President Donald Trump has praised Kanye West for having “good taste” for supporting him.
Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox & Friends that he knew the rapper “a little bit” and always got along with him.
He said West has noticed the low unemployment rate for black Americans.
“He sees that stuff and he’s smart and he says, ‘you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did’,” the president said.
West recently offered his support for Mr Trump in a series of tweets, saying they both share “dragon energy”.
That caused a backlash among other public figures who oppose the president.
In a tweet on Thursday, West wrote that while hate is a similar emotion to love, “hate is not the answer”.
Thank you Kanye, very cool! https://t.co/vRIC87M21X
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018
He also tweeted a link to a TMZ.com story about himself with a headline that described West as “the opposite of erratic”.
The story noted that West is releasing a new album in the coming months.
West has toyed with running for president himself and on Wednesday tweeted a poster of his face emblazoned with the slogan Keep America Great and #Kanye2024.
MAGA! https://t.co/jFf5ONASlv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018
He has recorded several best-selling albums and produced a fashion line and has the undeniable talent for attracting attention.
my wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don't agree with everything Trump does. I don't agree 100% with anyone but myself.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018
He has also been linked to several previous presidents, including when Barack Obama called him “a jackass” in 2009 for storming the stage at an MTV awards show to interrupt Taylor Swift.
In 2005, during a telethon to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, West criticised the White House’s response to the storm by famously charging that “George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people”.