There was a moment during rapper Kanye West’s 10-minute Oval Office soliloquy on, um, hydrogen planes,
alternative universes and the 13th Amendment (among LOTS of other things) when the cameras zoomed in on
President Donald Trump’s face. Trump looked alternatively bemused, entertained, baffled, guarded and, yes, maybe
even a little nervous all at once.
Which is the closest I have ever felt to the President – because I was feeling all those same things watching the
rapper and the celebrity President interact in front of the cameras. (“Interact” probably oversells it. Kanye just sort of
talked at Trump, with an occasional pause to side-hug the President or show him a plane from his phone.)
It was a particularly Trumpian spectacle. Kanye was invited, alongside NFL great Jim Brown, ostensibly to talk about prison reform, but was really brought to the White House because a) he is a celebrity b) he says nice things about Trump and c) he guarantees eyeballs and buzz everywhere he goes.
And of course, everyone watched – even if they said they didn’t want to or didn’t care – because it was impossible to tear yourself away from the spectacle. Kanye didn’t really talk much about prison reform but, then again, I am not sure what the hell he did talk about.
I watched the whole thing because, again, how could you not? Below are the 17 most surreal, weird and only-in-the-Trump-White-House moments. Some are quotes. Some are observations. Some are, well, not able to be adequately described in words. I didn’t rank them in any set order, because how in the world would you even do that?
Oliver Contreras/Getty ImagesI mean, absolutely epic. I think you could see Trump thinking “Was this a mistake?” during the middle-to-late section of Kanye’s speech. But then Kanye landed the (rhetorical) plane – somehow – and Trump seemed thrilled with all the attention. All’s well that ends well – or something.
2. “So there’s a theory that – there’s infinite amounts of universe and there’s alternate universe so it’s very important for me to get [Larry] Hoover out, because in an alternate universe, I am him and I have to go and get him free.”
No words.
Also, Hoover is the founder of a Chicago gang, who is currently serving six consecutive life sentences in a supermax prison in Colorado. West had advocated for Hoover’s release before – most notably wearing a “Free Hoover” sweatshirt during a recent “Saturday Night Live” appearance.
