Kanye West says that 'no matter who they are, as an American, I support the president'
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Kanye West appeared on "TMZ Live" Monday where he talked about his decision to wear a "Make America Great Again" hat.
Is it "fair to say the hat does not represent your support of Donald Trump?" host Harvey Levin, who said he personally had a "problem with what it stands for," asked West.
"First of all, I'm an American," the 41-year-old rapper replied.
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He continued: "I support and give my ideas and my support and brilliance to whoever is up in office. That is my stance as an American. I support our president. Bottom line. No matter who they are, as an American, I support the president."
West also went on to reiterate what the hat "represents" to him.
"This represents: y'all can't bully me... you can't tell me what to do because that's what people used to do, they would snatch your hat off... and ain't nobody ripping my hat off again... It also represents to me masculine energy..."
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Earlier in his appearance, West also explained his comments from the "Saturday Night Live" stage over the weekend, when he said: "They bullied me backstage. They said, don’t go out there with that hat on."
"The bullying came from people around me close to me in my circle telling me why I shouldn't be wearing the hat. It put my energy in more of a reactionary place," West said clarifying that he wasn't referring to the "SNL" staff, according to E! News.
"For me, I've got the right to wear what I want. I have the right to think what I want and feel what I want," he added.
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During his interview, West also revealed he extended an olive branch to controversial ex-quarterback Colin Kaepernick to arrange a White House meet-up with Trump. In addition, he clarified an earlier remark calling to “abolish” the 13th Amendment from the U.S. Constitution, stating he "misspoke" and that "amend is the right language."