Donald Trump tells Swedish Prime Minister he’ll “personally vouch” for ASAP Rocky
At the urging of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian-West, President Donald Trump has become personally involved in ASAP Rocky’s legal case in Sweden. (Try explaining that sentence to someone from 2012.)
The Harlem-born rapper was arrested earlier this month after a street altercation in Stockholm. On Friday, a judge granted prosecutors’ request for additional time so that they can complete their investigation. Prosecutors argued that ASAP Rocky should remain in custody “because of the flight risk.” They now have until July 25th to charge him with a crime.
On Friday afternoon, Trump confirmed that he had spoken to Kanye about Rocky’s incarceration. “I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!”
Just spoke to @KanyeWest about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration. I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019
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On Saturday, Trump did just that. He apparently personally vouched for the rapper and offered to guarantee his bail. “@SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$AP Rocky will be treated fairly,” Trump tweeted. “Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!”
Just had a very good call with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$AP Rocky will be treated fairly. Likewise, I assured him that A$AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2019
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….Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2019
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A few things to note. Critics of Trump contend that he is using ASAP Rocky’s case as a way to deflect from his overt racist acts that have dogged his presidency over the last week. Additionally, as TMZ points out, Trump’s involvement may be too little too late for Rocky. Earlier on Friday, prosecutors in Sweden sent out a press release announcing that they intended to indict. They later said the press release was sent by mistake and they had yet to make a final decision on the rapper, but TMZ reports that Rocky’s legal team has already accepted that he’ll be indicted within the next week.
For his part, it doesn’t appear Swedish Prime Minister Löfven is all that interested in getting involved. He called Trump’s request for a conversation “certainly positive,” but added: “I will explain that the Swedish judicial system is independent. In Sweden, everyone is equal before the law, and this includes visitors from other countries.”
Meanwhile, Justin Bieber has thanked Trump for “trying to help him. But while you’re at it, can you let those kids out of cages?”
I want my friend out.. I appreciate you trying to help him. But while your at it @realDonaldTrump can you also let those kids out of cages?
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 20, 2019
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Donald Trump tells Swedish Prime Minister he’ll “personally vouch” for ASAP Rocky
Alex Young