How Kanye Explains That Hypothetical Trump Vote

Kanye West is a controversial figure to say the least (see: Taylor Swift; any time he opens his mouth). But his latest onstage comments — West said he would have voted for Donald Trump if he voted in the election — certainly made headlines (and made him a lightning rod). At his Nov. 17 Saint Pablo tour stop in San Jose, California, the rapper took time in the middle of his performance to rant about the election and explain his position on Trump, which no doubt left some wondering why Kanye West would support Trump.

Speaking of his handlers and crew, Yeezy said he was strongly advised not to mention the fact that he would've voted for Trump in the election. Of course, Ye being Ye, he didn't want to be silenced and instead voiced his opinions loud and clear.

"They told me, 'Ye, do not say that out loud. Whatever you do, do not say that out loud.' And I just said it! I wanted to say that before the election and they told me, 'Do not say that out loud. Whatever you do, do not say that,'" he recalled. "That don’t mean that I don’t think that Black Lives Matter. That don’t mean I don’t think that I’m a believer in women’s rights. That don’t mean I don’t believe in gay marriage. That don’t mean that I don’t believe in these things because that was the guy I would have voted for."

West touched on his ambitions to run for president in 2020, explaining that he is all about approaching the role of president in a new way — and clearly, his comments on the subject wouldn't matter, considering how Trump's comments on, well, just about anything didn't matter. He was still elected.

"'Well, Ye, how you gonna expect people to vote for you if you ain’t even vote?' I’m concerned not about the idea of being president or the actual job of it," Yeezy said. "I’m concerned about putting our concept of how to do the job in a new way. And if no one will do it in that way I will take position in 2020 and do it myself. 'Aw you ain’t gonna get it now because of what you just said.' It was proof that it didn’t matter what nobody just said! It doesn’t matter!"

It seems that West sees Trump as representing nothing being impossible, in a way, which seems to be the main reason he finds him intriguing and would say he supports him. He also made it clear that he was impressed by Trump's "approach" working. West said,

"The celebrities are the influencers of our now. Just look at the president. He wasn’t even in politics and he won! That shows you not if you mad about him winning, but that shows you the level of possibility that is out there if you go and find information and don’t believe everything the f*cking internet is telling you! There is possibilities! ... Don’t trivialize what I was saying when I talked about our president’s approach to the campaign when I said it was entertaining. I don’t think his approach was just entertaining, because that trivializes it, I actually think that his approach was absolutely genius because it f*cking worked! "

Talking about the bigger picture, the rapper stated, "It’s already the beginning of change ... Sometimes things that you might think are bad have to happen in order for change to f*cking happen. Sometimes you might have to not get your way to really understand what to do in the future to be able to get your way."

Well, there you have it, folks: West's explanation for his hypothetical Trump vote. He thinks the President-elect will bring about change, even if it's indirect, Trump shared his controversial opinions loud and clear and was elected President — meaning, there's hope for West — and he proves that anything is possible. Yeezy 2020?