Kanye West Leaves Hospital For Trump Tower
Agency report
Kanye West on Tuesday delivered a surprise even in this most unusual of political years as he met President-elect Donald Trump.
That was the artist’s first appearance since a reported mental breakdown.
West, a rare US celebrity to voice support for Donald Trump, showed up in the early morning with an entourage and his own cameraman at Trump Tower.
He boarded the elevator of the tycoon’s skyscraper home.
An uncharacteristically taciturn West returned to the lobby with the president-elect himself who, pressed on what the two discussed, said: “Life.”
“Just friends, just friends. He’s a good man. Long time. Friends for a long time,” said a visibly upbeat Trump.
West, sporting a fitted black sweatshirt, at first stood sullenly with his arms folded as reporters peppered him with questions.
“I’m just here to take a picture right now,” West finally said before flashing a smile and a thumbs-up sign.
Wife not present
Notably absent was the rapper’s wife, reality television star Kim Kardashian.
She has kept a low profile since gunmen broke into her Paris hotel room and robbed her of $10 million worth of jewelry.
And gossip pages have recently speculated on the state of the couple’s marriage.
West last month stunned a California audience with a lengthy speech in which he said he did not vote but would have backed Trump as he appreciated the businessman’s outspokenness.
An unusual West
He was soon hospitalised after a series of erratic comments on stage, including alleging that his sometime collaborator Jay Z was sending hitmen to kill him and lashing out at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for not paying West $53 million to relieve his personal debt.
The celebrity news website TMZ said that West’s doctor feared he had suffered a mental breakdown and that West flew to New York on Monday to see a psychiatrist.
Trump, the former host of “Celebrity Apprentice,” has been interviewing prospective members of his administration at Trump Tower. It has created a media spectacle as candidates come to his door.
Few political observers would expect Yeezy to land in the cabinet, even with Trump’s penchant for surprise picks.
One possible explanation for the meeting is that Trump has been eager to tap A-list musicians for his inauguration after so many celebrities rejected him during the campaign.
The New York Post reported that Trump will also meet the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. He is billed to perform later Thursday at Madison Square Garden, and use their past ties to appeal for him to perform at the January 20 inauguration.
