Dave Chappelle Weighs in on Kanye West’s Support of President Donald Trump

Dave Chappelle appeared on CNN’s The Van Jones Show this week, where he offered his best interpretation of Kanye West‘s recent media outbursts.

Chappelle’s interview was taped days before West visited the White House, but he still had plenty of material to go on with the embattled rapper. When Jones brought west up, Chappelle jokingly got up as if to leave, but when he sat back down he actually had some sympathy for the rapper, even if he does not believe in West’s methods.

“First of all, you know, Kanye’s an artist, man,” he began. “And he’s a genius.”

Jones was in agreement with all that, though many have called West’s “genius” label — often self-applied — into question lately.

“I think the angle he’s seeing things from is about the division that he sees. And — and he’s not inconsistent with what he’s saying,” Chappelle went on.

He likened the rapper’s “Make America Great Again” hat to another instance back in 2013 where West tried to reclaim the Confederate flag as a symbol for the black community. Chappelle broke down what he perceived as West’s intentions in these instances, though he made it clear that he did not personally agree with the methods.

“I’m not mad at Kanye. That’s my brother — I love him, I support him,” Chappelle said. “But, you know, I don’t have to agree with everything that he says … I just trust him as a person of intent.”

Chappelle was solemn and serious, as he had been during some of the heavier moments of his recent stand-up specials, though at the end he flashed that signature grin.

“But yeah, he shouldn’t say all that s—,” he finished, to a gale of laughter.

Speaking more broadly of the current social and political climates, Chappelle expressed concerns for America’s future, wondering how people could hope to see eye to eye again after being so divided for so long.

“The thing that’s scary about this presidency is after it,” Chapelle said. “I don’t know if you’ve been married before or had a girlfriend and said something in a fight that was so wrong, and after that… we’re still family, we’re still around each other. But man, I sure did say all that s—, didn’t I?”

Chappelle tackled the phenomenon of President Trump in his four recent Netflix specials, along with a litany of other topics. The comic has put an emphasis on nuanced discourse, fearing the consequences of today’s heavily divided political landscape.