Kanye West was spotted entering Trump Tower on Tuesday morning with a large entourage in tow.
Reporters noted the rapper’s presence, and a spokesperson for Donald Trump later said he was there to meet with the president-elect.
Trump and West appeared together in the building’s lobby roughly 45 minutes after the rapper arrived.
“Just friends, just friends,” Trump told reporters when asked about the meeting. “And, uh, he’s a good man. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
Asked what they discussed, Trump said “life.”
West did not take questions, telling reporters, “I just want to take a picture right now.”
The two men shook hands, with Trump saying as West departed, “So long, man. You take care of yourself, alright? See you soon.”
watch the video of their meeting below :
https://youtu.be/xh3QfP9-MIM
The eccentric musician, who is married to Kim Kardashian, claimed last year that he plans to mount a presidential bid in 2020.
West appeared at Trump Tower on the same morning Trump announced his choice of Rex Tillerson for secretary of State.
The Exxon Mobil CEO is expected to face a tough confirmation battle in the Senate because of his close ties to Russia.
West’s surprise stop at Trump’s Manhattan high-rise took some attention away from the debate surrounding Tillerson, though the secretary of State pick remained a trending topic on Twitter.
Trump met with the Grammy Award-winning artist less than 24 hours after he scrapped a press conference planned for Thursday to address how he will handle his business conflicts.
I will hold a press conference in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest. Busy times!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
West has repeatedly dipped his toe into political waters.
He said last month he would have voted for Trump if he had cast a ballot on Election Day.
“I said something that was kind of politically correct,” West told the concert crowd in San Jose, Calif. “I told y’all I didn’t vote, right? What I didn’t tell you … If I were to have voted, I would have voted on Trump.”
Days later, West was hospitalized in Los Angeles for stress and exhaustion.
The “Gold Digger” rapper’s antics have attracted the ire of the past two presidents. In 2009, President Obama was caught on a hot mic calling West a “jackass” for interrupting singer Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards.
West caused a firestorm in 2005 when he declared that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” during a nationally televised relief concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Bush revealed in his 2010 memoirs he was furious over West’s comments, calling them the lowest point of his eight years in the White House.
“He called me a racist,” Bush told NBC News’s Matt Lauer that year.
“I didn’t appreciate it then and I don’t appreciate it now,” he continued. “It’s one thing to say, ‘I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.’ It’s another thing to say, ‘This man’s a racist.’ I resent it, it’s not true and it was one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency.”