[UPDATED] Kanye West has set a lunch meeting with President Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner at the White House on Thursday, The New York Times reports. West has been a vocal, if controversial, supporter of the president in recent months.
West’s discussion with Trump “will include manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence, and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump told reporters early Tuesday that West would bring Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown with him. “He’s been a terrific guy,” Trump said of Kanye West. “He loves what we’re doing for African American jobs, for so many different things. Median income, as you see, is at an all-time high; poverty level at the best rate, meaning the lowest rate. And Kanye is a smart guy, and he sees that.”
A West White House meeting could be a thank-you for his support and an opportunity for the kind of photo-op that men both love.But the rumor mill is on overdrive that Trump will use the meeting to finally sign the Music Modernization Act into law.
No official signing date has been set for the MMA, which brings copyright and royalties into the digital age. It passed both house of Congress unanimously more than two weeks ago.