In calls and texts with The New York Times, and in other recent comments, Mr. West made clear he believes he will become president — eventually — but said almost nothing about what he actually wanted to do if elected. Indeed, Mr. West’s curio candidacy has confused many fans and voters alike. His party is called the Birthday Party. His first piece of campaign art included pictures of that well-known populist Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, and of the actress Kirsten Dunst, who was puzzled. (“What’s the message here,” she tweeted, “and why am I apart of it?”)…

Mr. West has a bare-bones platform, focusing on general objectives like reforming the police, reducing household and student loan debt, and “restoring prayer in the classroom,” with each point reinforced by a bit of scripture. In discussions, the topic he brought up most was his opposition to abortion. He does not, however, want to ban abortion.

“You can’t do that,” he said in a phone call. “I don’t want to ban or stop or point fingers at anything.” Instead, he said he supported “stipends for families that need support, creating orphanages that are really high-level desirable for people to go to, and the redesign of communities and cities in general to be supporting of families.”