Rapper Kanye West has been a perhaps surprising fixture on the American political scene lately. He revealed himself to be a passionate supporter of President Donald Trump, racism and all, to the point of just recently meeting with the racist in the Oval Office he’s currently occupying. Now, though, West has perhaps had enough.
He’s already trained endless eyes on his Twitter account thanks to his erratic pronouncements. It’s there, for instance, that he’s posted repeated images of himself in a red “Make America Great Again” hat, praising the president. Late Tuesday, he bemoaned what his political activism and commentary had been used for, although he didn’t single out the president by name.
He said:
‘My eyes are now wide open and now realize I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!’
Although he didn’t invoke the president’s name, he did call out one of the president’s prominent black defenders, Candace Owens. The commentator is far off in the world of right wing nonsense having, for instance, jumped on the bandwagon of Republican assertions that recent attempted bomb attacks on prominent Democrats were a false flag operation, a favorite conservative claim. Her rhetoric pushed what had previously been relegated to angry internet talking heads like Alex Jones further into the mainstream.
It also drew West even further into the line of fire, metaphorically speaking. After a set of shirts marked with “Blexit,” representing a hoped for exodus of black Americans from the Democratic Party, appeared at a recent conservative conference, Owens claimed that West was behind the design — which the rapper now says is a lie.
He explained:
‘I introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn’t want their name on it so she used mine. I never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it.’
Although some may question his motivations — perhaps he wanted to keep his sneakers brand above water — he did, prior to the above tweets, bemoan a particular aspect of Trump administration policy.
He said:
‘I believe in love and compassion for people seeking asylum and parents who are fighting to protect their children from violence and war.’
Although this sentiment of course remains rather broad, it stands in stark contrast to President Donald Trump’s actions.
He has cast a migrant “caravan” currently making its way to the United States as an “invasion,” and there have been thousands and thousands of active duty troops dispatched to the nation’s border with Mexico — more than are in Iraq at present.
There’s also been talk about the complete cessation of asylum claims processing at the southern U.S. border and the phasing out of birthright citizenship, although whether those proposals become reality is a different story.
Still, the sentiment underlying those pushes is not new, although perhaps West has only just become aware of it. Through his claims about the “dragon energy” he and Trump share — among other things — he may have permanently mired his legacy for many.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot
