John Legend is convinced controversial U.S. President-elect Donald Trump only met with Kanye West for the publicity.
West headed to Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday (13Dec16) to sit down with the billionaire property mogul and reality star-turned-politician, and he later took to Twitter to reveal they had discussed “multicultural issues”.
The odd visit came as a surprise to many, including Kanye’s close pal John, who isn’t sure Trump was genuinely interested in hearing the hip-hop star’s concerns about bullying, education, and the ongoing violence in his native Chicago, Illinois.
John has been an outspoken critic of the Republican and his divisive policies for months, and he actively campaigned for Trump’s election rival Hillary Clinton.
In contrast, Kanye recently revealed he didn’t vote in the election, but if he had, he would have backed Trump to become the 45th President of the U.S.
John is “disappointed” by the rapper’s comments, and he doesn’t think much of Kanye’s get-together with Trump on Tuesday, either.
“I don’t think it’s impossible to talk to (Trump) about issues, but I won’t be used as a publicity stunt,” John told French outlet Clique. “I think Kanye was a publicity stunt.”
“I’m pretty disappointed with Kanye that he says he would have voted for Trump,” he continued. “I think Trump has been corrosive, his message has been corrosive to the country. I think the things he’s promised to do have been very concerning for a lot of people, and for Kanye to support that message is very disappointing.”
Kanye has yet to respond to John’s remarks, but on Wednesday morning (14Dec16), he revealed he had a special keepsake from his meeting with Trump – a signed copy of the business mogul’s Time magazine Person of the Year cover.
He shared a photo of the gift on Twitter, showing off a personal message Trump had added.
The note, written in silver marker pen, read, “To Kanye, You are a great friend. Thanks, Donald Trump”, with the word “great” underlined.
Kanye didn’t caption the photo, but it was clear he was proud of the souvenir.
In his tweets on Tuesday, the hip-hop star opened up about the odd get-together, stating: “I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues. 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,” he continued.
He signed off by making a cheeky reference to his own political ambitions, tweeting, “#2024”, suggesting he was putting his own ambitions to run for the White House in 2020 on hold to let Trump have his full two terms in office.
