Former President Trump defended his dinner with the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, saying it happened because he is “overly generous.”
Trump told New York magazine in an interview published Friday that Ye has “always been very good” to him and he believed that Ye wanted advice.
“And I do that for people, sometimes at my own risk, I guess. But I do that for people. I like helping people that have difficulties in life. And I think, you know, from that standpoint, I did the right thing,” he said.
“I believe I am overly generous, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. But sometimes it can make life a little bit more difficult,” he added.
Trump faced widespread backlash for having dinner with Ye and far-right activist Nick Fuentes, who has repeatedly shared white supremacist and antisemitic beliefs, at the former president’s property at Mar-a-Lago last month.
Ye had come under scrutiny for making a series of antisemitic statements in various forums, including false claims that Jewish people controlled financial institutions and Hollywood. He lost deals with a range of brands, including Adidas, following his comments.
Trump has said he did not know Fuentes, and Ye was the one who brought him. He emphasized that again in the interview with New York magazine.
“He brought some people that I didn’t — Nick Fuentes — who I didn’t know at all. We sat down, we had a very quick meal. It wasn’t two hours, as somebody said. It was a very quick meal, it went very fast. It was pleasant,” he said. “There was nothing said of any great import. And that was the end of that. All of a sudden, the press made a fake story out of it.”
Trump previously defended himself on Truth Social after the dinner, saying Ye is a “seriously troubled man” who he was trying to help. Ye apparently told Trump during the dinner that he was running for president in 2024 and asked him to be his running mate.