This absolutely sounds like the plot for a reality TV show but, let’s face it, this is the episode of Real White House you might watch based purely on the advertising pitch: “What happens when Nike spokesmodel Colin Kaepernick and President Donald Trump meet with rap superstar Kanye West as a middle-man? S**t gets real!”
But apparently, this is reality, at least in the sense that it’s something West is really pursuing. He appeared on TMZ Live this morning and told host Harvey Levin, “I’ve been calling Colin this morning, reaching him, so I can bring Colin to the White House and we can remove that ‘sons of bitches’ statement, and we can be on the same page.”
The ‘sons of bitches’ statement is a reference to something Trump said a year ago at a rally in Alabama. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field, right now. Out. He’s fired.'” Here’s the clip:
Much as I think Kanye West is sincere about wanting to see Kaepernick and Trump have a beer summit, I’m not sure it would work out any better than the summit he had with Kim Jong Un. Frankly, both sides are getting some mileage out of the dispute. Trump has used Kaepernick’s campaign as a foil, as he did above. And Kaepernick now has an extended endorsement deal with Nike that reportedly will include a new clothing line. If Kanye’s peace summit is a success, what happens to that endorsement deal. How many kids want to by shoes from a guy who made up with Trump?
And what would these guys even say to each other. Kaepernick isn’t going to retreat from his position and Trump is, at best, going to give a shrug to his right to say what he wants and then say he finds it offensive personally. I don’t see any way these two can wind up on the same page. Though, that said, it would really be something if they could meet and shake hands despite that. That in itself would be pretty remarkable at this moment.
This isn’t the only pro-Trump activity West has been involved in this weekend. Saturday he was performing on Saturday Night Live and, after the cameras were off, he stood on stage in a MAGA hat giving what the Daily Beast described as a pro-Trump rant:
“There’s so many times I talk to, like, a white person about this and they say, ‘How could you like Trump? He’s racist.’ Well, uh, if I was concerned about racism I would’ve moved out of America a long time ago.”
In the background of the video, Rock can be heard laughing and uttering the words “oh my God,” while others in the crowd audibly booed and yelled.
So I don’t see this really going anywhere but, again, if West can make it happen, I’ll tune in to see the show.
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