Kanye West dramatically met President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to talk about ‘bullying’ and ‘violence in Chicago’ – then hinted he would run for the White House too.
From Daily Mail
West was cleared by the Secret Service to meet Trump despite concerns he had been under a pyschiatric hold in a California hospital until last week – then he handed the next leader of the free world a book of photos of nudes and people in hoodies and tattoos.
After the meeting West used Twitter to disclose that he had wanted to discuss ‘multicultural issues’, which he said were ‘bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago’.
‘I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change,’ he said.
Finally he tweeted: ‘#2024.’
The 15-minute meeting, however, did not include a request or an offer to perform at the presidential inauguration next month, TMZ reported.
Instead, Trump said, they talked about ‘life’ – and he happily posed, giving his signature thumbs-up, with Kanye and his daughter Ivanka in his personal office.
Then Trump descended to the lobby of Trump Tower to say goodbye to West, an honor he has extended to just one other visitor, and to none of the people he interviewed about top-level posts in his administration.
‘We’re just friends, just friends. He’s a good man. Going well. Long time – We’ve been friends for a long time,’ Trump said. ‘Life, we discussed life.’
Kanye – who until last week was in hospital in Los Angeles recovering from a reported nervous breakdown – did not respond to questions about whether he would run in 2020 and said: ‘I just want you to take my picture right now.’As Kanye left Trump said: ‘Man, you take care of yourself, I’ll see you soon.’
It was a reference to the rapper’s hospitalization due to a nervous breakdown. The Secret Service had assessed that West was not a threat to the president-elect’s personal safety, TMZ reported.
The title of the book which Kanye brought is unclear. A source told TMZ that it would not be going on the Trump office’s coffee table – possibly in reference to its content.
Trump had also brought his daughter Ivanka down to see off West and she was to the side as they embraced.
Reports on the outcome of the meeting differed. E! News suggested West wanted to discuss becoming ‘an ambassador of sorts’ while Trump was interested in him taking an ‘entrepreunerial leadership role’.
TMZ however said there was no discussion of possible roles – and instead that West wants to meet Trump again to discuss promoting peace on the streets of Chicago, where the murder rate has soared.
West’s Tweets confirmed that was the original intention of the meeting – although not whether it had been the outcome.
West, who was born and brought up in Chicago, was said to have planned two meetings, one without a focus on Chicago and the next raising how he can help bring down the murder rate himself.
There has been no independent confirmation from the Trump transition team of the nature of the discussion.
The rapper had swept into Trump Tower with an entourage which included his mother-in-law’s 35-year-old boyfriend shortly after 9am for the meeting with the man he recently called a ‘genius’.TMZ reported that the meeting was at Kanye’s request and that Trump had agreed to it.
The 39-year-old, who until last week had been recovering from a nervous breakdown in hospital in Los Angeles having been hopsitalized on 21 November, was taken upstairs without speaking to reporters.
Trump’s transition team is currently looking for performers at the inauguration on January 20, and the addition of one of rap’s biggest names would clearly be a huge coup.
Trump’s inaugural committee is hoping to attract some star power to the presidential inauguration in January, but efforts are reportedly coming up short.
A Hollywood source told TheWrap that the inaugural committee was talking to Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Lee Greenwood and possibly Garth Brooks, who told TMZ that he’s open to the idea of performing.
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