Rapper A$AP Rocky revealed in a recent interview with GQ magazine that he called former President Donald Trump to thank him for intervening in his 2019 arrest in Sweden.
A$AP Rocky was detained in Sweden in 2019 and held in police custody after a street brawl. As Breitbart News reported at the time, President Donald Trump personally called the Prime Minister of Sweden to push for the rapper’s release.
“Just spoke to Kanye West about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration,” Donald Trump wrote on Twitter at the time. “I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!”
Rocky told GQ magazine he had a private phone conversation soon after his release to acknowledge Trump’s efforts. The article explained what happened:
In the ensuing weeks, allies of the president started complaining that Rocky didn’t deliver a public statement of gratitude. Despite his perceived silence, and his fears that he’d be punished due to Trump’s ham-fisted Twitter diplomacy, Rocky was indeed grateful.
He told the president so on a private phone call. “I was mad thankful that he did that, because he didn’t have to!” Rocky says of Trump. “He took the time out of his day.” The support he received from the president and others, he says, “made me happy while being in there, because when you in jail, you feel like nobody cares. You can get lost, and you feel soulless. Like, you feel low, bro.”
Rocky was initially arrested after he voluntarily presented himself to Swedish authorities to answer questions about a street brawl that included members of his entourage. Rocky denied they did anything wrong. Trump used his considerable media presence to push for a new start for the rapper.
“I personally don’t know A$AP Rocky, but I can tell you he has tremendous support in the African-American community in this country,” he said. “I think I can really say from everybody in this country because we are all one.”
Just spoke to @KanyeWest about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration. I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019
A Swedish court eventually ruled A$AP Rocky and two other U.S. suspects could be freed from detention ahead of the verdict on their charges being announced.
He returned home soon after.
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