NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 13: (L to R) President-elect Donald Trump and Kanye West stand together in the lobby at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Kanye West doesn’t seem phased by the backlash levied against him by fans and friends for meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
A day after the hip-hop mogul’s meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in New York, West on Wednesday tweeted a signed copy of TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” issue with Trump on the cover.
“To Kanye You are a great friend Thanks,” the front cover reads, followed by Trump’s signature.
This is the latest sign that West has some sort of admiration for the President-elect and is ready to work with him on issues that the rapper cares about, particularity the poverty and the violence that have plagued his native Chicago.
West tweeted that the meeting, which was requested by the rapper, was an opportunity for the rapper to discuss “multicultural issues.”
“These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago,” West tweeted.
“I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change,” he added.
West, who famously accused President George W. Bush in 2005 of not caring about black people, shocked fans in California last month when he abruptly ended a concert with a rant in which he proclaimed that had he voted, he would have voted for Trump.
“I told y’all I didn’t vote, right?” Kanye said. “But if I would’ve voted, I would’ve voted for Trump.”
John Legend, who has been signed to West’s label G.O.O.D. Music since 2004, slammed the meeting in an interview with French outlet “Clique” and said that West allowed Trump to use him as a “publicity stunt.”
“I’m pretty disappointed with Kanye that he says he would have voted for Trump. I think Trump has been corrosive, his message has been corrosive to the country,” Legend said.
Legend and his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, were outspoken supporters of Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 election.
Rapper YG, who became an outspoken Trump critic in 2016, tweeted a photo of West’s meeting with Trump with angry emojis.
“Black Lives Matter” activist Deray Mckesson also lamented the meeting, slamming Trump for having conversations with black celebrities as opposed to black media and activists.
Meanwhile, rapper ASAP Ferg voiced support for West’s decision to meet with Trump, calling the rapper’s move “strategic not stupid.”
“I think @kanyewest was right today for meeting up with trump !!! You need to know where this man head is at !!! He rules your nation,” the rapper tweeted.
West, who famously declared a 2020 presidential bid during a bizarre rant at the 2015 MTV VMA’s, followed up his tweets about the meeting with a tweet that simply reads “#2024” — apparently removing the possibility he would run against Trump were he to seek re-election in four years.
