California Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) spoke at the NAACP Convention’s presidential candidate forum Wednesday and accused President Donald Trump of “playing politics” by intervening for A$AP Rocky, the American rapper who was detained in Sweden earlier this month after his alleged involvement in a street fight.
“As president, how would you handle the A$AP Rocky case in Sweden?” moderator April Ryan asked Harris. “How will you use your power to make sure misuse of power doesn’t happen in cases like this, and that this case would stay in the State Department and not go to the White House?”
“There’s no question that this White House is, has been playing politics with his role of leadership, and it has to end,” Harris said.
“So you’re saying this is another piece on the rap sheet of Donald Trump, this misuse of power in the ASAP Rocky case?” Ryan asked.
“Yes,” the California lawmaker said, before repeating her answer at Ryan’s cue and adding, “And I’m black and I’m proud!”
The Trump administration answered calls from celebrities and politicians who have demanded justice for the “Sundress” rapper. The president personally intervened for A$AP Rocky, speaking to Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven over the weekend. He reportedly “offered to personally vouch for his [A$AP Rocky’s] bail,” although that offer falls flat in Sweden, where there is no such thing.
“Just had a very good call with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$AP Rocky will be treated fairly. Likewise, I assured him that A$AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!”
The rapper’s mother, Renee Black, told Expressen TV Monday that she was “very grateful” for the president’s efforts.
“I’m grateful, very grateful, that the president even considered approaching it in the manner that he did,” Black said. “It was an unnecessary case to begin with. Everything is on video. They tried to avoid it, but they kept being followed as well as harassed.”
“On Friday, a Swedish court ruled that Rocky could be detained for at least another week,” Breitbart News reported.
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