It's No Coincidence That Kanye West Unleashed His Antisemitism After Gaining Republican Support
Republicans are doubling down.
Instagram / Twitter / Liam Goodner / Shutterstock After a week of Republican support directed toward Kanye West following his condemnation of the Black Lives Matter movement, their silence in the aftermath of his antisemitic tirade is deafening.
West is to blame for his disturbing threat to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” as he stated in a tweet that caused his Twitter account to get locked.
However, it is no coincidence that his antisemitism revealed itself days after he became the right’s golden child.
Kanye West has a new fanbase comprised of Republicans and conservatives.
Two days before West’s comments against the Jewish community, the House Judiciary GOP Committee namechecked the rapper in a tweet, aligning him with Tesla founder Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
The tweet has not been removed, even after West made his extremism clear.
In fact, a brief scroll through the Twitter account of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee reads like a West fan page.
After dropping his name in their October 6 tweet, they labeled West’s interview with Tucker Carlson on Thursday a “must watch” and shared an image of the 45-year-old performer embracing Trump.
Elsewhere, other prominent Republicans doubled down after West’s antisemitism.
Lavern Spicer, who ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House in District 24 in Florida, told her followers to focus on “real antisemitism” instead of West’s comments.
She later tweeted, without directly naming West, “Yes, because he’s a free Black man free to speak and think as he chooses. If this is still America.”
After West’s highly criticized tweet, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita praised his “independent thinking.”
He later claimed that he has an “obvious” history of supporting the Jewish community — something that was anything but obvious when he defended an antisemite.
West’s antisemitism is clearly linked to his newfound support.
The rapper has repeatedly made it clear in the past number of years that he is devoted to shocking fans and stirring controversy.
That has led him to deny forced slavery in the US, endorse Trump, criticize anti-racist movements, and now threaten the most targeted religious group in the US.
There is a reason he has aligned himself with the right in order to find platforms for his hateful rhetoric.
West is seeking validation from his new audience, pandering to them with increasingly extreme statements.
And they are giving him that platform, allowing him to promote himself on national TV and defending his “free speech” when his words get even more dangerous.
There is a reason so few Republicans have backtracked on their support of West and it’s likely because not even his antisemitism has changed their minds.
Alice Kelly is YourTango’s Deputy News and Entertainment Editor. Based in Brooklyn, New York, her work covers social justice, pop culture, and human interest topics. Keep up with her Twitter for more.