President Donald Trump praised rap superstar Kanye West for standing by his political beliefs despite criticism from the liberal black community.
“He has good taste,” Trump said, adding that he got along with West and was thrilled to see the rapper “sticking to his guns.”
The president made his comments in an interview on Fox and Friends on Thursday morning.
“There are others, there are plenty of others, sticking to their guns, coming out saying it,” Trump said and added, “People do that, they become much more popular.”
Trump said that West was likely thrilled by the historic lows in black unemployment.
“He sees that stuff and he’s smart, he says, ‘You know what? Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did,” he said.
Trump also praised conservative activist Candace Owens, praising her as the “hottest thing out there now” for urging black Americans to ditch the Democratic party.
Trump added that historically, black Americans supported Republicans for supporting civil rights.
“Somehow it changed over the years and I will say, I really believe it’s changing back,” he said.
He reminded the hosts about his message to the black community during the 2016 election, asking them what they had to lose.
“Now they voted for me — crime is way down and really importantly, the unemployment picture is the best it’s been in the history of our country for African-Americans,” he said.