In the aftermath of Kanye West’s bizarre rant in the Oval Office today with President Trump looking on, critics were horrified while many Trump supporters reflexively rushed to defend the rapper.

With a press contingent looking on, among Kanye’s odd statements was his announcement that, when he wears his MAGA hat, he senses special powers that make him feel like a “superhero.”

The president seemed unable to keep up with Kanye’s stream of consciousness in this surreal moment. But Trump loves to be loved and so the two engaged in a warm embrace at the end of the unprecedented White House event.

The bromance between these two goes back nearly two years, with the strongest backlash coming from the rap and hip-hop community. Last spring, after Kanye – who likes to refer to himself as Yeezy or Ye — heaped praise on Trump, the president responded by saying West “has good taste” and is a “very cool” guy.

Since then, the politics of the situation has become rather ridiculous. In the 2018 atmosphere of political tribalism, Trump supporters have blindly taken the position that “a friend of Trump’s is a friend of mine.”

Trump and West hug in Oval Office

Well, those conservative folks might want to take a big step backward before they follow in Trump’s footsteps and give Kanye a big hug.

First, the obvious. West is known for his profanity-laced lyrics that promote violence and engage in misogyny to such a degree that he has demanded that women bare their breasts and give him oral sex. Well before he supported Trump – though he didn’t vote for him in 2016 – his objectifying of women created controversy as he apologetically portrayed women as “bit—-” and “hoes.”

He has claimed that Bill Cosby, convicted of drugging and raping women, is innocent. He has insisted that black slaves voluntarily allowed themselves to be put in chains. In one of his news songs, he admitted to “sick thoughts” of having sex with his four sisters-in-law from the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

Fan of ‘Black Lives Matter’ and Kaepernick

What’s more, if Trump supporters are willing to dismiss all of that, they should probably get up to speed on Kanye’s hatred for cops, his apparent approval of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, and his support for pro quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who initiated the kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games.

In one of his songs from 2016, “Freestyle 4,” Kanye’s lyrics integrated the “Hands Up” chant of protesters after black teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.:

“Hands up, we just doing what the cops taught us / Hands up, hands up and the cops shot us.”

In another song, “All Falls Down,” Kanye’s rap went like this:

“We shine because they hate us, floss ’cause they degrade us/ We tryna buy back our 40 acres.

“I say f— the police, that’s how I treat ’em/ We buy our way out of jail, but we can’t buy freedom.”

And in June Kanye collaborated with rapper Nas on a song entitled, “Cops Shot the Kid.”

Here’s a sample:

White kids are brought in alive
Black kids get hit with like five
Get scared, you panic, you’re goin’ down
The disadvantages of the brown
How in the hell the parents gon’ bury their own kids
Not the other way around?
Reminds me of Emmett Till
Let’s remind ’em why Kap kneels

Trump supporters would be wise to realize that, even before his sudden affection for the president, the one thing Kanye has always been interested in is generating publicity and self-promotion. Then again, that’s probably why he and Trump get along so famously.