Kanye West's first presidential rally: 5 of the most disturbing and bizarre moments

Kanye West doesn’t really do things the traditional way – including running for president.

Earlier this month, the rapper announced that he would be running for president in 2020 – for this year’s November election. He said that he’s running as a candidate for his “Birthday Party”.

Years of shocking announcements – and other gimmicks for publicity – have led some people to dismiss him, while many others pointed out that he’s been flirting with Trump’s agenda for years now (even going so far as to enthusiastically meet Trump at the White House).

But West apparently held his first rally in Charleston, South Carolina, at a fashion event to promote his Yeezy line. He took the stage with 2020 shaved into his head, and asked for complete silence from the crowd assembled as there were no microphones.

1. He said that any future event he held would be better because he would be involved with the acoustics...

Future events will be in rooms where the acoustics will be incredible because I was involved in the design.

Sure, Kanye...

2. He made several comments about abortion, saying that his parents almost aborted him.​

“My mom saved my life. My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would have been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy,” he said. He then went on to say, visibly upset, “I almost killed my daughter! I almost killed my daughter!”

He also referenced an incident of what he believed to be divine intervention, when his wife, social media and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, was pregnant with their first child, North.

“I was having the rapper’s lifestyle,” he said. “I had my laptop up and I got all of my creative ideas … And the screen went black and white and God said, ‘if you f*** with my vision I’m going to f*** with yours’"

“And I called my wife and she said, we’re gonna have this baby. I said we’re gonna have this child … So even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world when I didn’t want to. She stood up and she protected that child.”

He clarified that he didn’t want to ban abortion, but rather believed that everyone who had a baby should have a million dollars – or more financial assistance – to help them.

3. West also spoke about abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Tubman was born into slavery and returned to the South several times to rescue other slaves. He said that she “never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people.”​

4. West said that he would stop working with Gap and Adidas unless he was put on the board of both companies.

West and Gap recently announced a collaboration for a Yeezy line next year, and West has said that they have signed a 10 year agreement. He said, “Risk or no risk of losing whatever deal possible, I am not on the board at Adidas. I am not on the board at Gap. That has to change today or I walk away."

5. West also made several other comments about pornography and marijuana.

He said that his followers should stop watching porn, and that marijuana “would be legal and free” if he was president. He went onto say that he is a "132 IQ genius" and that he was "not afraid of anyone and only afraid of God."

People are still split about whether West would actually be on the ballot. He announced his intention to run for president in early July – he missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states. However, he ended up collecting 10,000 signatures in various petitions by midday on Monday last week – which was necessary to get onto the South Carolina ballot. It’s the first state where West qualified.

Others asked whether this was real, as West announced plans for a new album, 'Donda' (after his late mother) last Friday.