Could Kanye get to the White House? Probably not

Can anyone become president of the United States?

[Political scientist James McCann, saying:] “If you're 35 years old and a natural born U.S. citizen, you are technically eligible to be president.”

Kanye West tweeted that he’s launching a bid for the White House less than four months before the election on November 3rd.

But how would he go about it? What are the obstacles? Can anyone launch a bid, anytime?

James McCann is a political scientist at Purdue University in Indiana who broke down the process.

“You would form a campaign committee and register with the Federal Election Commission. That would permit you to raise funds, to spend funds to set up a campaign organization. Once you get those particulars out of the way, you have to get on the ballot in all 50 states. And that would involve really building an organization across the entire country in order to get the requisite number of signatures and to meet all of the filing deadlines.”

So we now know the many steps needed to seriously launch a bid.

But what are the obstacles to getting out of the gate so late?

[Political scientist James McCann, saying:] “With Kanye West, time is certainly not on his side. He's already missed the filing deadline in many states, including many big states like Texas and New York. Those are places with a lot of electoral votes. So just from a mathematical standpoint, it's hard to see anybody getting the requisite 270 electoral votes should they continue the runs for the presidency.”

It is unclear if Kanye West has filed any official paperwork to appear on state election ballots.

If he were serious, could we see him in the White House?

[Political scientist James McCann, saying:] “So it's very much uphill and it's really impossible at this late stage in the cycle, really, for anybody to credibly toss their hat into the ring and run for president.”