After Kanye West ended his 10 minute Video Vanguard Award speech at the MTV Video Music Awards with a supposed announcement of his plans to run for president in 2020, many could not help but wonder if West’s statement was legitimate. While Kanye is known for making bold moves at award shows, it is hard to tell if his plans were simply a publicity stunt or if he will be one of our next presidential candidates.

When Yeezy walked onto the stage to receive his lifetime achievement award at the VMAs, he stood speechless in front of the crowd for a long moment.  Once he spoke up, West seemingly struggled with his words for the next 10 minutes.  Throughout his speech, West expressed internal conflict with the decisions that he has made throughout his career, such as stage-crashing Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs.

Kanye also questioned the values of award shows and criticized how the music industry uses drama between the artists as a way to attract publicity.  He stated that artists work hard, and that award shows such as the VMAs are merely opportunities to be told that they are not as good as the others.

West questioned making rash decisions on the VMA stage, and he claims that many of the surprising moments that happen there are used by the industry for publicity.  He then continues to shock the audience by claiming that he plans to run for president.

“I’m not even sure of my opinion, honestly.  It was so overwhelming, and after his long rambling speech, I can’t tell if it was something he decided in the spur of the moment, or something he was trying to build up the entire time,” said sophomore Lauren Seltzer.

This would not be the first time that celebrities have claimed to be in the running for president to be noticed by the media.  In 2008, comedian and political satirist Stephen Colbert fake-ran for president for both the Democratic and Republican parties using humorous slogans, including “America’s cool, new, founding stepfather.”

Waka Flocka Flame, another famous rapper, claimed to be in the running in 2015, despite only being 28.

These “campaigns” leave many fans questioning whether or not West is among these celebrities with false claims.

Although many of the points he made in his speech are valid, his announcement of a presidential campaign simply does not add up.

Yeezy’s acceptance speech at the 2015 VMAs appeared to be not well planned, and because of West’s past of making scandalous statements at the VMAs that he later regrets, we can all assume that Kanye did not mean it when he declared his plans for running in 2020.