Photo: NBC
Live from New York, it’sKanye West— with some opinions to share.
The“Wouldn’t Leave”rapper, 41, wrapped up the season premiere ofSaturday Night Livewith a third musical performance and a lengthy speech about his support of PresidentDonald Trumpthat did not make it to air.
Wearing aMake America Great Again hat, he then delivered an unexpected speech in front ofSNLperformers likeColin Jostand hostAdam Driveras some audience members booed. “Actually, blacks weren’t always Democrats,” he started. “It’s like a plan they did to take the fathers out the homes and promote welfare. Does anybody know about that? That’s the Democratic plan.”
Motioning toSNLfunnymanMichael Che, West said, “You know what I mean?”
West, whoreplaced Ariana Grande as the musical guestafter she had to drop out, said, “It’s so many times that I talk to a white person about this, and they say, ‘How could you support Trump? He’s racist.’ Well if I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of America a long time ago. We don’t just make our decisions off of racism. I’ma break it down to you right now: If someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don’t have to believe in all they policies.”
Will Heath/NBC
Rosalind O’Connor/NBC
The Kardashian crew was out in full force to show support for the performance: West’s wifeKim Kardashian West, 37, and daughterNorth, 5, danced along to his performances during the show, andKourtney Kardashian, 39, andScott Disick, 35, were also in attendance for the spectacle.
Chris Rockrecorded West’s speech on his Instagram Story and seemed to whisper at one point, “My God.”
“But this man is a builder,” West said of Trump. “And when I said I’mrunning in 2020, all my smart friends talked so much s— about me. And when I saw that man win, I said, ‘See, I told you. I could have been there.’”
Some audience members laughed. “You see they laughing at me. You heard ’em, they scream at me, they bully me. They bullied me backstage they said, ‘Don’t go out there with that hat on.’ They bullied me backstage. They bullied me. And then they say I’m in a sunken place. You want to see the sunken place? Okay, I’ma listen to y’all now.”
West enjoyed his time at the show. On Sunday, he tweeted, “had so much fun at SNL.Lorne [Michaels]agreed that I would host before the year is out. Need to set a date. Gonna be sooooooooo lit. In the words of Lil Pump …Esskeetit !”
An audience member yelled, “I love you, Kanye,” to which West responded, “I love me, too!”
West’saffection for Trumpis well-known: Hehas stepped out in red MAGA hatsbefore andcalled Trump “my brother”in a tweet in April.
Drew Angerer/Getty
In a series of pro-Trump tweets, West wrote in April, “You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”
The feeling is mutual: That month, Trumppraised West onFox & Friends.
Donald Trump, Kanye West, and Ivanka Trump.Justin McConney
Trump added, “He sees that stuff, and he’s smart. He says, ‘Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did.’”
source: people.com
