Kanye West will meet Trump in the White House to talk about prison reform, gang violence, and Chicago

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October 9, 2018 8:19 AM

Kanye West is expected to meet President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner at the White House on Thursday to discuss gangs, manufacturing, prison reform, and Chicago violence. West has expressed support for Trump, including by wearing a Make America Great Again hat last week on 'Saturday Night Live.'

Kanye West is scheduled to visit the White House to meet with President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner on Thursday to talk about gang violence and prison reform.

West, a vocal Trump supporter, is expected to have lunch with Trump and meet with Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, to discuss topics including "manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence, and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago," the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said on Tuesday.

Sanders' statement confirmed a report in The New York Times that said West was planning to meet with Trump and Kushner.

West plans to talk about bringing more manufacturing jobs to his hometown of Chicago, the newspaper said.

The rapper, producer, and designer has been a vocal supporter of Trump since the 2016 election, and he wore a Make America Great Again hat last week while performing on "Saturday Night Live."

West has received strong criticism in some circles for his unabashed support of the president.

It is unclear whether Trump and West's discussion will change the administration's course on criminal justice, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions has staked his claim on mandatory minimum sentences and similar tough-on-crime policies that are at odds with those advocating prison reform.

Kushner is leading a sentencing-reform project and met with West's wife, Kim Kardashian West, along with Trump at the White House earlier this year.

She successfully lobbied for clemency on behalf of Alice Johnson, a grandmother who had been serving a life sentence for nonviolent drug offenses. Trump granted the clemency request in June.

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