People might want to re-think that whole idea of Kanye West running for president in 2020. The controversy seeking hit maker delivered a 40-minute political speech to a stunned audience at his show in San Jose, California, in which he declared, “I would have voted for Trump.”
Unfortunately, there isn’t a full recording of the speech, which took place right in the middle of West’s concert and reportedly drew boos. However, a number of snippets captured the most-surprising comments, including the line about voting for the New York real estate mogul turned president. One fan even threw a shoe at West, from his Yeezy line nonetheless. West being West, he reportedly signed the show and tossed it back to the disgruntled fan.
And apparently the strange admiration is mutual. “I’ll never say bad about him, because he loves Trump,” the president-elect said in an interview earlier this year. “He goes around saying Trump is my all-time hero. He says it to everybody. So Kanye West, I love him.”
The shocking revelation from West immediately went viral, with his name becoming the top-trending term on Twitter amidst a backlash from thousands of fans who said they were now questioning their loyalty to the award-winning producer, rapper and designer.
However, West did apparently go out of his way to make it clear he’s not actually a fan of Trump’s platform but rather was impressed by his ability to disrupt the political system with his wildly unconventional campaign, calling it a “paradigm shift.”
West added that one benefit of Trump’s dangerous rhetoric was that it, “inspired racists to reveal themselves.”
The Life of Pablo star also noted that while he “would have” voted for Trump he didn’t, because he didn’t actually vote.
Still, the 39-year-old Atlanta native who once infamously declared that former President George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black people,” assured the sold out crowd that, “Whether you voted for Hillary or Trump, this is a safe space for both of you.”
West also reportedly said he’s still interested in running for president in 2020, a notion that sounds a lot less like a celebrity stunt than it did even six months ago. As we near the official start of a Trump presidency, it’s clear that literally anyone can become president.
