Kanye West met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, where the ‘I Love It’ rapper gave a jaw-dropping performance.
West didn’t rap. But, seated across from Trump at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, the musician delivered a 10-minute rant Thursday that touched on social issues, hydrogen planes, mental health, endorsement deals, politics and oh so much more.
West dropped the F-word, floated policy proposals and even went in for a hug.
“They tried to scare me to not wear this hat,” West said of his red “Make America Great Again”(MAGA) cap. But, he said, “This hat, it gives me power in a way.”
Addressing the topic, West said he had at one point been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but was later told by a neuropsychologist he’d been misdiagnosed.
“So he said that I actually wasn’t bipolar; I had sleep deprivation, which could cause dementia 10 to 20 years from now, where I wouldn’t even remember my son’s name,” he said.
The encounter between the two sparked reactions on social media from many celebrities. Some were criticizing West’s rant and others were questioning the entire meeting itself and how it is taking away from more pressing matters.
Ike Barinholtz, who played Nurse Morgan Tookers on The Mindy Project, called the meeting “the world’s stupidest lunch with Kid Rock and Kanye West.”
Talk show host Montel Williams wanted to remind everyone that having West at the White House “was exploitive.”
“Saudia Arabia just whacked a lawful US resident, the strongest hurricane (pressure wise) in modern history hit FL – @realDonaldTrump is ranting on @FoxNews, and trying to spin @Olivianuzzi,” Williams wrote.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Chelsea Peretti wrote: “hell on earth.”
Rapper T.I. wrote a lengthy Instagram post where he branded the meeting as the “most repulsive, disgraceful, embarrassing act of desperation & auctioning off of one’s soul to gain power I’ve ever seen.”
“This s**t is next level, futuristic Sambo, Hopping Bob, Stephen off Django [Unchained] ass s**t… [Kanye is] ass kissing and boot licking on a whole new level,” he said.
“If you listen closely you can hear the tears of our ancestors hit the floor… I’ve reached my limits. This is my stop, I’m officially done,” T.I. wrote.
Chelsea Handler joined the conversation to criticize the interaction. “Kanye West says he thinks of Trump as a father. Guess who doesn’t think of Kanye as a son?” she tweeted.
Holding out his phone, West showed Trump a picture of a hydrogen-powered plane that he thought should replace Air Force One.
“This right here is the iPlane 1,” he said. “This is what our president should be flying.”
Added West: “If he don’t look good, we don’t look good. This is our president. He has to be the freshest, the flyest” and have “the flyest planes.”
Actor Frankie Boyle wrote: “A few years ago Kanye visiting Donald Trump in the Oval Office to show him designs of a hydrogen powered plane would have been a suggestion shouted out at an improv night.”
Billy Eichner took aim at former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves and other news organizations for benefit from the ratings they receive from Trump and West content.
Actor George Takei tweeted: “Just when you think we can’t sink any lower, Kanye West is in the Oval Office talking to reporters. By the way, Mr Trump, there was a really bad hurricane.”
West is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who successfully pushed Trump to grant a pardon to a drug offender earlier this year.
West himself has suggested he might be open to wading into politics, including a run for president in 2020.
Asked if West could be a future presidential candidate on Thursday, Trump said, “Could very well be.” West shot back, “Only after 2024.”
After all that, the president brought the show to a close by suggesting, “Let’s go have some lunch, OK?”
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