Trump and Kanye West speak amid rapper’s antisemitic rants, acquisition of Parler

Former President Donald Trump spoke with Kanye West over the phone following the rapper’s decision to buy his own social media platform, a personal familiar with the call told POLITICO.

West placed the call, during which the two confirmed plans to have dinner though nothing is currently scheduled.

The call comes shortly after it was announced that West would be buying Parler, the social media app that is dominated by conservatives, and as the rapper faces criticism for a round of highly antisemitic comments, including from Trump-allied conservatives.

“With so many problems in society blaming Jews for exploiting media or people of color is not one of them,” wrote Matt Schlapp, who runs the influential CPAC conference. “Jews and other minorities should find common cause in crushing BDS/CRT. I admire Kanye is many mays but his harsh comments of Jews are offensive and wrong. Unite and Fight.”

Trump himself commented over the weekend that American Jews were ungrateful for his support of Israel, warning they needed to reassess their political viewpoints “before it is too late.”

The former president has a prior relationship with West, having invited him to the White House during his presidency to discuss, among other matters, criminal justice reform. But West also played a particularly mysterious role during the 2020 campaign, with a number of Republican operatives quietly assisting his efforts to get on the ballot in several states. He ultimately did not factor into the election but he has hinted that he would make another run in 2024

West, also known as Ye, told Bloomberg News he decided to acquire his own social media platform after being kicked off Instagram and Twitter for antisemitic language. Bloomberg first reported news of a West-Trump conversation and dinner.

“People had talked about it and mentioned this idea for years, but enough was enough,” Ye said.

Parler is run by George Farmer, the husband of right-wing commentator Candace Owens. Owens appeared at Ye’s Paris Fashion Week show last week where the two wore “WHITE LIVES MATTER” T-shirts. Farmer told The Wall Street Journal discussions to acquire Parler began at the show.