Over the weekend, Run the Jewels spoke to Channel 4 in the UK about a number of topics, including grime and Kanye West’s controversial meeting with Donald Trump. While EL-P had a lot to say about grime, he deferred to Killer Mike when the two were asked about West and Trump’s chat in Trump Tower. “[It] didn’t bother me,” Mike said. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“Black people shouldn’t have permanent friends or enemies, they should have permanent interest,” he added. “If it wasn’t for Dr. Martin Luther King being willing to meet with people like George Wallace, George Wallace would have not have ended up—starting as a racist bigot, he ended as a person who found God in some way, [and] appointed more blacks to his office than any other governor since him.”
Mike also spoke about NFL legend Jim Brown’s meeting with Trump. “Jim Brown, for the last 50 years, has fought against the oppression of all people,” he said. “Him sitting with President Trump was a significant thing for me, because I know on the other side of the table he was telling the truth.”
West met Trump last December in Trump Tower, where the two “discussed life” for 15 minutes before posing for photos in front of the press. Kanye later explained the meeting in a series of now-deleted tweets, saying he spoke with Trump to “discuss multicultural issues” and to “establish a direct line of communication with our future President.”
Watch a clip from the Channel 4 interview below.
"I always though it was just rap, personally."
U.S hip-hop supergroup @runjewels talk British grime and President Trump. pic.twitter.com/RFDJDZ9OcA— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) April 1, 2017
