Kanye West at Trump Tower: What Was West Doing There?

Kanye West was spotted walking into Trump Tower on December 13, and he later posed for pictures with President-Elect Donald Trump in the lobby.

“Just friends. Just friends. He’s a good man… He’s doing well. We’ve been friends for a long time,” Trump told reporters. After standing expressionless, West responded, “I just wanted to take a picture right now” as reporters peppered him with questions about whether he was going to perform at the inauguration or still run for president in 2020. “You take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon,” Trump told West. The two then shook hands.

E News reported that Trump wants to make West an entrepreneurial ambassador of sorts, but that was unconfirmed.

West caused a brief Twitterstorm when he was captured on video walking into the famous elevators inside the building where President-Elect Donald Trump has been entertaining Cabinet wannabes like a political version of The Apprentice.

West’s appearance at Trump Tower surprised the reporters who stake out the area to watch for dignitaries and get clues about the Trump cabinet.

On Twitter, the speculation was rampant, and the jokes flew.

Others weren’t so thrilled.

It does make some sense because West made news previously by saying he supports Trump. Page Six reported that a fellow passenger on an airline overhead West saying back in March that he wasn’t going to vote for Trump, but he supports him. However, a West spokesman denied that report, and Page Six reported that West had donated money to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. His wife also posed for a famous selfie with Clinton.

West was in the background of that selfie:

Then, shortly after the election, West announced from a concert stage that he did not vote but, if he would have voted, it would have been for Trump.

West said of Trump at that concert, according to Politico, “There’s nonpolitical methods to speaking that I like, that I feel were very futuristic. And that style, and that method of communication, has proven that it can beat a politically correct way of communication.”

Jessica McBride is a Heavy contributor. She was a crime, government, and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporter for the Waukesha Freeman newspaper. Her award-winning work has appeared in numerous magazine, newspaper, and online publications. She has also appeared as a crime reporter on Investigation Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Oxygen Channel. She can be reached by email at jessica.mcbride@heavy.com.
December 13, 2016 12:43 pm