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Kanye West Talks Politics
This is What’s Trending Today.
Rapper Kanye West told the crowd at a concert in California Thursday that he did not vote in the presidential election. But he told them that if he had, he would have voted for Donald Trump.
West reportedly continued to talk for 40 minutes about his reasons for preferring Trump. The crowd, expecting to hear songs instead of a political speech, booed him. Some even threw shoes.
The majority of voters in California preferred Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the presidential race.
On Friday, people reacted on social media to the singer’s comments. “Kanye” became the most popular topic on Twitter.
Many of the concert-goers posted live updates on Twitter of West’s unexpected speech. One person wrote that West told the crowd, “The internet is going to take this out of context.”
By that, he means people may misunderstand his comments.
Another Twitter user said he was surprised to hear West did not vote in the election. He thought the outspoken performer would have written in his own name on the ballot.
West did not say Thursday whether he agreed with Trump’s political ideas. But he did talk about some of the things he believes are wrong with the country.
He said he believes African Americans should “stop focusing on racism. This world is racist, OK? Stop being distracted …”
West also said he thought the next four years would prepare him to run for president in 2020.
Some social media users said they missed how Kanye West acted back in 2005. That year, during a fundraising event for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, West criticized President George W. Bush’s response to the storm. He said on live television, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
And that’s What’s Trending Today.
I’m Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
What do you think about Kanye West’s comments? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
context – n. the words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning
appreciate –v. to understand the worth or importance of (something or someone)
interpret – v. to understand (something) in a specified way
outspoken – adj. talking in a free and honest way about your opinions
distract – adj. unable to think about or pay attention to something : unable to concentrate
concert – n. a public performance of music