Jay-Z and Beyoncé are in New York for pre-Grammy Award events and the rapper took some time yesterday (January 27, 2018) to sit with CNN host Anthony Kapel “Van” Jones, who chose the rapper for his debut show.
The interview received a boost this morning when Donald Trump responded to Jay’s description of him as a super bug with a tweet that read, “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!”
On Twitter, Jones responded by pointing out he had asked Jay about “whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency.” It’s been pointed out by many on social media that Trump is staying true to form, choosing to respond to black critics with more frequency than white ones.
The conversation around Donald Trump began with Jones asking Jay about the president describing Haiti and African countries as shitholes. “It’s disappointing and it’s hurtful,” said Jay. “It really is hurtful more so. Everyone feels angry, but after the anger it’s really hurtful. Because you’re looking down on an entire population and you’re so misinformed because these places have beautiful people and beautiful everything. And this is the leader of the free world speaking like this.”
In commenting on Donald Sterling being stripped of ownership of the Clippers for racist statements, Jay said that tact isn’t effective in solving the problem and leads to creating super bugs like Trump.
Jay was asked about Trump’s boast that black unemployment is at an all-time low. “You’re going to treat me really bad and pay me well. It’s not going to lead to happiness. It’s the same thing. Everyone’s going to be sick,” said Jay.
Jones also asked Jay about his decision to go public about cheating on his wife in his album 4:44, which has been nominated for a best album Grammy. “For us, we chose to fight for our love. For our family. To give our kids a different outcome. To break that cycle for black men and women,” he said Jay.
Jay-Z also discussed the #metoo movement and also addressed Colin Kaepernick, describing him as an iconic sports figure akin to Muhammed Ali.
The entire interview aired last night on CNN at 7:00 PM EAST. Watch additional clips here.
