Kanye West Meets With Donald Trump At Trump Tower

Drew Angerer/Getty

Kanye West Meets With Donald Trump At Trump Tower

Drew Angerer/Getty

In the days leading up to his mental breakdown and hospitalization, before he cancelled his remaining tour dates, Kanye West vociferously praised Donald Trump and criticized Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during a couple of his patented on-stage soapbox speeches. This morning, in one of his first public appearances since getting out of the hospital, the newly blonde West has taken a meeting with Trump in New York.

Multiple reporters on the scene noted West’s arrival at Trump Tower this morning, and TMZ confirms that he’s there to meet with the president-elect. No word on what they discussed, but apparently West requested an audience with Trump and Trump granted him a 15-minute meeting. After the meeting, Trump came down to the lobby with West and the two exchanged a hug. We’ll update when there’s more info, but in the meantime, check out footage of West’s arrival and the embrace with Trump below.

UPDATE: Upon appearing with West in the lobby, Trump said they discussed “life.” The president-elect also explained they were “just friends” and called the rapper a “good man.” (Trump once called for a Kanye West boycott after the 2009 VMAs incident with Taylor Swift. For his part, West included a naked Trump in his controversial “Famous” video earlier this year.) West declined to comment on today’s meeting meeting, saying only “I just want to take a picture right now.” Trump did not indicate whether West will perform at his inauguration.

Meanwhile E! claims that Trump’s team requested the meeting and that “Trump is interested in getting West involved in an ‘entrepreneurial leadership role.'”

UPDATE 2: TMZ reports that Ivanka Trump attended the meeting too, and there was “no talk about Kanye performing at an inauguration event, and no talk about Kanye participating in any way in the new administration.” West also gifted Trump a book of photos “including people wearing hoodies, a display of various tattoos and, yes, some nudes.”

UPDATE 3: Citing sources close to West, TMZ reports that the rapper’s endgame for the visit was to open a dialogue with Trump to pave the way for future dialogue about ending the gang violence in Chicago. The goal is to deepen his relationship with Trump to advocate for measures West believes will bring peace to his hometown.

UPDATE 4: West himself has now tweeted about the meeting, writing, “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.” West also apparently has postponed his presidential campaign until 2024.

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