Kanye West made waves by saying earlier this week that he’s “distancing” himself from politics in response to Candace Owens’ Blexit fiasco. But that attitude apparently doesn’t preclude him from putting his money behind ideas he believes in, like those of Chicago Mayoral candidate Amara Enyia.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the artist has donated to Enyia’s campaign for a second time, this time pledging $126,460. The Times noted that Kanye previously donated $73,540 to Friends Of Amara Enyia in order to help the Democratic candiate pay off debts to the State Of Illinois and get her name on the ballot. Now, his six-figure donation offers even forward movement for Enyia’s campaign – which has already received a sizable visibility boost from Chance The Rapper.
Enyia’s spokeswoman clarified to the Chicago-Sun Times, which framed her as a “longshot candidate,” that “Kanye has never been involved with our campaign other than as a supporter,” and that “his interest in the mayoral race is about problems and results, and has nothing to do with partisan politics,” perhaps clarifying their stance on the controversial act as much as his on Enyia.
Enyia’s official campaign page describes her as “a problem-solver, advocate, lawyer, phd, ironman competitor, marathoner, daughter of activists, and defender of the public with a passion for public policy” who “has actively worked to usher in transformative policies that improve quality of life for Chicagoans.” It also says that she is adept at “thinking outside the box, challenging systems, and building new ones that reflect values that put the public’s interest first.” Those definitely sound like qualities that the “free thinking” West tweeted about being in favor of earlier this week — despite his refusal to backtrack from President Trump.