Though it still does no one any good at all to continue amplifying such things, the proliferation of articles centered on Kanye West's still-active election efforts has not ceased as part of a united effort to instead put that space toward more pressing 2020 issues.
And now, the long-held concern that any West push for the White House could actually be an attempt from Republicans to craft a "spoiler campaign" in Trump's favor has more weight behind it following reports from the New York TimesandNew York magazine revealing that multiple people involved with West's ballot efforts are GOP-linked.
Mark Jacoby, for example, is defined in the Times report as an "operative" for the West ballot push who was arrested back in 2008 on voter fraud charges while working on behalf of the Republican Party in California. The Times report from Maggie Haberman and Danny Hakim also points out that Chuck Wilton, who is "linked to" West's campaign, is a convention delegate for Trump from Vermont. Wilton and his wife Wendy, who—notably—is a Trump appointee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are both known Trump supporters.
Meanwhile, Ben Jacobs' New York report from earlier this week also identified West campaign contact Greg Keller as a former executive director for the American Conservative Union who was previously considered a possible choice to head Trump's campaign team.
And that's not all. Lane Ruhland is mentioned in multiple reports, and for good—albeit unsettling—reason. Ruhland was recorded by regional Wisconsin reporter Matt Smith heading into an election office on Tuesday to drop off signatures required for a ballot appearance. Just last week, as Vice's Cameron Joseph noted in a report on Wednesday, Ruhland was representing the Trump campaign in federal court.
This, coupled with other recent developments, has many—including concerned fans and those whose concerns lie more strictly with the election outcome—expressing outrage against the GOP and/or anyone else who keeps encouraging any of this. Others have added that they're skeptical of giving the "spoiler campaign" argument full weight, arguing instead that the Trump team is merely scrambling ahead of the 2020 election:
Trump, meanwhile, has kept busy as of late by continuing to sow confusion and division over the pandemic at a time when those in the U.S. need a uniter more than ever.
