weird tweet announcement, he'd run as an Independent. Either way, Bull's plea stands true: PLEASE. DON'T. VOTE. FOR. HIM. Not only did he state in 2016 that he didn't vote, but he added that if he could've voted, he would've voted for Trump. Yes, Trump. The very man who called Black protestors "thugs" and locked children in cages.

So though it may seem like he's on your side because he's a cool hippin' hoppity rapper and all that jazz, he's not. He's definitely not what rap music stands for⁠—the upliftment of the oppressed and the chance to slam your opponents via carefully crafted rhymes in an epic impromptu battle of the words rather than violence (Ommm Shantiiii...)⁠—and he for sure will not be able to negotiate trade relations with China unless they get their underpaid workers to make his Yeezys for even cheaper. But I don't believe that anyone's going to vote for Kanye because they think he actually has good policy ideas or knows how to run the White House.

I think they're going to put his name down on a ballot for the lulz. For the Instagram clout. For the Facebook likes. And listen, I'm really happy for you, and I'mma let you finish but I'm just gonna say... Do not do that. It's likely that the election will be close as it is. Biden isn't progressive enough to get the far-left out to vote and he's too far left to get the Republican vote. One foot on the left, one foot on the right; that's a dangerous center to piss on. And Trump, well, he's got his Karens and his lushed out electoral college groupies. No, really. According to the latest Monmouth University Poll, Biden holds a 12-point lead in the Presidential race but that's majorly because he holds a significant advantage among the one in five voters who do not have a favorable opinion of either candidate. Those are pretty bad odds, man. They're awful odds, actually. Downright awful. So what happens when a bunch of jokesters heads to the polls to, well, make a joke? Well, four more years of Mr. Tiny Hands, that's what. So please, just do the whole damn country a favor and DON'T VOTE FOR KANYE.