The rapper is slated to sit down with the president in the coming days.
Kanye West will be meeting with President Donald Trump, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed on Tuesday.
The “I Love It” rapper will be heading to the White House on Thursday to join Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for lunch.
"Topics of discussions will include manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence, and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago," according to Sanders’ statement, via CBS News.
Trump shared his own solution to the crime issue in Chicago during a speech to police on Monday in Orlando — adopt the controversial tactic known as stop-and-frisk, which New York City police have employed in the past.
“We’re going to straighten it out, and we’re going to straighten it out fast,” Trump said, per the Washington Post. Later, he said, “Let’s see whether or not Chicago accepts help. They need it… It works, and it was meant for problems like Chicago: Stop and frisk.”
In recent days, West has drawn criticism for his full-throated support of Trump. During his visit to Saturday Night Live, he delivered an off-air speech, espousing his support of the president. Later, clips of the speech leaked online.
"It's so many times that I talk to a white person about this, and they say, 'How could you support Trump? He's racist.' Well, if I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of America a long time ago," he explained onstage. "We don't just make our decisions off of racism. I'ma break it down to you right now ... If someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don't have to believe in all their policies."
This upcoming meeting isn’t the first time West and Trump have met face to face. The pair sat down together just a month after he won the 2016 election. The rapper visited Trump Tower in New York City, where Trump said they discussed "life." After their sit-down, the two posed for photos in the building’s lobby.
And West’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, famously met with Trump in the spring to discuss prison reform legislation and Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old woman serving a life sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense. Afterward, Trump commuted Johnson’s sentence.
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