Politics

Kanye West's Response to the Election Is Striking a Nerve

November 18th 2016

Kanye West is known for his shocking statements and bizarre tweets, but people on Twitter are furious about a comment he made about the recent presidential election. The Chicago rapper said that he didn't vote, but if he did, he would have voted for President-elect Donald Trump.

"I told ya'll I didn't vote, right? But I didn't tell you, I guess I told you. But If I would have voted I would have voted on Trump," said West Thursday at a concert for his "Saint Pablo" tour in San Jose, California.

The music producer also iterated on his claim that he may run for president in 2020.

"I'm concerned about putting our concept of how to do the [president's] job in a new way and if no one will do it in that way, I will take position in 2020 and do it myself," he said.

People on Twitter were shocked that "The Life of Pablo" rapper made a supportive statement about Trump.

Other Twitter users compared past statements the 39-year-old made about social justice issues to his comments on Thursday.

West had a high-profile moment of racial activism in 2005.

Former President George W. Bush and his administration received huge backlash and criticism for what many considered a slow response time to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed more than 1,800 people.

During a live television celebrity fundraiser for Katrina relief, West went off script while standing next to a stunned Mike Meyers.

“I hate the way they portray us in the media,” West said to the camera. “If you see a black family, it says, ‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’ And you know that it’s been five days because most of the people are black."

He finished with the now-famous line, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people."

However, the Yeezy designer's full history on social justice issues has been mixed, at best.

West wrote a lyric in his 2016 song "Famous" about having sex with Taylor Swift.

"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why, I made that bitch famous / God damn / I made that bitch famous."

Swift's fans and supporters thought the lyric was misogynist and disrespectful. However, it was later revealed that Swift seemingly gave West permission to put the lyric in the song in a recorded conversation.

West also wrote a controversial tweet in regards to Bill Cosby's sexual assault case in February.

While his latest comments shocked his fans, West is just the latest rapper to show disillusioned views on race and politics.

In an ABC News interview that aired Nov. 1, rapper Lil Wayne said that he didn't "feel connected" to Black Lives Matter and it had "nothing to do" with him. He apologized the day after the story aired.

West's "Saint Pablo" tour will run through the rest of the year.

RELATED: There's Another Controversy Involving Kanye and Taylor Swift, and It's Awful

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