How the Kanye West and Donald Trump relationship unfolded
Kanye West met Donald Trump at Trump Tower in 2016, praised him publicly in 2018 and visited the Oval Office, then said he was distancing himself from politics. In 2020 West ran for president himself and said he no longer supported Trump. A November 2022 dinner at Mar-a-Lago, attended by Nick Fuentes, drew criticism, and Trump has since said West brought Fuentes without telling him.
17 November 2016 to 16 November 2025 · 25 dated events · 29 sources
Status in the record · 2 November 2026
The latest documented exchange in the sources reviewed is Trump's November 2025 remark that West brought Fuentes to the 2022 dinner. No later joint meeting or new public statement between the two was found as of 2 November 2026.
Coverage through16 November 2025Editorial review2 November 2026
Main story: 13 December 2016 to 16 November 2025. The full timeline also includes labelled context or related events.
25 recorded eventsCounts describe this timeline's coverage, not the merits of either participant's position.
Timeline of events
Overview · 17 Nov 2016 to 16 Nov 2025 · click a dot to jump
25 events shown
2016
17 Nov 2016
Before the main event
Kanye WestStatement
West says he would have voted for Trump
At a concert in San Jose, California, West said he had not voted in the presidential election but would have supported Donald Trump if he had, the Associated Press reported. He also praised Trump's method of communication.
West visited Trump Tower in New York. Trump, then president-elect, told reporters West was a good man and that they were friends. West told reporters he was there to take a picture.
In a series of tweets the same day, West said he had met Trump to discuss multicultural issues, including bullying, support for teachers, modernising school curriculums and violence in Chicago. He said a direct line of communication with the incoming president was important.
“I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.”Kanye West, CNN
West's tweets about the meeting are reported deleted
Reuters and CNN reported that West's tweets about the Trump Tower meeting were missing from his account, along with a later post showing a TIME cover signed by Trump. Reuters said the reason was not clear. West's representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
West posted on Twitter that the mob could not make him stop loving Trump and called Trump his brother. He also posted a photo of himself in a Make America Great Again hat that Trump had signed, the Associated Press reported.
“You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy”Kanye West, ABC11 (Associated Press)
Trump, then president, replied on Twitter with thanks, the Associated Press reported. Bloomberg reported that he did so while retweeting a post West had made earlier that day.
“Thank you Kanye, very cool!”Donald Trump, ABC11 (Associated Press)
West speaks in support of Trump after Saturday Night Live
After the credits of the Saturday Night Live episode, West took the stage wearing a Make America Great Again hat and gave an unscripted speech supporting Trump, the Associated Press reported. Videos of the speech circulated on social media.
Trump wrote on Twitter that he had not watched the show but had heard West was great after putting on the hat despite being told not to. In the same remarks he said the show was no longer funny.
“He's leading the charge!”Donald Trump, The Washington Times (Associated Press)
Trump hosted West and former football player Jim Brown for a lunch billed as a discussion of manufacturing, prison reform and violence in Chicago, with Jared Kushner among those present. Wearing the campaign hat, West spoke about prison sentences, Larry Hoover, stop and frisk policing and manufacturing, according to the White House transcript and the Associated Press.
“It was something about when I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman.”Kanye West, The White House (archived)
During the meeting Trump said West's remarks were quite something and that West could speak for him anytime. Asked whether West could be a future presidential candidate, Trump said he could very well be, and West replied that it would be in 2024, after Trump.
“He can speak for me anytime he wants.”Donald Trump, The White House (archived)
West wrote on Twitter that he had been used to spread messages he did not believe in and would focus on being creative. He said he had never wanted any association with Blexit, a campaign urging Black Americans to leave the Democratic Party, Bloomberg News reported.
“My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in.”Kanye West, Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Bloomberg News)
In a tweet on Saturday 4 July, West announced that he would run for president in 2020, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Trump was the incumbent president seeking reelection.
“We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future.”Kanye West, ABC7 New York (Associated Press)
Speaking at the White House, Trump called West's announcement very interesting and said West might run against him. He said that if West did, he would have to treat it as a trial run for the following election, AFP and Fox Business reported.
“If he did it, he would have to view this as a trial run for what's going to happen in four years”Donald Trump, Khaleej Times (AFP)
In an interview with Forbes, West said he no longer supported Trump and was taking off the red campaign hat. He said he would run under a new banner, the Birthday Party, and that he was running to win, Reuters and the Associated Press reported.
“I am taking the red hat off, with this interview”Kanye West, Malay Mail (Reuters)
Republican operatives help West seek ballot access
The Washington Post and ABC News reported that Republican operatives, some with ties to Trump's campaign, helped West seek places on state ballots. In Wisconsin, Madison lawyer Lane Ruhland, a former general counsel for the state Republican Party, delivered West's ballot petition to state election officials. The Post reported she had been listed weeks earlier as an attorney for the Trump campaign in a lawsuit against a local television station. She did not respond to requests for comment. Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller told the Post the campaign was not involved.
Asked by reporters about the help West was receiving, Trump said he liked West very much and had nothing to do with him getting on the ballot, according to ABC News and The Washington Post.
“I like Kanye very much. I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot.”Donald Trump, ABC News (Good Morning America)
In the official results compiled by the Federal Election Commission, West received 70,296 votes nationwide, about 0.04 percent. The same compilation records 74,216,154 votes and 232 electoral votes for Trump.
Trump, by then a former president, hosted West for dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, as Trump later described in a post. West arrived with others, including commentator Nick Fuentes. Karen Giorno, Trump's 2016 Florida state director, who attended, confirmed Fuentes was present, The New York Times reported.
In a video posted on Thursday evening, West said he had asked Trump to be his vice president for a 2024 run and that Trump had told him he would lose. He also said Trump was impressed with Fuentes, The New York Times reported.
“When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table telling me I was going to lose”Kanye West, The Hill
In a statement and a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said West had asked to visit and unexpectedly arrived with a guest he had never met and knew nothing about. He said he had told West he should definitely not run for president, that West expressed no antisemitism and that he did not know Fuentes, CBS News and The New York Times reported.
“The dinner was quick and uneventful.”Donald Trump, ABC7 News (ABC News)
David Friedman, Trump's former ambassador to Israel, urged Trump to disavow West and Fuentes. Matt Brooks of the Republican Jewish Coalition condemned what he called the virulent antisemitism of both men. Anti-Defamation League chief Jonathan Greenblatt called the idea of such a meeting appalling, The New York Times reported.
“To my friend Donald Trump, you are better than this.”David Friedman, CBS News
During a livestream with Adin Ross, Trump, then a candidate for president, described West as complicated and a nice guy who could get himself into trouble, Spectrum News and JTA reported.
“But he's got a good heart.”Donald Trump, The Forward (JTA)
As Trump and Elon Musk exchanged criticism online, West posted on X asking two people he did not name to reconcile, Salon reported. Snopes confirmed the post was West's and said he was almost certainly referring to their dispute.
Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, President Trump said he had not known Fuentes at the time of the 2022 dinner and had not known West was bringing him, the Associated Press reported. He was responding to questions about a separate interview of Fuentes by Tucker Carlson.
“I didn't know Nick at the time”Donald Trump, The Washington Times
“I am taking the red hat off, with this interview”
8 July 2020 · Malay Mail (Reuters)
Donald Trump
“If he did it, he would have to view this as a trial run for what's going to happen in four years”
7 July 2020 · Khaleej Times (AFP)
The November 2022 dinner
Kanye West
“When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table telling me I was going to lose”
24 November 2022 · The Hill
Donald Trump
“The dinner was quick and uneventful.”
25 November 2022 · ABC7 News (ABC News)
Background
Key facts
First meeting
Trump Tower, 13 December 2016
Oval Office visit
11 October 2018
West's own run
Announced 4 July 2020
West's 2020 votes
70,296 in FEC official results
Mar-a-Lago dinner
22 November 2022
Terms explained
Reports that Republican operatives, some with ties to Trump's campaign, helped West's ballot access do not establish that Trump directed that work. Trump said he had nothing to do with it, and a campaign adviser said the campaign was not involved.
West's account of what Trump said at the 2022 dinner and Trump's own account are attributed to each speaker and were not independently verified.
Attendance at the 2022 dinner is not evidence that Trump shared the views of any guest.
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Coverage through 16 November 2025. Editorial review: 2 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Copyright concerns: report an asset. Every event links to its sources. Source type does not establish whether a claim is true.
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