Kanye West Says He's Voting for Donald Trump in the 2020 Election: "What's the Point of Being a Celebrity if You Can't Have an Opinion?"
In a new interview, Kanye West talked politics, his infamous Geroge Bush comment, and Sunday Service being "the Wu-Tang Clan of choirs."
Kanye West famously didn't vote in the 2016 election. He's voting in the upcoming 2020 election. And he has made it clear who he'll be voting for — President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday GQ released its latest cover story, which features West being photographed from one of his massive Wyoming Ranches. The story covers a good amount of ground, from his faith to his billion dollar Yeezyempire to new music. But the most interesting moment came when he started talking about politics. Although he doesn't say his name outright, Kanye West indicates that he will be voting for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
During the interview Kanye said:
I'm definitely voting this time. And we know who I'm voting on. And I'm not going 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! Jesus Is King was No. 1! I was told my career would end if I wasn't with her. 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? Everybody make their own opinion! You know?
Before he revealed who he was voting for, Kanye West made a point to mention that it's better buy property now than it was under Barack Obama:
I buy real estate. It's better now than when Obama was in office. They don't teach you in school about buying property. They teach you how to become somebody's property.
This should not be surprising to anyone. Kanye West has become one of Trump's loudest black supporters, posing with Donald Trump, wearing the "Make America Great Again" hat, downplaying some of Trump's controversies, and more. (The Trump family has also returned the support.)
At one point in the interview he reflects on his infamous “George Bush doesn't care about black people” statement after Hurricane Katrina rocked New Orleans. In the interview, Kanye said that it was a "victim statement." He also adds: "This white person didn't do something for us. That is stemmed in victim mentality. Every day I have to look in the mirror like I'm Robert De Niro and tell myself, 'You are not a slave.' As outspoken as I am, and the position that I am in, I need to tell myself."
When asked how he juxtaposes that comment with wearing the MAGA hat, Kanye said:
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. When it's said like that, it's kind of obvious, right? 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 gonna vote on because of my color.
Kanye also talked about his journey with Christian music. More specifically, he spoke about his latest album, Jesus is King, and his Sunday Service choir. At one point he calls Sunday Service "the Wu-Tang Clan of choirs." When asked why Kanye said:
Because when you first heard Wu-Tang, it sounded completely different. It sounded more aggressive. It even sounded—I think artists are so concerned with perfectionism. All these people say Dark Fantasy was this album that was so good, and then people didn't like 808s, they didn't like Yeezus. Dark Fantasy, I just made it to that level because people were saying my career was going to be over. I always felt like “Power” was my weakest first single that I ever had, because I felt like it was bowing to the expectations.
Check out the entire interview here.