In an exclusive interview with GQ magazine, Kanye West implied he will be voting for President Donald Trump in the upcoming 2020 election in November.
“I’m definitely voting this time,” the singer said. “And we know who I’m voting on. And I’m not going to to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I’m still here.”
West described how people in the music industry told him releasing a Gospel album could hinder his fame, as could endorsing President Trump’s agenda. West’s Gospel album was number one on the charts.
“Jesus Is King was number one. I was told my career would end if I wasn’t ‘with her,’” West said, referencing Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan in 2016. “What kind of campaign is that, anyway? That’s like if Obama’s campaign was ‘I’m with black.’ What’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t have an opinion?”
After pressing West on wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and meeting with Trump, the reporter asked West why he would do that with a large following and as a black man. West said his parents fought hard for the freedoms he enjoys now.
“Both my parents were freedom fighters, and they used to drink from fountains they were told they couldn’t drink from, and they used to sit in restaurants where they were told they couldn’t eat from. They didn’t fight for me to be told by white people which white person I can vote on,” West said.
West continued to say he thinks the mainstream media — largely run by white people — are emotionally tempting people of color to join the Democratic Party, instead of encouraging them to think freely about candidates.
“Black people are controlled by emotions through the media. The media puts musicians, artists, celebrities, actors in a position to be the face of the race, that really don’t have any power and really are just working for white people,” West said. “We emotionally connect to someone of our color on TV and feel that this person is speaking for us. So let me say this: I am the founder of a $4 billion organization, one of the most Google-searched brands on the planet, and I will not be told who I’m going to vote on because of my color.”
West said if that speaks to his audience, great, and if not, he doesn’t care.
When the reporter pressed West on his former statement that, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” West chalked his words up to a “victim mentality.”
“‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people’ is a victim statement,” West said. “That is stemmed in a victim mentality.”
Finally, West alluded to his discomfort with the Left’s hate for billionaires. He claims being shamed or not being allowed to be a billionaire is not freedom.
“I remember when I became a billionaire I was told not to say out loud that I was a billionaire. What? What is the point of being a billionaire if you can’t even say it out loud? We’re not completely free yet,” West said.
