Just over two weeks into Donald Trump's presidency, it looks like his relationship with hopeful pop culture secretary Kanye West has gone south.
West appears to have deleted all pro-Trump tweets from his Twitter feed, as NME pointed out. In fact, we can't find any mention of Trump on his account at all. West, not one for subtle moves or silent disses, has not made any sort of statement on the matter. But it's clear that West is, for one reason or another, looking to sever his connection to the billionaire reality star-turned-president.
The rapper first announced his support for Trump back in November during a lengthy concert rant (during which he also took a swing at friends Jay Z and Beyoncé). "I told y’all I didn’t vote, right?" he said to the crowd. "But if I were to vote, I would have voted on Trump." West received backlash on Twitter; days later, the remainder of his tour was cancelled and West was hospitalised for "exhaustion" and presumed mental health treatment.
Then, in December, the unlikely pair shared a media moment after meeting together at Trump Tower to "discuss life," as the president-elect put it at the time. "We've been friends for a long time," Trump told journalists. Reportedly, Trump was interesting in making west an "ambassador of sorts."
West explained his baffling decision in a series of tweets, which are among those he just deleted. "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," he tweeted. "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums, and violence in Chicago." He added, "I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change."
In January, it was revealed that West would not be performing at the inauguration, as many had speculated. The chair of Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee informed the press, "it's not the venue. The venue we have for entertainment is filled out, it's perfect, it's going to be typically and traditionally American." Whether West took this as a sleight (and understandably so) is not clear.
And that's pretty much were the timeline of their public friendship ends. We can only speculate that, like many Americans, West is unhappy with the president's first two weeks in office, during which he has enacted an anti-Muslim immigration ban, moved to repeal Obamacare, nominated a slew of controversial appointees, continued to make baseless claims about a rigged election, insulted a federal judge, and incited the rage of people who support women's equality, immigration, and LGBTQ rights. But that's just my guess.
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