Talk about “Devil in a New Dress.†A prominent Trump associate and longtime Republican have been tied to Kanye West’s bizarre and dysfunctional presidential campaign, after New York first reported that two Republicans were helping West’s campaign in Arkansas and Vermont. Lane Ruhland — a lawyer active with the Wisconsin Republican Party (who is also currently representing the Trump campaign in a lawsuit against a local TV station) — delivered the signatures required for West to get on the Wisconsin ballot to the state election board shortly before the deadline on August 4. Wisconsin is the first battleground state West hopes to compete in. (His petition signatures still need to be verified.) “It appears that the Kanye West campaign made a smart decision by hiring an experienced election attorney,†Alesha Guenther, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Republican Party, told CNN. “We welcome Kanye West and all other candidates who qualified for ballot access to the race, and look forward to delivering Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes to President Trump.â€
Ruhland’s work with West has raised speculation about a possible conspiracy by the Trump campaign to direct Black voters away from Democratic nominee Joe Biden via West. Milwaukee Common Council president Cavalier Johnson speculated on Twitter on August 4 that Trump “and the @wisgop plan to trick enough Black people in Wisconsin to vote for @kanyewest to siphon votes from @JoeBiden.†In July, Trump himself tweeted it “shouldn’t be hard†for West to take votes from Biden, adding, “Corrupt Joe has done nothing good for Black people!†Yet on August 5, Trump responded to Republican ties to West’s campaign by telling reporters, “I have nothing to do with him being on the ballot. I’m not involved.â€