Jared Kushner met privately with Kanye West, reports say

Kanye West met with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner last weekend, according to a new report, after launching a presidential campaign that he has openly indicated was aiming to siphon votes from Joe Biden.

The artist announced a presidential campaign earlier this year that has faced significant legal battles amid reports of seemingly-identical signatures on petitions which West created for his name to appear on state ballots in the November election.

He has received help from GOP operatives, and he reportedly “expressed comfort” with his campaign undermining the former vice president’s bid for the White House in a recent interview with Forbes.

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When asked by the magazine about possibly hurting the presumptive Democratic nominee’s odds of unseating President Donald Trump in the upcoming vote, West replied: “I’m not denying it; I just told you.”

He also said Mr Trump was “the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation” in that same interview.

The meeting, first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday, took place in Colorado last weekend.

Ivanka Trump, Mr Kushner’s wife and a senior adviser to her father, was also in Colorado recently to campaign for Senator Cory Gardner, though she travelled to Rocky Mountain National Park and Greenwood Village — both a far distance from where the meeting with West took place in Telluride.

The news comes as Mr Biden was expected to appear later in the day for the first time with his newly-announced running mate, Senator Kamala Harris.

Meanwhile, reports from across the country revealed groups were working to fill petitions for West, with some organisers stating their end-game was to “help Trump”.

In Montana, the Billings Gazette reported on how one group was outside of the Yellowstone County Courthouse telling passersby: “You want to help Trump? We’re trying to take votes away from creepy Uncle Joe.”

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West has already stirred controversy along the campaign trail, claiming abolitionist and former slave Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves” but instead made them “work for other white people” in a contentious speech.

The artist appeared to be having a public breakdown, with his wife addressing his mental health issues in a statement posted to social media at the time.

“As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand,” Kim Kardashian-West wrote. "I've never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye's right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because off the stigma and misconceptions about mental health."

"I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions," she added. "He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."