--- title: Jay Z Slams Donald Trump for Being a 'Joke' description: Jay Z slammed President Donald Trump in a recent interview, referring to him as a "joke" and stating that he had "all disrespect" for him. canonical: https://time.com/4953860/jay-z-donald-trump-is-a-joke/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-22T18:42:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:29.612Z og:title: Jay Z says President Donald Trump 'Is a Joke' og:description: Hov also said he has "all disrespect" for Trump og:url: https://time.com/4953860/jay-z-donald-trump-is-a-joke/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c820f14541ac4da/6988df014ee26208f030f1ef/jay-z-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: The Meadows Music And Arts Festival - Day 1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jay Z says President Donald Trump 'Is a Joke' twitter:description: Hov also said he has "all disrespect" for Trump twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c820f14541ac4da/6988df014ee26208f030f1ef/jay-z-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jay Z Says President Donald Trump 'Is a Joke' > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=88c16b21-f132-40b1-9b04-1226e4d1bd44&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Sep 22, 2017 6:42 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: JAY-Z performs onstage during the Meadows Music and Arts Festival - Day 1 at Citi Field on September 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Zachary Mazur/FilmMagic) NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: JAY-Z performs onstage during the Meadows Music and Arts Festival - Day 1 at Citi Field on September 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Zachary Mazur/FilmMagic) Zachary Mazur—FilmMagic  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Sep 22, 2017 6:42 PM UTC While [Jay Z](http://time.com/4841180/jay-z-beyonce-444-reactions/) has always taken an interest in politics — both he and wife [Beyoncé](http://time.com/4935876/beyonce-blu-ivy-serve-meals-hurricane-harvey-victims-houston/) campaigned for both [Barack Obama ](http://time.com/4821085/obama-jay-z-songwriters-hall-fame/)and [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4561709/beyonce-hillary-clinton-video-2/) in past elections — he’s been particularly outspoken recently about causes he feels passionately about, whether it’s [the war on drugs](https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004642370/jay-z-the-war-on-drugs-is-an-epic-fail.html) or [jail system.](http://time.com/4821547/jay-z-racism-bail-bonds/) It appears that the Brooklyn rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, is now taking the same vocal approach when it comes to President Donald Trump and his administration. In an interview with [_BBC Radio 1_](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Mltmwv7G8zkDXBYrbvN5wb/stop-what-youre-doing-and-watch-jay-z-storm-the-live-lounge)on Friday, he shared that he found the Trump presidency to be “a joke,” but that he remains hopeful looking to the future. “I believe that we are resilient, especially us as black people and especially the culture. We’ve been through so much more than this guy,” Jay Z said. “This guy, I’m looking at him like, man, this is a joke, with all — I can’t even say with all due respect — with all disrespect.” Jay Z pointed to an intersectional mindset when he talked about the current state of politics. “Until everyone is free, no one is free,” he said. “Period. That’s just a fact. We are all linked some kind of way. So if you oppress a certain people, everyone is in danger, karmically and in real life. If I’m being oppressed and you have this big, nice mansion, I’m coming inside there. That’s gonna happen, that’s just how life is.” However, Jay reiterated that he thinks that the current state of affairs, especially when it comes to racial politics in the U.S., will change in the future. “I don’t think that this is happening if we weren’t prepared to handle it,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to what’s next after that, because usually when things are darkest, then light is on its way. 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