Kanye West recently confirmed that he's planning to vote forDonald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.- "I buy real estate. It's better now than when Obama was in office," he told GQ. "I'm definitely voting this time. And we know who I'm voting on."
- He added: "I'm not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I'm still here! 'Jesus Is King' was No. 1!"
- West's comments have drawn renewed criticism online, especially from former fans of the rapper, one of whom called him "embarrassingly hilarious."
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Kanye West has confirmed that he's planning to vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, and his comments have inspired renewed criticism from former fans.
The "Closed on Sunday" rapper detailed his continued admiration of the president for GQ magazine's May cover story.
"I buy real estate. It's better now than when Obama was in office," West told GQ's editor-in-chief Will Welch. "They don't teach you in school about buying property. They teach you how to become somebody's property."
When asked if he plans to speak about the upcoming election, West declared: "I'm definitely voting this time. And we know who I'm voting on."
The 42-year-old father of four has said he didn't vote in the 2016 presidential election, but has been a vocal supporter of Trump for years.
"I'm not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over," West told GQ. "Because guess what: I'm still here! 'Jesus Is King' was No. 1! I was told my career would end if I wasn't with her."
"What kind of campaign is that, anyway?" he continued. "That's like if Obama's campaign was 'I'm with black.' What's the point of being a
West released his ninth studio album, "Jesus Is King," in October 2019. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, but was met with mixed reviews. It was ranked No. 2 on Insider's list of the year's most disappointing albums, and many fans were similarly underwhelmed.
—revival is a classic (@zokodog) April 12, 2020
Indeed, many of West's longtime listeners have seemed to lose respect for him in recent years, especially since he began wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and praising Trump's "dragon energy."
His new comments about Trump have drawn renewed criticism online, especially from former fans of the rapper. SB Nation writer Zito Madu called him "embarrassingly hilarious."
"Whole interview is about how he's living for God and vibrating at a higher level, then he's like 'look, I'm voting for the guy who makes life better for me as a rich person,'" Madu tweeted.
—Zito (@_Zeets) April 15, 2020
Music journalist Jeremy Gordon expressed a similar sentiment: "Semi-wistfully recalling the 2010-2016 bubble I lived in where everything Kanye said/did was axiomatically treated as Tight and Good, as he reveals he's voting for Trump again because buying real estate is better now."
"Personally, it wasn't very difficult to disengage from Kanye because his music got noticeably worse," Gordon continued. "If it hadn't? Now there would be a moral dilemma worth blogging about...."
—Jeremy Gordon (@jeremypgordon) April 15, 2020
Many more critics — most of whom, apparently, were once fans of West — called him "embarrassing" and "elitist."
—i l e a n a (@theburningyoung) April 15, 2020
—Saint-Lorent (@_paigeloren) April 15, 2020
—Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) April 16, 2020
—Blakeley (@BlakeleyBartley) April 15, 2020
Naturally, Trump supporters praised West and thanked him for the endorsement.
—Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) April 16, 2020
—Ryann McEnany (@RyannMcEnany) April 15, 2020
—elizabeth (@elizabe30069341) April 16, 2020
Read his full interview with GQ here.
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