While addressing the crowd at a show in San Jose last night (November 17), Kanye West gave an after-the-fact endorsement to Donald Trump.
The rapper and 2020 presidential hopeful admitted that he didn't vote in the American election earlier this month, but told fans that if he had cast his ballot it would've been in support of Trump. He referred to the president-elect's "non-political methods to speaking" as "futuristic" and "entertaining," claiming that it proved more effective than traditionally political rhetoric.
"I actually think that his approach was absolutely genius," West said. "Because it fucking worked!"
He continued: "Sometimes things that you might think are bad need to happen, in order for change to fucking happen. Sometimes you might have to not get your way to really understand what to do in the future, to be able to get your way."
Continuing the one-sided political discussion, West urged black people to "stop focusing on racism."
"This world is racist, okay? Let's stop being distracted to focus on that as much. It's just a fucking fact," he told his fans. "We are in a racist country, period … And not one or the other candidate was gonna instantly be able to change that because of their views."
He also reiterated his plans to run come next election season, and perhaps laying the groundwork for his upcoming campaign, shared some thoughts on how he would reform the educational system and insisted that experience was not the most important asset for an effective politician to have.
Kanye also said: "That don't mean that I don't think that Black Lives Matter. That don't mean I don't think that I'm a believer in women's rights. That don't mean I don't believe in gay marriage. That don't mean that I don't believe in these things because that was the guy I would've voted for."
Watch footage from the controversial speech below.
The rapper and 2020 presidential hopeful admitted that he didn't vote in the American election earlier this month, but told fans that if he had cast his ballot it would've been in support of Trump. He referred to the president-elect's "non-political methods to speaking" as "futuristic" and "entertaining," claiming that it proved more effective than traditionally political rhetoric.
"I actually think that his approach was absolutely genius," West said. "Because it fucking worked!"
He continued: "Sometimes things that you might think are bad need to happen, in order for change to fucking happen. Sometimes you might have to not get your way to really understand what to do in the future, to be able to get your way."
Continuing the one-sided political discussion, West urged black people to "stop focusing on racism."
"This world is racist, okay? Let's stop being distracted to focus on that as much. It's just a fucking fact," he told his fans. "We are in a racist country, period … And not one or the other candidate was gonna instantly be able to change that because of their views."
He also reiterated his plans to run come next election season, and perhaps laying the groundwork for his upcoming campaign, shared some thoughts on how he would reform the educational system and insisted that experience was not the most important asset for an effective politician to have.
Kanye also said: "That don't mean that I don't think that Black Lives Matter. That don't mean I don't think that I'm a believer in women's rights. That don't mean I don't believe in gay marriage. That don't mean that I don't believe in these things because that was the guy I would've voted for."
Watch footage from the controversial speech below.
"I would have voted for Trump." - Kanye West pic.twitter.com/g9qxaT7aRc
— billy (@billycrossover) November 18, 2016
Kanye West tonight speaking on racism in America. "Specifically to black people, stop talking about race so much." pic.twitter.com/HTWlJgdq7E
— Brandon E. Patterson (@myblackmindd) November 18, 2016