Kanye West’s political "career" resembles something like a structually unsound rollercoaster ever since he announced his 2020 presidential run while accepting the Video Vanguard Award at this summer’s MTV Video Music Awards. You have no idea where things will end up, but you’ll walk away—if you make it out alive—with the knowledge that it was nothing like you’ve ever experienced before.
But despite West’s praise for Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson (yeah, he did that), he performed for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in San Francisco this past Saturday. West’s stunning set, a medley of old material, was backed by a beige-attired "army" resembling the models in his controversial New York Fashion Week show. You can check out a fan-shot video of the performance below, via Stereogum:
President Barack Obama spoke before West’s performance, which closed out the night, and addressed West’s presidential run during a speech that also touched on Republican resistance to gun control legislation. No longer calling West a "jackass," Obama had some humorous advice for West:
You’ve gotta spend a lot of time dealing with some strange characters who behave like they’re on a reality TV show…so you’ve gotta be cool with that.
[…]
Do you really think that this country’s gonna elect a black guy from teh South Side of Chicago with a funny name to be President of the United States? That is crazy! That’s cray!
During today’s DNC fundraiser in San Francisco, President Obama offered three pro tips to Kanye West, who recently said…
Posted by ABC7 News on Saturday, October 10, 2015
Protesters were gathered outside the fundraiser, where tickets sold for as much as tens of thousands of dollars, to protest the economic hardship of impoverished people of color in the Bay Area’s infamously expensive real estate market. Several offered statements on the situation, according to ABC7 News:
"We don’t want Obama to come to San Francisco thinking everything is okay for the black community because it’s not," said Majeid Crawford with the Fillmore Bay Area Media Group.
DeJenney Davis said, "Firemen, policemen, school teachers they can’t afford to live here."
Obama is using speaking engagements at DNC fundraisers to offer statements on progress under his presidency. Besides this fundraiser in San Francisco, he was set to speak at three in Los Angeles.