Published 19:52 IST, July 7th 2020
As Kanye West and Paris Hilton join the US presidential race, is it already too late?
As there are less than four months left for the presidential elections, it already looks too late for Kanye West and Paris Hilton to join the race.
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As the United States gears up for presidential elections in November amid the coronavirus pandemic, two renowned names have announced their bid. While this year's contest seems to be a straight battle between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, Kanye West and Paris Hilton have decided to join the race too. As there are less than four months left for the elections, is it already too late for Kanye and Paris?
On June 6, Kanye took to Twitter to announce “I am running for President of United States.” While Twitter went into a frenzy with memes, speculations and doubts, experts reportedly claimed Kanye can join the race. However, as there is little time left, they believe he will have to splurge for a few votes. While Kanye's run is supported by his wife Kim Kardashian and Tesla chief Elon Musk, Paris has been actively campaigning on her Twitter handle to “make America hot again.”
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A day after Kanye's tweet, Paris announced that she will join the race for US top office with several pictures that showed her in the Oval Office. The Hilton Hotels heiress shared a photoshopped picture of herself saying “I’ve decided the Oval Office needs some redecorating and a woman’s touch.” In another tweet, she expressed the desire to turn the Oval office into 'Heart Shape Office'.
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Is it too late?
Now when just four months are left and rallies and campaigns are in full swing, Kanye and Paris could either contest as independent candidates or from some smaller party. In the second case, most parties have already announced their presidential candidates for 2020 and the chances reportedly look bleak. To make the ballot as an independent candidate, the deadline has already expired in at least six states including Texas, New York and Illinois. For six more states, the deadline is reportedly set to expire in July. While Kanye and Paris have the chance to get on the ballot, it would require huge spending and manpower as they will also have to get thousands of signatures to show they have support.
In case they fail to get on the ballot, the only option that still remains for them is to depend on 'write-in candidates'. In some US states, voters are allowed to write the name of the candidate they want to vote for on the ballot sheet.
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Just a distraction?
Many doubt the seriousness, especially in case of Kanye, who had also shown interest in 2020 elections in 2015 but never really followed up. As per reports, he has also not registered his name with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which is considered as an important step. As deadlines have been missed and it looks already too late for both Kanye and Paris to file, some call it ‘Trump’s ploy to distract’.
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US President Donald Trump has been massively criticized over COVID-19 mismanagement. From avoiding masks to using wrong facts, Trump’s claims have time and again brought him criticism from all across the world. In a recent tweet, Trump claimed that US has ‘lowest fatalities’ while figures show a different picture altogether.
While top experts continue to express worry about increasing cases and death due to the global pandemic, the US President confidently claimed that deaths by ‘China virus’ were down by 39 per cent in the country. A quick look at the data shows the COVID-19 mortality rate in the US stands at 4.84, which is far from better as compared to other nations.
Trump’s direct competitor Joe Biden has also attacked the President time and again over his bad handling of coronavirus. In one of the tweets, he called Trump’s actions ‘despicable’ for not increasing ‘access to testing’ amid increasing cases. In another tweet he said, "It didn't have to be this bad. But Donald Trump failed to do his job — and we're all paying the price." Launching several attacks on Trump, Biden asserted, "We can’t afford four more years of Donald Trump."
16:33 IST, July 7th 2020