Kanye Calls Trump His “Brother,” President Tweets His Support

Matthew Strauss
Updated
Trump on Twitter: “Thank you Kanye, very cool!”

In November 2016, Kanye West first publicly voiced his support for then President-elect Donald Trump. “I told y’all I didn’t vote, right?” he told a San Jose crowd during his Saint Pablo tour. “But if I would’ve voted, I would’ve voted on Trump.” A few weeks later, West and Trump met at New York City’s Trump Tower. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” Trump said.

Earlier today (April 25), West doubled down on his support for the President. “You don’t have to agree with Trump, but the mob can’t make me not love him,” he tweeted. “He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.” He later clarified, “My wife just called me, and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don’t agree with everything Trump does. I don’t agree 100% with anyone but myself.”

Nearly three hours after calling Trump his “brother,” Kanye West tweeted a photo of himself (with Universal Music Group Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and YouTube’s Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen) wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat. “We got love,” West captioned the photo.

Kim Kardashian West interjected, “Now when [Kanye West] spoke out about Trump... Most people (including myself) have very different feelings & opinions about this. But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions, even if really different from mine. He never said he agrees with his politics.” She added, “Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion, and we know that, and that’s why I love him and respect him, and in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing, but they aren’t labeled the way he is, and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time.”

Minutes later, Donald Trump retweeted West’s “brother” tweet, adding, “Thank you Kanye, very cool!” West followed with another tweet of the hat (“my MAGA hat is signed 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥”), a photo of a poster that reads “Keep America Great #KANYE2024,” and a photo of Trump’s tweet.

Amid his support for Trump, Kanye West has continued to indicate that he may run for U.S. President in 2024. He previously said that he planned to run for president in 2020—a claim he first made in a 2015 MTV VMAs speech. As of December 2016, however, he’s promoted 2024, suggesting that he’d like to see a two-term Trump presidency. West tweeted “2024” last night (April 24) and he called himself the “future president” in a tweet today. “Keep America Great” campaign-style posters have also begun to pop up across the United States, though it is unclear who is behind them.