President Trump praised Kanye West on Friday for helping his approval rating with African Americans, after his support from black men surged from 11 percent to 22 percent last week, according to a Reuters tracking poll.

"Kanye West must have some power because you probably saw, I doubled my African-American poll numbers," Trump told a crowd gathered for the National Rifle Association's annual legislative conference in Dallas.

"Thank you, Kanye," he added.

The hip-hop legend revealed in a series of tweets last week that he supports the Trump administration and was disappointed by former President Barack Obama's inability to curb the violence and poverty in his hometown of Chicago during his eight years in office.

"You don't have to agree with Trump but the mob can't make me not love him," West said. "We are both dragon energy. He is my brother."

According to the Reuters poll, Trump's approval rating doubled the week that West came out in support of him. Additionally, the number of black men who said they had "mixed feelings" about the president went from 1.5 percent to 7.1 percent in the same week.