It looks like Justin Bieber has officially joined the resistance. The pop singer tweeted a message to President Donald Trump early Saturday addressing the imprisonment of immigrant children in detention camps under the current administration.
Bieber’s tweet came after Trump, 73, revealed that he spoke with Sweden’s Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, about freeing rapper A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, from prison there. The 25-year-old “Love Yourself” singer tweeted that while he was grateful Trump was working to free A$AP Rocky, he should be focused on more pressing issues.
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Bieber’s unexpected political tweet was met with some backlash from social media users.
“He Justin. Where was the outrage when Obama built those ‘cages’?” one Twitter user wrote.
“Those kids and their parents are free to leave and return to their country of legal citizenship at any time,” a second person chimed in.
“All ‘cages’ at border detention centers were installed before Trump was President, mostly during the Obama administration. I’m happy to explain the issue in depth privately. Over 130,000 people were were caught a month ago illegally crossing. This number overwhelms our infrastructure,” a third Twitter user alleged.
The drama reached Trump’s radar on Friday after rapper Kanye West brought it to his attention, according to a tweet from the President. Trump alleged that he told the Swedish prime minister he was willing to vouch for A$AP Rocky in an initial tweet about the situation.
Later, Trump revealed that he’d spoken with Lofven, who assured him A$AP Rocky — once said to be struggling in inhumane conditions in jail in Sweden — would “be treated fairly.” Trump tweeted that he told Lofven the New York rapper “was not a flight risk,” as he’d been deemed, and “offered to personally vouch for his fail, or an alternative…..”
While Trump claimed the call with Lofven went well, the Swedish politician said on Saturday that the president “has a personal interest in the case,” but said he “cannot and will not attempt to influence prosecutors or courts,” Fox News reported.
“I will explain that the Swedish judicial system is independent. In Sweden, everyone is equal before the law, and this includes visitors from other countries,” Lofven said.
A$AP Rocky has been imprisoned in Sweden while authorities look into a fight that took place in Stockholm earlier this month, according to Fox News. The rapper was allegedly involved in the altercation, though his attorney maintains it was an act of self-defense.
Before Trump got involved, A$AP Rocky’s celebrity friends, including Kim Kardashian, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Bieber and Nicki Minaj called for his release. Kardashian, who has been working with Trump to pardon people imprisoned for drug crimes, thanked Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner on Thursday for their “efforts to Free A$AP Rocky & his two friends.”
