Rapper Kanye West once again defended his support of President Trump, arguing that it's "mental slavery" to make decisions or vote based on skin color.
As the Deseret News reports, West emerged in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5 to host a Saturday edition of his popular church-inspired gatherins, which coincided with Mormon stronghold’s 189th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though buzz over his forthcoming, oft-delayed new album, Jesus is King, has reached a fever pitch, the 42-year-old star performed an older hit for the thousands of attendees present: “Jesus Walks.”
West appeared to have things on his mind other than music, according to reports. At one point he warned fans about social media, telling them to “not read comments on the internet.”
“These people don’t know you like that,” he said. “Social media is designed to make you think slower ... They want to slow you down and control you.”
West, who hasn’t tweeted since New Year’s, also railed against social media: “Do not read comments on the Internet. These people don’t know you like that. Social media is designed to make you think slower. ... They want to slow you down and control you” pic.twitter.com/1BGpA5prGt
— Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) October 5, 2019
"That's the Republican Party that freed the slaves," West said on Saturday during his Sunday Service session in Salt Lake City, pointing to the fact that former Republican President Abraham Lincoln was in office when slavery in the United States ended.
He continued by saying people criticize him because he "chose my right."
"And we got the right, right? We got a right to our opinions, right?" he asked. "You black, so you can't like Trump? I ain't never made a decision only based on my color. That's a form of slavery, mental slavery."
Kanye West At Sunday Service Salt Lake City talked about the Republican Party of Lincoln freeing the slaves and how he supports Trump: “I ain’t never made a decision only based on my color. That’s a form of slavery, mental slavery.” pic.twitter.com/0Cwom01ipF
— Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) October 5, 2019
Between 7,000 to 10,000 people attended West’s event, according to the Deseret News.
West previously spoke about the concept of "mental slavery" during a controversial TMZ Live interview last year. At the time, he suggested that slavery was a "choice."
“When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he said. “Like, you was there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all? It’s like we’re mentally in prison. I like the word ‘prison’ because slavery goes too direct to the idea of blacks. It’s like slavery, Holocaust. Holocaust, Jews. Slavery is blacks. So, prison is something that unites us as one race. Blacks and whites being one race. We’re the human race.”
West is one of Trump's most famous supporters in the music industry, even visiting the White House to meet with the president last year. Around the same time, he appeared on Saturday Night Live and launched into a pro-Trump rant during the show's credits.
“Liberals bully people who are Trump supporters,” the rapper told David Letterman earlier this year. In the same interview, he admitted that he has never voted.
That is the craziest shit. I have ever heard. He need to be evaluated. He need help