AFRICAN AMERICANS/CELEBS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Rapper Kanye West, with a stream of consciousness speech in the Oval Office and a burst of profanity, defended his support for President Donald Trump on Thursday, to the great delight of Trump himself. The event was billed as a lunch at the White House to discuss prison reform, jobs for African-Americans and Chicago violence. Those items were addressed in a pre-lunch meeting, but Kanye launched into a speech and Trump let him go on as the cameras recorded it all. But in between, Kanye spoke of alternative universes, a new plane that Trump should consider as his next Air Force One, his diagnosis of bipolar disorder that he said was actually sleep deprivation, and living in a household dominated by females given his marriage to reality TV star Kim Kardashian West. Kanye later said his 10-minute speech was ‘from the soul, I just channeled it.’ Trump lapped it all up.”
–Reuters, “Kanye West Defends Support for Trump, in Front of Trump,” The New York Times online, October 11, 2018