Donald Trump: Champion of justice reform? That’s what Kim Kardashian West is saying after enlisting the president’s help in trying to get rapper A$AP Rocky out of jail in Sweden.
“Just spoke to @kanyewest about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Friday afternoon. “I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!”
Representatives for Rocky did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
Just spoke to @KanyeWest about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration. I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019
Rocky (real name Rakim Meyers) is accused of assaulting a man in Stockholm on June 30, before he was set to perform a concert. He was arrested by Swedish authorities a few days later and has been behind bars ever since. On Friday, a Stockholm court ruled he be held for six more days, until a hearing on July 25 could determine further incarceration. Artists like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, and more have voiced support for Rocky, but now high-level political figures are getting involved as well.
Per the Associated Press, Kardashian West — who previously worked with the Trump administration to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a woman who had been incarcerated for 22 years on a first-time nonviolent drug offense — reached out to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to brief him on the situation. Kushner then informed Trump, who directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to see what could be done.
“Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @SecPompeo, Jared Kushner & everyone involved with the efforts to Free ASAP Rocky & his two friends,” Kardashian West tweeted on Thursday. “Your commitment to justice reform is so appreciated.”
Thank you @realDonaldTrump , @SecPompeo, Jared Kushner & everyone involved with the efforts to Free ASAP Rocky & his two friends. Your commitment to justice reform is so appreciated 🙏🏼🤞🏼 https://t.co/Ym1Rzo5Z6c
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) July 18, 2019
The praise comes less than a week after Trump made national headlines for a rally in North Carolina in which he criticized Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), prompting the crowd to chant “send her back.” Democrats called the spectacle racist, and after criticism from fellow Republicans, the president backtracked on Thursday, saying he “was not happy with” the chant. But on Friday, he reversed positions again, praising the crowd as “incredible patriots.”
