Sporting both a MAGA hat, and a Colin Kaepernick sweatshirt, Kanye West recently showed up to the Fader office in New York. Leaving many confused, people are wondering why he would wear two items of clothing that represent opposite ideals in America. The MAGA hat stating, “Make America Great Again” is tied to Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential Campaign.
21-year-old, civil engineering major, Joyner Deamer, feels that “Many people give Kanye’s political opinion too much attention when in reality he is a musician. Make America Great Again is a phrase that has a negative connection among many because of its link to Trump. This outfit makes sense to me because Colin Kaepernick is working to make America great, he might just use a different phrase.”
Trump has been known to spew racist comments in the past. “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” he said in response to lawmakers who discussed protection plans for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador.
Kaepernick, former NFL quarterback turned activist, disagrees and has taken a stance against such racism. He kneeled during several pre-game ceremonies of the 2016 NFL season to fight violence towards people of color in America. He is also the face of Nike’s most recent campaign. A campaign that President Trump openly criticized in a tweet saying “Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way?”
Why then, did West choose to model clothing supporting both Kaepernick and Trump? West expressed support for Nike and Kaepernick equally. “I stand for giving everyone a voice. Adidas giving me a voice and Nike giving Colin a voice on a big business level make the world a more advanced place.”
West has attempted to lessen the tension between Trump and Kaepernick. He claimed to have tried to arrange a meeting at the White House between the two during an interview with TMZ.
Psychology Major Jamois Weary, a 24-year-old Senior from Folsom Louisiana does not agree with West. “I think Kanye making that clothing choice is plain old disrespectful…” “that hat represents everything Colin Kaepernick kneels for…” “Kanye has a huge following and he should be using his stage to promote black awareness.
In West’s defense, last Saturday during a speech on SNL he replied to his fans by saying “If I was concerned about racism I would have moved out of America a long time ago.”
Some people worry, that the Kanye West, the 41-year-old multi-platinum record selling rapper is lost. The rapper who openly criticized a President for the lack of aid for black people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” West stated.
Jasmin Turner, 21-year-old Nursing major from Los Vegas, Nevada thinks that “he wore those two things together on purpose because he knew it would be controversial… I don’t even think he knows what he believes in anymore.”
One thing that is known, is that once again, Mr. West has consistently proven himself to be what some will call a “walking controversy.”