The 30-year-old, whose birth name is Rakim Mayers, has been jailed in Sweden since July 2 after a street fight in Stockholm. Trump said that he has received multiple calls from people urging him to help free A$AP Rocky, who they contend is being held unjustly.
President Trump said he spoke with Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, about the rapper’s case and “offered to personally vouch for his bail.” Löfven assured him that Rocky would be “treated fairly,” while Trump assured him that he’s not a flight risk.
“Just had a very good call with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$AP Rocky will be treated fairly. Likewise, I assured him that A$AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative…
They plan to speak again in the next two days. “Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!” he added.
….Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2019
A$AP Rocky was detained by Swedish authorities after the fight and is being held in jail and pending an investigation into the alleged assault. The rapper claims he did not instigate the fight, but rather that he was attacked by a group of men and retaliated in self-defense.
Trump has consulted with rapper Kanye West and West’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, among others, who have also been lobbying to free A$AP Rocky, known for hit song like L$D and Wild for the Night.
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
Trump and first lady Melania Trump spoke about the rapper’s detention at the White House on Friday.
“I personally don’t know A$AP Rocky, but I can tell you that he has tremendous support from the African American community in this country,” he said. “And when I say African American, I think I can really say from everybody in this country, because we’re all one.”
“I have been called by so many people asking me to help A$AP Rocky, actually the one who knew about A$AP Rocky was our first lady,” Trump added before asking Melania Trump if she wanted to give a statement.
“Well, I’ll be working with the State Department, and we hope to get him home soon,” Melania Trump told reporters.