Kanye West said that he contacted Colin Kaepernick to arrange a meeting with President Donald Trump to clear the air.
“I love it. You asked me the perfect question. You set me up to win,” West said.
“We never give up on anyone. We never give up on anyone. Now let me even make that more positive: We move forward, we give love, we keep going, we keep having the conversation until the conversation turns to love.”
West had made efforts to bring that conversation straight to the White House.
“I’ve been calling Colin this morning, reaching him so I can bring Colin to the White House and we can remove that ‘sons of b-----‘ statement, and we can be on the same page,” West told TMZ Live on Oct. 1.
West was referring to Trump’s use of “sons of b-----” when the president again criticized NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem. Trump was giving a speech on Sept. 21 at a rally for Republican Senator Luther Strange, who is running to remain in the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Kaepernick first garnered attention for protesting the national anthem at a preseason game on Aug. 26, 2016. By kneeling or sitting during the national anthem, Kaepernick explained he was protesting what he perceived to be oppression against black people and issues of police brutality. Later on, NFL players and athletes in other sports joined the protest.
Beyond the Protest
Kaepernick has since engaged in other forms of protest like wearing pig police officer socks to football practice.“I think the league is in a downward spiral regarding their obligations to the public under [Commissioner] Roger Goodell,” added Johnson, “and this is just another example of that.”
Kaepernick responded to Johnson’s comment on Twitter by saying that his socks are meant to single out the “rogue cops” that tarnish the public reputation of police officers. He added that it puts police officers with the “right intentions in danger by creating an environment of tension and mistrust.”