Donald Trump says he and Kanye West have been friends ‘a long time’, telling reporters at Trump Tower the pair spoke about ‘life’ during brief meeting

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Kanye West met Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Tuesday morning, with the president-elect telling reporters they spoke about “life”.

West arrived at 9.13am and then he and Trump emerged from the tower’s gold elevator together around at around 9.53am and posed for photos in front of the waiting media.

When asked what they spoke about, Trump replied: “Just friends, just friends. He’s a good man.”

Later in the day, West tweeted that he he met with the president-elect to discuss “multicultural issues” including bullying, education, and violence in his hometown of Chicago.

KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.

KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.

West received a lot of criticism online from his fans because of the meeting. On Twitter, he said he felt a relationship with the incoming president was important “if we truly want change”.

KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.

West often addresses issues relating to politics and race relations in the US. He previously claimed that he would run for president in 2020, first at the Video Music Awards in 2015, then in his lyrics for Facts on his almbum The Life of Pablo: “2020 I’ma run the whole election.” However, his focus now seems to have shifted to 2024.

KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) #2024

Trump did not answer questions about whether West would perform at his inauguration – the president-elect has reportedly been struggling to find any willing high-profile artists – and said the two had been friends a “long time”.

“Life. We discussed life,” said Trump, who has been running his presidential transition process from the Manhattan skyscraper where he lives.

West said: “I’m just here to take a picture right now,” and ignored reporters’ other questions.

The pair then dapped, and Trump said: “So long, man. You take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.”

Pool reporter Tal Kopan posted a video of the interaction on Instagram:

Donald Trump and Kanye West talk to the media. Trump said they've been friends "a long time" and Kanye said he just wanted to take a picture. A video posted by Tal Kopan (@talkopan) on Dec 13, 2016 at 7:01am PST

At a concert in San Jose on 17 November, West said that if he had voted in the presidential election – which he had not – he would have backed Trump.

“I would’ve voted on Trump,” said West, while many in the audience booed.



“I don’t think his approach was just entertaining, because that trivializes it, I actually think his approach was absolutely genius because it fucking worked,” said West.

According to one concertgoer, West also said that Trump’s election campaign “inspired racists to reveal themselves”.

“This is the beginning,” West said, according to one attendee, adding: “Neither candidate would fix racism in this country.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kanye West arrives at Trump Tower with his entourage on Tuesday morning. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Just three days later, West checked into the UCLA medical center, suffering from exhaustion and lack of sleep, and spent a week there receiving mental health treatment.



His wife, Kim Kardashian, who has made no public appearances since a robbery in Paris in October, where she was tied up and robbed of millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry, was not with him for his arrival at Trump Tower. His entourage included a videographer. Trump’s daughter Ivanka was also there.