Celebs React To Kanye's Meeting With Trump

One day historians will ask, "Do you remember where you were during the Kanye West and Donald Trump meeting in the Oval Office?" We sure will, won't we friends? As one of President Trump's highest-profile celebrity supporters, rapper Kanye West attended a lunch at the White House on Oct. 11, 2018. Also at that meeting with the president: Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Kid Rock, and NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown.

When it was West's turn to speak, he launched into an expletive-laden and somewhat bizarre ten-minute stream of consciousness that touched on topics such as race relations in America, tax breaks, criminal justice, mental health reform, and Chicago. He even managed to namedrop his brand, Yeezy.

West also discussed his "Make America Great Again" hat — the signature fashion statement of Trump supporters. "They tried to scare me, my friends to not wear this hat, but this hat, it gives me power in a way. You know, my dad and my mom separated, so I didn't have a lot of male energy in my home," West said. "There was something about when I put this hat on it made me feel like Superman. You made a Superman — that's my favourite superhero — you made a Superman cape for me." The bromance continued as Trump and West hugged it out.

As expected, the celebrity takes came in hot. Here are some of the notable reactions to West's meeting with Trump.

The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! viciously mocked West and Trump, telling his audience that he had no idea why they decided to allow cameras in the room to record the president sitting quietly while "an irrational madman rants and raves at him."

"Not only was this a crazy conversation for this White House, this is the kind of conversation that would typically be held between people wearing hospital bracelets," Kimmel quipped. "This is the kind of thing that happens on the subway in New York, not in the Oval Office. Watching this today, the only thing I could compare it to is Tom Hanks talking to Wilson the volleyball," he said, referencing the film Cast Away. 

Kimmel's parting shot: "It's like Trump was sitting across from his own Twitter account come to life."

After Kanye West made his controversial statements about abolishing the 13th Amendment (the amendment that abolished slavery), Atlanta-based rapper T.I. expressed support for West's statements, arguing that the amendment "incentivizes mass incarceration." However, after West's meeting with Donald Trump, T.I. appears to have ended his quest to find common ground with his fellow musician.

In a lengthy Instagram post, T.I. said he's been "extremely patient and made it a point to not jump to any premature conclusions about Ye' & his antics," but the meeting with Trump was the last straw. "I refuse to associate myself with something so vile, weak, & inconsiderate to the effect this has on the greater good of ALL OUR PEOPLE!!!!" T.I. even addressed West directly: "At one time it was a pleasure to work alongside you ... now, I'm ashamed to have ever been associated with you."

And in a message to Kanye's fans and colleagues, T.I. said, "Don't follow this puppet. Because as long as I've lived I've learned that it benefits a man nothing at all to gain the world, if to do so he must lose his soul. We just saw Mr. West's Soul on auction. If you listen closely you can hear the tears of our ancestors hit the floor. All I can say is ... I've reached my limits."

"Somebody tell this NEGRO to give me a call! #NOTblackexcellence," music industry mogul and Grammy-winner Diddy wrote on Instagram, alongside a Fox News clip of Kanye West hugging Donald Trump and telling him "I love you."

Rapper 50 Cent was not as kind on Instagram. Posting a photo of a flying Donald Trump as Superman carrying a scared Kanye West in a "Make America Great Again Hat," the platinum-selling artist quipped: "You make me feel like Superman, Obama said l was a idiot f**k these ni**as lm [sic] wit you Master. Let's make America great again LOL get the strap." 

It's pretty clear where these two hip-hop legends stand on this warm and fuzzy moment at the White House.

Attorney and Fox News regular Geraldo Rivera pointed to political hypocrisy surrounding the Kanye West and Donald Trump Oval Office meeting. "Media loved #KanyeWest when he chastised George W. Bush's inept performance during #HurricaneKatrina 2005. ("He doesn't care about black people"). Now same media hates Kanye for praising @realDonaldTrump 2018. It's politically incorrect for prominent black man to side w @POTUS.," Rivera tweeted. Valid point there, Geraldo.

Four minutes later, the former investigative reporter tweeted: "Media praising @taylorswift13 for engaging on the side of Democrats in upcoming Mid-Term elections," referencing Taylor Swift, who broke her political silence by endorsing Tennessee Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen for the U.S. Senate and Jim Cooper for the U.S. House of Representatives. "But same activism by #KanyeWest is damned as a 'Minstrel Show' that would cause Kanye's late mother 'to spin in her grave.' Why the dual standard? Kanye supports @realDonaldTrump." Yet another valid point.

During a joint interview with Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous for an upcoming episode of CNN's The Van Jones Show, iconic stand-up comedian and actor Dave Chappelle had some things to say about Kanye West. Chappelle suggested the rapper is attempting to reclaim the "Make America Again" hat like he once did the Confederate flag. He also stressed that West should not be aligning himself with Donald Trump.

"First of all, you know, Kanye's an artist, man, and he's a genius," Chappelle said. "Whatever he's saying right now, I think that the angle he's seeing things from is the division that he sees." He added, "I'm not mad at Kanye, that's my brother, I love him, I support him. But, you know, I don't have to agree with everything that he says. I just trust him as a person of intent." The star of The Chappelle Show then smiled and said, "But yeah, he shouldn't say all that sh*t."

"Kanye West says he thinks of Trump as a father. Guess who doesn't think of Kanye as a son?" comedian and vocal Trump critic Chelsea Handler tweeted. No word on how the rest of the first family feels about its new addition.

Fellow comedian and actor Sinbad seems to have grown tired of it all. "If this is where Kanye wants to be, then let him be there. Quit trying to explain Kanye to us. He's doing a pretty good job of telling us who he is and where he wants to be..." he tweeted, accompanied by photos of Donald Trump and Kanye West as rappers — one image depicted West giving Trump cornrows. 

"Convinced that's a Kanye West Clone!! LOL. They messing with my brothers mind. #MKULTRA is real! His Spirit is pure though. Let's not give up on our guy!" tweeted actor Nick Cannon. "His message of Love is real but he is allowing devils to take advantage of his vulnerability & treat him like a puppet."

If you're unfamiliar with Cannon's "#MKULTRA" reference, we have you covered. According to History, "MK-Ultra was a top-secret CIA project in which the agency conducted hundreds of clandestine experiments — sometimes on unwitting U.S. citizens — to assess the potential use of LSD and other drugs for mind control, information gathering and psychological torture." The project ran from 1953 to around 1973, but "details of the illicit program didn't become public until 1975, during a congressional investigation into widespread illegal CIA activities within the United States and around the world."

Westworld star Jeffrey Wright had a lot to get off his chest after watching Kanye West's meeting with Donald Trump. "Kanye & Trump. 2 self-obsessed BS mongers peddling bread & circus clown shows while Americans scavenge for bits of their lives, if they can, after rocked by a 'Chinese hoax.' And the press hover like vultures to eat it all," the actor tweeted. "If you build it, it will come. Tomorrow comes too. Nov 6." Tell us how you really feel, Jeffrey.

Wright followed that up with a poem. (You know someone is upset if they write poetry.) "AAA. Woke minstrels tryna say they real servants of the people. Billionaire dreams bowing down to the fecal," the Tony and Emmy award-winner tweeted. "Muddled big thoughts mostly that they stole. Wait. Apotheosis of the American A**hole. Apotheosis of American A**holes. Apotheosis of American A**holes...November 6."

Kanye West revealed that he had bipolar disorder in June 2018. However, during his meeting with Donald Trump (per People), he claimed he was misdiagnosed and just "had sleep deprivation."

Whatever the diagnosis, CNN analyst and Republican strategist Ana Navarro expressed serious concern for the rapper. "I feel about Kanye, the same way I feel about Roseanne. It's not about the political opinion they have every right to hold. It's about their mental state," she tweeted. "I sincerely hope people in their lives who care for them, and are not in it just to exploit them, get them professional help."

When her colleague, Jim Acosta, tweeted: "Kanye just said 'motherf***er' in the Oval Office. Per WH pool," Navarro responded with: "Locker-room talk," referencing Trump's defense of his now infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape – the one that caught him on a hot mic making lewd comments about women.

"I feel bad for him. What I saw was a minstrel show today," CNN news anchor Don Lemon said on the air. "Him in front of all of these white people, mostly white people, embarrassing himself and embarrassing Americans, but mostly African-Americans." Claiming that Kanye West "needs help" and was being "exploited" by Donald Trump, Lemon admitted he could barely watch. "I had to turn the television off because it was so hard to watch," he said. "Him, sitting there, being used by the president of the United States."

"Kanye, back away from the cameras, go get some help, and then come back and make your case," Lemmon said. The newsman even suggested that Kanye's mother, Donda, was "rolling in her grave." Lemon insisted this wasn't about politics. "If you want to be conservative, if you want to support Donald Trump, that is your business," he said. "But as you're doing it, have some sense with it. Make sense. Educate yourself." He added, "We're watching someone's demise in front of our eyes."

Former interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman and Al Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile didn't mince words about what she saw in the meeting between Kanye West and Donald Trump. She tweeted: "#KanyeWest has set us back 155 years. Wish #SojournerTruth could have met him outside the White House and #FrederickDouglas inside the Oval Office. @BarackObama never would have become President with this crap. But, let's meet #Kayne on #ElectionDay by voting for Democrats."

Brazile also responded to a tweet about West's profanity at the White House. "Love the genius of #KanyeWest, but this was disturbing to watch," she said. "He's entitled to endorse, back and share his views....but wow."

Even mercurial Guns 'N Roses frontman Axl Rose chimed in on Kanye West's meeting with Donald Trump. "What a joke. Not gonna solve anything in Chicago or anywhere else with any of that attention seeking nonsense," Rose tweeted, referencing West's comments on Chicago and how he hoped to use his visit as a platform to discuss initiatives for solving the crime problem in his native city.

The legendary rocker said the controversial meeting was just a distraction from the alleged murder of renowned journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul. "Oh n' don't let any of this distract from the Khashoggi killing," Rose tweeted. We presume these tweets mean West won't be appearing on a Guns 'N Roses album anytime soon.