John Legend Says Kanye West ‘Sees Some Aspects of Himself’ in Donald Trump, Would Run for President

Kanye West and John Legend attend a Kanye West concert held exclusively for American Express card members at the Nokia Theatre August 29, 2006 in New York City.
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"[West] sees that Trump winning makes it feel like he could do it too.”

President Kanye West

It could be the future -- one he’s long since dreamed -- if the 41-year-old rapper has anything to say about it. And, according to his friend, John Legend, West isn’t joking around when he talks about making a run for the White House.  

“I think he’s serious,” Legend, 39, said on the British podcast The Dan Wootton Interview on Friday. “I don’t know how he’d run. If I were to guess I think he’d run as an independent, but he’s never told anything about what party he would run from.”

But, Legend said, having someone so unconventional, controversial and out of the norm as Donald Trump as commander in chief is likely helping to fuel West’s dreams of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

“I think that’s part of why he likes Trump,” Legend theorized. “Because he sees some aspects of himself in Trump. [He] sees that Trump winning makes it feel like he could do it too.”

Legend and West have been known to disagree on politics. Along with his wife, Chrissy Teigen, Legend is frequently outspoken against Trump, while West has been anything but. 

The “Yikes” rapper has often praised Trump, and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, has been at the White House at least twice to fight for parole reform. Things came to a head for the pair when West shared their private messages -- which had Legend urging West to reconsider his support for Trump -- on social media back in April.

“I was stunned when he posted the texts, but then my other side of me was, ‘Well, I’m glad I said what I said and I’m glad people know what I said to him,’” Legend revealed on the podcast. “Because I think so many people were worried that Kanye was saying the things that he was saying and that there weren’t people who were advising him differently.”

Legend continued, “So part of me was happy that people saw that I was telling him the truth and telling him how I felt. I was proud of everything I said to him. So I was shocked that he posted it, but I was proud of everything I said and stand behind everything I said 100 percent.”

While the duo has seen each other since the Twitter debacle, Legend noted that he would like to keep those conversations between the two of them. 

“We talked about the things we texted about,” he shared. “I’ll let our conversations be private, but we both kind of reiterated a lot of things we’ve said in public. We don’t agree on everything, obviously, but I told him how I felt.”

Here’s more on the pair’s political disagreement:

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