Kanye West says MAGA support was about 1984 Orwell, not Trump policies

Kanye West is once again revisiting his decision to back the “Make America Great Again” movement.

In a new limited-release documentary In Whose Name, the rapper has doubled down on his past support of US President Donald Trump.

The Nico Ballesteros-directed film, compiled from over 3,000 hours of footage shot over six years, shows the rapper discussing the period leading up to his 2018 Saturday Night Live performance, where he wore a MAGA hat and delivered an unscripted pro-Trump speech.

“I was literally inside of current slavery,” West says in the documentary, recalling the pressure he felt from his peers to stay silent. “I was being accosted by my own people to not free my mind.”

West insisted his support for MAGA wasn’t about endorsing all of Trump’s policies.

“When I wear the hat, it ain’t about every one of this man’s principles… It’s about 1984 Orwell. It’s about mind control. It’s about Big Brother. It’s about whether I can say the word ‘Hitler’ without being canceled or losing my Adidas deal.”

He also linked the choice to his long-running battle over music rights, complaining about the $80 million price tag to reclaim his masters and adding, “Prince couldn’t afford it.”

West has maintained his affinity for Trump since 2016, visiting the White House in 2018 to discuss prison reform, racism, and mental health and once called Trump "my brother."

By 2020, Ye launched his own presidential campaign, which ended in defeat that November.