Kanye West took to social media on Saturday, August 11, to insist that he “wasn’t stumped” by Jimmy Kimmel asking him if President Donald Trump cares about “any people at all.”
As previously reported, the rapper appeared to be left speechless after the Jimmy Kimmel Live host asked him, “There are families being torn apart at the border of this country. … Whether we like his personality or not, his actions are what matter. You so famously, and so powerfully said, ‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people.’ What makes you think that Donald Trump does — or any people at all?”
West, 41, remained silent for a few moments before Kimmel cut to a commercial during the interview on Thursday, August 9.
“On Jimmy Kimmel we had a great time having a dialogue. I’m reading that I was stumped by a question. Let me clarify the click bait. I wasn’t stumped. I wasn’t given a chance to answer the question,” West, who has been vocal in his support of the former reality TV star-turned-politician, posted on Twitter and Instagram on Saturday. “The question was so important I took time to think. And then I was hit with the let’s go to commercial break. That interview showed strong personalities with different opinions having a civil conversation.”
Not every question warrants an immediate answer. Some answers need to be considered and a talk show with time constraints is a difficult place to do that. I know how much Kanye cares and I am so impressed by what he is doing quietly and without fanfare to help those who need it https://t.co/wQBsE5v1v2
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) August 12, 2018
The question was so important I took time to think. And then I was hit with the let’s go to commercial break. That interview showed strong personalities with different opinions having a civil conversation.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 11, 2018
Kimmel, 50, responded to West on Twitter. “Not every question warrants an immediate answer,” he wrote. “Some answers need to be considered and a talk show with time constraints is a difficult place to do that. I know how much Kanye cares and I am so impressed by what he is doing quietly and without fanfare to help those who need it.”
West added, “I was so happy when I saw Jimmy walk out in the Yeezys. That was an olive branch. He lead with love. I appreciate Jimmy and his team. You guys are Jedi’s. much love.”
Earlier in Thursday’s interview West had spoken about being pressured to change his controversial pro-Trump stance.
“As a musician, African American, guy out in Hollywood, all these different things — you know, everyone around me tried to pick my candidate for me. And then told me every time I said liked Trump that I couldn’t say it out loud or my career would be over,” he told Kimmel. “I’d get kicked out of the black community because blacks, we are supposed to have a monolithic thought, we can only be Democrats and all.”
The “XTCY” rapper, who flew to NYC in December 2016 to meet with the then-president-elect, added, “I actually quite enjoy when people actually are mad at me about certain things.”
