Kanye West is to meet US President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House has confirmed.
The two men are expected to discuss prison reform, gang violence and “manufacturing resurgence” in the US.
The meeting will take place less than four weeks before the mid-term elections in November.
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The rapper, who has been a vocal supporter of Mr Trump, will also meet White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law.
White House @PressSec confirms that Trump will have lunch with Kanye West: “Topics of discussions will include manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence, and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago.”
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) October 9, 2018
Star wars
On Monday, the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed two Democrats for the US mid-term elections, prompting Mr Trump to tell reporters that he likes “Taylor’s music about 25% less now”.
A history of Taylor Swift v Kanye West
Swift’s comments appear to have contributed to a spike in online voter registrations, especially among young people, according to the voter registration site, Vote.org.
However, Vote.org said it was not possible to measure the direct impact of Swift’s decision to wade into politics – taking into account looming registration deadlines in a number of states and other factors.
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Swift’s remarks once again put her at odds with West, with whom she has had an on-off public feud since he interrupted her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.
In September, West, who is married to Kim Kardashian, wore a hat with Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” during his performance of Ghost Town on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live.
He ended his segment by delivering an impromptu off-air speech praising the president, posted online by members of the audience.
“So many times I talk to a white person and [they] say: ‘How could you like Trump, he’s racist?'” he said. “Well, if I was concerned about racism I would’ve moved out of America a long time ago.”
Chris Rock’s Instagram story captured Kanye West going on a rant about Trump after “SNL” last night. Cheering and boos can be heard from the audience. pic.twitter.com/aXmG9JirrM
— Frank Pallotta (@frankpallotta) September 30, 2018
‘Dragon energy’
The rapper has also urged NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the first player to kneel during the pre-game national anthem in 2016, to “tell your experience directly” to Mr Trump.
Last month, Trump said Nike had sent a “terrible message” when they named the 30-year-old as the face of the brand’s new advertising campaign.
In April, West, who recently said he wishes to be referred to as “Ye”, released Ye vs The People, a track which expressed support for the US president.
He has also called Mr Trump his “brother” and has suggested both he and the president have “dragon energy”.
West has previously announced his own plan to run for president in 2020, but has since tweeted “#2024”, making it unclear whether he will challenge Mr Trump at the next election.