Chance the Rapper defends Kanye West’s praise of Trump

Grammy-winning artist Chance the Rapper took to Twitter to defend Kanye West’s apparent praise of President Trump on Wednesday.

Following tweets from West where he called Trump “dragon energy” and his brother, Chance seemingly shielded West from a wave of backlash triggered by his comments.

“Black people don’t have to be democrats,” Chance tweeted Wednesday.

Chance, who has been highly critical of Trump in the past, said in another tweet that the next president will be an independent.

West pointed out on Twitter that he does not agree with all of Trump’s actions, noting that he doesn’t “agree 100% with anyone but myself.”

His tweets about Trump, which included a picture of himself wearing a signed “Make America Great Again” hat, prompted a response from the president, who tweeted, “Thank you, Kanye! Very cool!”

Kim Kardashian West also defended her husband, saying that he is a “free thinker.”

She said that many people — including herself — have different opinions about Trump, but argued that Kanye is free to state his opinion.

Donald Trump Jr. also defended West saying he respects “those willing to take the lead breaking with convention” in a tweet linking to Chance’s comments.