FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Make These Comments Defending Kanye West?
A video shared on Instagram purportedly shows former President Donald Trump defending rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in light of his recent anti-Semitic comments.
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Verdict: False
This video is digitally fabricated. There is no evidence Trump made such a comment about the rapper.
Fact Check:
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has accused Ye of having a “homoerotic fixation” with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler after the rapper told the podcast host in an interview that he loves Nazis, according to New York Post. Republican Jewish activists have called on Trump to condemn Ye’s comments to no avail, Rolling Stone reported.
The Instagram video allegedly shows Trump defending Ye. The video features Trump seemingly addressing someone offscreen and subtitles over his face.
“Kanye has some some stuff recently that people don’t agree with,” Trump appears to say. “But I just can’t be upset with the man who made ‘Graduation,'” referring to the rapper’s 2007 album of the same name.
This video is digitally altered, however. The unedited footage comes from an interview Trump did with NBC News in May 2017, and a transcript shows that Ye was not discussed. The two men were discussing the investigation into the president’s alleged connections to Russia during and after the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has supported Ye for quite some time. In late November, Trump hosted Ye and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago estate with other participants, CNN reported. The two also met in October 2018 when Trump was president, according to ABC News.
There are no credible news reports to suggest Trump made such a comment in public or private. (RELATED: Did Madame Tussauds Remove Kanye West’s Wax Figure After He Made Anti-Semitic Comments?)
Check Your Fact has reached out to Trump’s office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
This is not the first time misinformation involving Ye has spread online. Check Your Fact previously debunked a claim that the rapper purchased music-streaming service Spotify.
