PresidentDonald Trumphad nothing but kind words for friend and supporterKanye Weston Saturday.
“Thank you toKanye Westfor your nice words,” Trump wrote.
He then went on to referencethe First Step Act, bipartisan federal criminal justice reform legislation he signed into law last month, which West had so passionately pushed.
“Criminal Justice Reform is now law,” Trump wrote in his tweet Saturday, adding that it was “passed in a very bipartisan way!”
Donald Trump and Kanye West.John Taggart/Pool/startraksphoto.com
West’s wife,Kim Kardashian West, has also been vocal about the issue, having first met with the president to discuss the topic at the White House back in May. Those conversations led the formerCelebrity Apprenticehost tocommute the sentenceof Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother who was given a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense after she helped facilitate communications in a drug trafficking case. She was released from a federal prison in Aliceville, Alabama, on June 6, after serving her sentence for more than 20 years.
Another non-violent offender,Matthew Charles, was one of the first prisoners to be released under the First Step Act— which aims to give judges increased leeway in sentencing offenders for nonviolent crimes as well as improve rehabilitation programs for former inmates.
The Tennessee grandfather, who made national headlines in 2018 after he was resentenced and sent back to prison two years after a judged ruled his sentence was unfair, was on Thursday released from a Kentucky prison where he been for the last seven months.
Charles’ rollercoaster case traces back to the mid-’90s, when he was convicted of distributing crack cocaine and related charges, court records show.
His release also had Kardashian West singing Trump’s praises. “Just got word that Matthew Charles will be coming home within 24 hours,” theKeeping Up with the Kardashiansstar and KKW beauty owner, 38, tweeted on Thursday. “Thank you @realDonaldTrump for signing the 1st step act. This is what true bipartisanship can accomplish.”
Donald Trump/Twitter
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In October, West and Trump discussed several issues — including talk tax cuts, prison reform, mental health and racism — during a meeting at the White House that was laterspoofed onSaturday Night Live.
On Jan. 2, West — who has long been outspoken about his love for the president — wrote a series of gushing tweets about Trump, beginning with a simple message of loyalty: “Trump all day.”
West continued his political rant with two more tweets. “They will not program me,” he wrote. “Blacks are 90% Democrats. That sounds like control to me.”
He finally wrapped up his rant with three last tweets, making it clear yet again that he intended to support Trump throughout his presidency. “From now on I’m performing with my mutherf—ing hat on,” West wrote alongside three dragon emojis, referencing his “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, which hewears frequently.
“Kim did not support Trump, and her family didn’t support him,” the insider told PEOPLE. “But, she knows that she has a very rare opportunity to have the ear of the president, and she has some things that she’s very passionate about, and is willing to meet with him to talk about the things she believes.”
source: people.com
