page_title: Kanye West
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Kanye West / Other ventures / Politics
caption_attribution_description: English: President Donald J. Trump and Kanye West in the Oval Office, 2018-10-11.
context_page_description: Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer, and fashion designer.
  Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West was first known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several mainstream artists. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to critical and commercial success, and founded the record label GOOD Music. He experimented with a variety of musical genres on subsequent acclaimed studio albums, including Late Registration, Graduation, and 808s & Heartbreak. Drawing inspiration from maximalism and minimalism, respectively, West's fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and sixth album Yeezus were also critical successes. He went on to release The Life of Pablo, Ye, and Jesus Is King. West's discography also includes the full-length collaborations Watch the Throne and Kids See Ghosts with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi, respectively.
  West's outspoken views and life outside of music have received significant media attention.
context_section_description: In September 2012, West donated $1,000 to Barack Obama's re-election campaign, and in August 2015 he donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. He also donated $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2014.
  In September 2015, West announced that he intended to run for President of the United States in 2020. He later implied on Twitter that he intends to run for president in 2024 due to Donald Trump's win in the 2016 elections. West later confirmed this in an interview in September 2018, saying that his main political concern is health care in the United States. On December 13, 2016, West met with President-elect Trump. According to West, "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues. These issues included 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."
  West previously stated he would have voted for Trump had he voted. In February 2017, however, West deleted all his tweets about Trump in purported dislike of the new president's policies, particularly the travel ban. West reiterated his support for Donald Trump in April 2018 in a text to Ebro Darden where he said "I love Donald Trump ... I love Donald Trump." West also posted a picture wearing a Make America Great Again hat alongside a series of tweets defending President Trump. Trump later retweeted several of West's tweets.
  Following his return to Twitter in April 2018, West tweeted "I love the way Candace Owens thinks." Owens, who promotes black conservatism, praised President Trump as the savior of the Free World and criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. The tweet was met with controversy among some of West's fans.
  In May 2018, West said in an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God that he had been asked by a friend "What makes George Bush any more racist than Trump?"—possibly alluding to his previous controversial condemnation of Bush as not caring about black people. West said "racism isn't the deal breaker for me. If that was the case, I wouldn't live in America."
  During an interview with Fader in September 2018, West said he was visiting Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to possibly start a school building project.
  On October 11, 2018, West visited the Oval Office for a meeting with President Trump to discuss a range of issues. He and several other musicians watched Trump sign the Music Modernization Act. His support for Trump led to the creation of a "Donye" parody by famous artist Lushsux who painted Kanye with Trump's hair. Later in October 2018, West and his wife visited the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, a noted Trump supporter, and said they held "fruitful discussions" about promoting tourism and the arts.
  The same month, West donated $73,540 to progressive Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. The donation was the exact amount Enyia needed to pay a fine she received for not filing campaign finance reports during her abbreviated 2015 mayoral run.
  On October 26, President Trump praised West during his speech at the Young Black Leadership Summit, adding "I think Kanye may be the most powerful man in all of politics", referring to a story on West's effect on African-Americans.
  Also in the same month, West was reported to have given his support to the Blexit movement, a campaign by Owens to encourage black Americans to abandon the Democratic Party and register as Republicans. Media reports suggested West had advised on the design of the campaign's logo, and branded merchandise, including T-shirts. However, West denied being the designer and disavowed the effort, tweeting "My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!"
  In January 2019, West re-affirmed his support for President Trump. In the same year he expressed his opposition to abortion, and condemned those who wish to remove religion from the public square. In an interview with
caption: Kanye West (red cap) in the Oval Office on October 11, 2018
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