1 of 3 | U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump and Kanye West pose for photographers in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan on Tuesday, December 13. Pool Photo by John Taggart/UPI |
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NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Kanye West met with president-elect Donald Trump Tuesday at Trump Tower in Manhattan where the pair were surrounded by reporters.
"Just friends, just friends, and he's a good man. Doing well, long time," Trump said alongside West when asked about the reason for their meeting as they posed for pictures.
"We've been friends for a long time," the hotel mogul continued when questioned about a potential cabinet position for West. "We discussed life."
West who mostly remained quiet, told reporters "I just want to take a picture right now," when asked for a comment.
The surprise visit comes days after West reemerged following his more than week-long hospital stay for exhaustion. His wife Kim Kardashian was not by his side.
According to E! News, citing a source close to West, the pair met in order to discuss becoming an "ambassador of sorts" and that Trump is interested in getting the "Famous" rapper involved in an "entrepreneurial leadership role."
"Trump thinks he's a great role model when it comes to business," the source said.
In November, West came under fire for stating during a concert in San Jose that if he had voted, he would have cast his ballot in favor of Trump. "Trump is our president. And that would've been my vote, so I feel right," the outspoken rapper said at the time.
That same concert, the 39-year-old reiterated that he plans on running for president in 2020, something he avoided talking about to reporters on Tuesday.
Shortly after West announced his bid to run for president in 2020 during MTV's 2015 Video Music Awards, Trump himself praised West saying "I'll never say bad about him."
"He goes around saying, 'Trump is my all-time hero,' he goes around saying that to everybody, so Kanye West, I love him. Maybe in a few years I'll have to run against him, I don't know, so I'll take that back," Trump continued.