In news we really don’t know what to do with: Kanye West is meeting with President-Elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower this morning. What’s this about? Is West going to be the one non-Ted Nugent musician to play the inauguration? Is the rapper angling for a cabinet position, perhaps to facilitate his future presidential run? Are we all being trolled? (That last one seems the most plausible, to be honest.)
When asked by a member of the press what the two discussed, Trump said: “Life.” Because there’s no better time for a catch up with an old buddy than when you’re picking who will run the government for the next four years. West refused to answer any questions, saying that he only wanted to pose for photographs.
Jason Miller, the communications director for the Trump transition team, commented on the rendezvous to The Daily Beast, spouting talk of “putting together coalitions” and Trump’s desire to “reach out to people both from traditional and nontraditional political viewpoints.” Miller also noted that West has said some good things about Trump, and we all know how Trump likes flattery. West did indeed tell an audience in November that he didn’t vote, but would have cast his ballot for Trump if he had. Shortly following those statements, West canceled the rest of his Saint Pablo tour and was subsequently hospitalized for exhaustion.
West’s visit to Trump Tower comes just as news emerged that Trump selected Rick Perry—who once forgot the name of the Energy Department when listing agencies he wanted to get rid of—as secretary of energy.
Update: This afternoon West tweeted about his visit, saying that he went to talk about “multicultural issues.” He also appeared to indicate that he’s now looking at a 2024 run for president, we guess because he assumes we’re getting eight years of Trump.
I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016
These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016
I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016
#2024
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016
This marks the first time West has posted to his Twitter account since October.