Republican President Donald Trump praised Kanye West and said he believes the rapper still supports him, two days after West said he does not support the president any longer.
“He is always going to be for us, and his wife is going to be for us,” Trump said during a phone interview broadcast on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Thursday.
West has been an open supporter of Trump for years and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, lobbied the Republican to sign the First Step Act and enact other criminal justice reforms.
West, 44, said in an interview published Wednesday that he is running for president and asked Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden to drop out.
Rapper Kanye West attends the WSJ Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at MOMA in New York City on Nov. 6, 2019. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
West made comments about Trump during the interview.
The Trump administration “looks like one big mess to me,” West said. “I don’t like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker.” He also said the interview marked him taking off the red hat, a reference to the “Make America Great Again” hats that some Trump supporters don.
Trump on Thursday called West “a very good guy” and someone with whom he gets along with.
“At the end I think he would support us over anyone else, we have to stop the radical left from taking over our country,“ the president said. ”But, you know, if he does or not—look, we have to stop the radical left from taking over our country.”
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's Schools," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020. Alex Brandon/AP Photo
Trump’s campaign responded to a request for a response to West but didn’t ultimately send a statement. Biden’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for a response.
The president noted that West missed the filing deadline for some states but West told Forbes that he has lawyers exploring whether he can join the race despite missing deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump also said his second-term agenda includes defeating the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, rebuilding the economy, bringing back jobs from overseas, making more trade deals, and finishing the rebuilding of the wall along America’s southern border.
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
