Killer Mike Shows Support For Kanye West’s Meeting With Trump

Kanye West may have lost a few fans when he met with then president-elect Donald Trump in 2016 at Trump Tower, but rapper Killer Mike has his back. During a recent interview, the “Run The Jewels” rapper defended Kanye’s decision to meet with Trump and said it “didn’t bother him.”

Speaking with England’s Channel 4, the rapper asked “why wouldn’t you” meet with Trump. “Black people shouldn’t have permanent friends or enemies, they shouldn’t have permanent interest.”

The “Talk to Me” rapper went on to say if Martin Luther King Jr. never met with Alabama governor George Wallace, than he wouldn’t have changed him. “If it wasn’t for Dr. Martin Luther King being willing to meet with people like 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.”

Killer Mike also said Kanye’s meeting with Trump wasn’t as important as NFL legend Jim Brown meeting with him, which occurred around the same time. “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.”

In a series of now-deleted tweets following his meeting with Trump, Kanye West said he met with him to discuss “multicultural issues.” The rapper tweeted, “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.”

The meeting also led to Kanye leaving with a gift of a signed copy of Time’s Person of the Year magazine cover featuring Trump. “To Kanye, you are a great friend. Thanks, Donald Trump,” it read. The photo of the autograph has also been deleted from the rapper’s Twitter account.