Maybe the culture war isn’t irretrievably lost to conservatives after all. Kanye West has been tweeting pro-Trump comments all day long, unfazed by the online backlash, and now Chancelor Jonathan Bennett — better known as Chance the Rapper — has chimed in, with this shocking tweet:
Black people don’t have to be democrats.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018
Among West’s tweets earlier in the day were several comments about Chicago, including one noting that eight years of President Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House had failed to bring change to the Windy City:
Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed.
— ye (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018
Bennett, a Chicago native, retweeted several of West’s posts and rejected those who were “question[ing] his mental or physical health,” saying that the two had just spoken two days ago and West was “in a great space.”
Talked to him two days ago. He’s in a great space and not affected by folk tryna question his mental or physical health. Same Ye from the Vmas, same Ye from the telethon. https://t.co/2zY3KpllV2
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018
Bennett then added his tweet that “Black people don’t have to be democrats,” and his prediction that the next president would be an independent:
Next President gon be independent
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018
Bennett has been outspoken in the past about his Christian faith and how it gave him strength to handle everything from his daughter’s health scare (she was diagnosed with a type of irregular heartbeat before she was born) to quitting smoking. Politically, he has described himself as an independent voter, but his father worked for Obama and he has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016.
So this isn’t a case of Bennett disclosing that he is a secret Republican, but that likely gives his message more legitimacy. He did not support Trump, is not a Republican, but also unequivocally supports his friend as well as the idea that politics are a matter of individual free choice in this country, regardless of the color of your skin.
I’m always going to applaud free thinkers who can respect differences of opinion. The entertainment industry desperately needs more voices like this. Kudos to Mr. Bennett and Mr. West.
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter: @rumpfshaker.
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