*By Max Godnick*
Kanye West was slinging optimistic platitudes last month, courting conservative thought leaders, and increasing his public profile.
Could a trip to Iowa be next?
The rapper's recent Twitter activity has caused some pundits to speculate about his political ambitions.
In April, West expressed his "love" for President Trump and wore a "Make America Great Again" hat in [a photo](https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989222392630202368). He said he "likes the way" the right-wing commentator Candace Owens thinks, and released a new song with the lyric: "I know Obama was heaven-sent, but ever since Trump won, it proved that I could be president."
West had teased a potential White House run in September 2015 at MTV's Video Music Awards, where he announced, "I have decided in 2020 to run for president."
Last week, he appeared to postpone his plan, cryptically tweeting ["2024"](https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/988984329295441921).
"I could see him trying," said Brande Victorian, the managing editor of MadameNoire, a Black women's lifestyle site. "I mean, we didn't think Trump would be here."
Republicans have embraced West's newly-public political musings. Donald Trump Jr. [tweeted a photo](https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/990930382685196288) Monday of West with Owens and the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Victorian said Tuesday in an interview with Cheddar she was skeptical that West could convince his fans to fully get behind conservatives.
"You're asking virtually everyone who the party does not care about to all of a sudden have empathy for this group, which is nonsensical," she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/will-kanye-west-run-for-president).
Every few years, the Olympics roll around to prove that, yes, the world’s best athletes can jump farther, swim faster, and generally crush records that would’ve been impossible just a few decades ago. Take ski jumping - the world record has increased by well over 200 meters in fewer than 100 years. Responsible for this is a lot of intentional engineering of equipment and hills, but perhaps the biggest change is thanks to one act of human daring. Watch to find out how!
YouTube creator platform Spotter recently announced $200 million in Series D financing at a valuation of $1.7 billion, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Spotter allows YouTubers to license the rights to their video catalogs in exchange for large sums of cash paid upfront. The company's clients include some of YouTube's most popular personalities, with a combined total of more than 1.2 billion subscribers. Aaron Debevoise, founder and CEO of Spotter, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
What if we added the equivalent of over 1300 football fields to the tip of Manhattan? This was the proposal of a recent op-ed in The New York Times - increasing the size of the borough by about 12% in order to mitigate two of its most pressing problems. There’s evidence from all over the world that doing this can be a useful technique for crowded ocean-side cities. But the process to do so - reclaiming land from the ocean - is rife with potential downsides. So is this a proportional response to gigantic problems? Or a zany harebrained scheme that’ll do more harm than good?
Marti Bledsoe Post, executive director of On Our Sleeves, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest study finding the impact children's mental health can have on working parents.
Jamie Hemmings and Jilea Hemmings, owners and founders of Nourish + Bloom Market, join Cheddar News to talk about the inspiration behind creating their cashierless grocery store.
Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson, co-owners of Cxffeeblack, join Cheddar News to discuss how they are merging Black culture with coffee in Memphis.
Dr. Daniel Bober, psychiatrist and certified addiction medicine physician, joins Cheddar News to offer tips on how parents and guardians can talk to their children about what's happening in Ukraine.
Abigail Pringle serves as president, international and chief development officer at Wendy’s. She joins Cheddar News to discuss the company's Q4 earnings and its diversity initiative for franchise owners.
Brad Pitt’s production company “Plan B” wants to bring “Beetlejuice” back to the big screen. The sequel concept is in its earliest stages as there is no word of a script yet. The production company is also set to produce “Parasite” director Bon Joon-ho’s newest film as well.
