*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).
The 2020 news cycle apparently hasn't gotten the memo we're in a new year. Jill and Carlo break down the early results out of Georgia, what to expect during this Electoral College vote today, plus the growing frustrations over the slow vaccine rollout and much more.
American Airlines said Tuesday that it will ban companion animals gradually by Feb. 1. As required by federal rules, passengers with a trained service dog will still be allowed to bring the dog on board at no extra charge.
This first week of 2021 is shaping up to be a doozy: growing concerns over two new COVID-19 variants as UK goes back into lockdown, Georgians go to the polls, escalation with Iran, and more.
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Cheddar looks forward to a new year for music — and everything else — with a playlist to put 2020 behind us all.
Jill and Carlo are back for the new year, and it's already a doozy. They talk about what to expect in this critical week in American politics, why the vaccine rollout is going so slowly, and more.
Ford's vice president of enterprise product line management Jim Baumbick joined Cheddar to discuss the new ad campaign to push for people to continue following COVID safety guidelines into the new year.
The race to vaccinate millions of Americans is off to a slower, messier start than public health officials and leaders of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed had expected.
Farewell 2020 - we're not sorry to see you go! Here is all the news you Need2Know for Thursday, December 31, 2020.
As a safer way to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, James Ashurst, executive vice president at the RV Industry Association, said the RVs already had been trending with consumers.
