Kanye West Addresses Slavery Comments and Discusses Support for President Trump

Kanye West discussed his controversial comments about slavery and his support of President Donald Trump during an interview on 107.5 WGCI Chicago on Wednesday morning.

The rapper and fashion designer made headlines for his recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, when he remained silent after Kimmel asked him: “You so famously and powerfully said, ‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people.’ It makes me wonder, what makes you think that Donald Trump does?” During his WGCI interview, West shared his thoughts about Kimmel’s question, as well as addressing his assertion that “slavery was a choice” during a TMZ interview.

West first addressed his silence on Kimmel by explaining that he needed “time to think.”

“I feel that [Trump] cares about the way black people feel about him, and he would like for black people to like him like they did when he was cool in the rap songs,” West said. “He will do the things that are necessary to make that happen because he’s got an ego like all the rest of us, and he wants to be the greatest president, and he knows that he can’t be the greatest president without the acceptance of the black community. So it’s something he’s gonna work towards, but we’re gonna have to speak to him.”

West then apologized for his comments about slavery, noting that his mental health was a factor.

“This is something about the fact that it hurt people’s feelings and the way that I presented that piece of information,” West said. “I could present in a way more calm way, but I was ramped up. And I apologize. That happens sometimes when people are—I’m not blaming mental health, but I’m explaining mental health. I don’t know if I properly apologized for how the slavery comment made people feel. I’m sorry for the one-two effect of the MAGA hat into the slave comment, and I’m sorry for people that felt let down by that moment.”

While West also used his on-air time to mourn the distance between him and longtime collaborator Don C, his outlook for the future was positive.

“It’s going to be a new Kanye West, and it’s going to be better,” West said.

Watch West discuss his controversial comments and his mental health below.