Kanye West for president? Barack Obama has some words of advice
Obama suggested rapper should jump into the increasingly complicated race to replace Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner.
President Barack Obama has poked a little fun at rapper Kanye West for saying he planned to run for the White House - and offered some tongue-in-cheek advice on how to achieve a successful political career.
"First of all, you’ve got to spend a lot of time dealing with some strange characters who behave like they’re on a reality TV show. So you’ve just to be cool with that," Obama said to laughter from a crowded theatre where he was headlining a fundraiser on Saturday.
West is married to reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
"Second important tip: saying that you have a ‘Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ - that’s what’s known as ‘off-message’ in politics. You can’t say something like that," Obama riffed, making reference to a popular West album.
"And number three: do you really think that this country is going to elect a black guy from the South Side of Chicago with a funny name to be president of the United States? That is crazy. That’s cray!" Obama, who lived on the South Side of Chicago before he was elected president, concluded, to applause.