Rapper Kanye West described what it was like for him to be a supporter of President Trump in Hollywood Thursday night, but struggled to answer why he believed Mr. Trump cared about black people.

During an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the host pointed out Mr. West’s criticisms of former President George W. Bush for not caring about the black community. Mr. Kimmel then asked how Mr. West could support Mr. Trump in light of those past comments.

Mr. West didn’t answer right away, so Mr. Kimmel cut to commercial, “Why don’t we take a break.”

Other than that moment of silence, Mr. West didn’t hesitate to tout his support for Mr. Trump in the face of pushback from his friends and family.

“Everyone around me tried to pick my candidate for me,” said Mr. West, who is married to reality-show star Kim Kardashian West. “And then told me every time I said I liked Trump that I couldn’t say it out loud or my career would be over, I’d be kicked out of my community.”

Mr. West described how he was vocal about being a fan of Mr. Trump up until his stint at the hospital for psychiatric care in 2016. He said the experience stripped his confidence and it took over a year to wear his MAGA hat again.

“It represented overcoming fear and saying, ‘You can’t bully me.’ Liberals can’t bully me. News can’t bully me. The hip-hop community can’t bully me,” he said.

Mr. West shocked Hollywood in April when he praised the president on social media.

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