‘I like him. He’s always been very nice to me,’ Trump said, praising the rapper-producer who appeared with him at the White House in 2018 and sported his trademark red Make America Great Again hat.
But Trump denied a role in West’s latest actions.
‘No, not at all. No, not at all. Other than I get along with him very well. I like him. I like his wife. His wife recommended certain people as you know for, including Alice Johnson who’s a fantastic woman,’ Trump continued, praising Kim Kardashian and pointing to her successful push for Trump to grant clemency for her life sentence on a drug conviction.
The president briefly veered into a discussion about prison reform.
‘But his wife recommended certain people to get out of prison. They were in prison for a long time. A long, long time. And should have never happened. And I took what she said very strong – Kim Kardashian,’ Trump continued. ‘And she’s got a good heart. A very good heart. And I like Kanye very much.’
Then he added: ‘No, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot.’
The president briefly mulled how having West’s name on the ballot might impact his race against Democrat Joe Biden, then stopped short.
‘We’ll have to see what happens. We’ll see if he gets on the ballot. But i’m not involved,’ he concluded.
Trump’s 2016 victory came in a year when Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Gary Johnson were on the ballot, with a late push by Evan McMullen to try to throw a wrench into the outcome.
The president’s comments come as a series of GOP officials have been tied to West’s effort.
West turned in ballot petitions Tuesday in Wisconsin, a critical swing state that Trump carried narrowly in 2016 where Biden is leading in public polls. (Daily Mail)
