Late last year, Kanye West was criticized after voicing support for the newly elected president Trump and later meeting him at Trump Tower. Killer Mike has now defended the latter decision, in a Run the Jewels interview with the UK’s Channel 4. Mike said the meeting “didn’t bother” him. “Why wouldn’t you?” he continued. “Black people shouldn’t have permanent friends or enemies, they should have permanent interest. If it wasn’t for Dr. Martin Luther King being willing to meet with people like [governor] George Wallace, George Wallace would have not have ended up—starting as a racist bigot [and ending] as a person who found God in some way, [and] appointed more blacks to his office than any other governor since him.” See a clip below and an extended segment here.

Mike also contrasted Kanye’s Trump meeting with that of NFL player Jim Brown: “A musician meeting a presidential candidate isn’t important to me like Jim Brown,” he said. “Jim Brown, for the last 50 years, has fought against the oppression of all people. Him sitting with President Trump was a significant thing for me, because I know on the other side of the table he was telling the truth.”

After the Trump meeting last year, Kanye tweeted—then deleted—several statements explaining the reasons behind the meeting. “I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues,” one of the deleted tweets read. “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.”