Never one to steer away from controversy, Kanye West kicked off the second leg of his Saint Pablo tour on Thursday, November 17, by revealing he didn’t cast a ballot during the presidential election, and that if he had, he would have voted for Donald Trump.
The rapper got seriously political during the show in San Jose, California, stopping numerous times to go on lengthy rants to the crowd.
“I told y’all I didn’t vote, right?” he said. “What I didn’t tell you … if I were to have voted I would have voted on Trump.”
His announcement was met with both cheers and plenty of boos, that continued as he expressed more of his political views.
"I would've voted for Trump" – @kanyewest pic.twitter.com/XtyUteCgUZ
— albertoreyes (@albertoreyes) November 18, 2016
West said he “loved” Trump’s approach and called him a “f‑‑king genius.”
He also addressed the issue of racism in America and shockingly urged black people to stop focusing on it.
“Specifically to black people, stop focusing on racism,” he yelled. “This world is racist, OK.… It’s just a f‑‑king fact. We are a racist country.”
Kanye West tonight speaking on racism in America. "Specifically to black people, stop talking about race so much." pic.twitter.com/HTWlJgdq7E
— Brandon E. Patterson (@myblackmindd) November 18, 2016
Several people at the show gave running commentary on Twitter, while West proudly voiced his right to an opinion.
Kanye just announced he's running in 2020 and I just witnessed it live.
— Darion G (@RaptorJesuss) November 18, 2016
Someone threw something at Kanye that hit him, he's now threatening to cancel the show. "Am I not allowed to have an opinion?"
— Darion G (@RaptorJesuss) November 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/alxndrwbb/status/799508455660933120
LMAO kanye just freestyled at his concert and said "I hope they build the wall,I hope they get rid of them all" ???
— Jonn. (@JonnGrey) November 18, 2016
During his many monologues, he also reiterated his plans to run for the White House in 2020, saying he will become “a different kind of president.”
While the reactions toward his beliefs were mixed, many fans were fuming that he spent more time talking about politics than performing.
i paid $40 to listen to a trump supporter rant for 3 hours n play 4 songs
— sarah (@yuriskwon) November 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/yema74/status/799517776578809856
https://twitter.com/Geras_510/status/799510267096928256
Although West didn’t vote, his wife, Kim Kardashian, endorsed Hillary Clinton, as did Kris Jenner and Khloé Kardashian.
