President Donald Trump thanked musician and good friend Kanye West for his friendly words after the Jesus Walks rapper was full of praise for him.
West had tweeted in appreciation of Trump a few days earlier and reaffirmed his complete support for the American leader who otherwise holds a divided opinion among the public (both at home and abroad), unlike any other White House occupant in recent history.
A Firm Supporter
In Kanye West, Trump has found a complete believer in his policies and way of doing things. In his appreciation tweet, Trump also referred to the First Step Act, a bipartisan federal criminal justice reform legislation that he had signed into law just a month earlier. West had vigorously worked on getting the legislation through and had been very vocal in its support.
The President tweeted that the Criminal Justice Reform was now a part of the law after being passed in a highly bipartisan way. This reform has been highly praised, unlike many other policies which have been undertaken by the Trump administration, and West has played a key role in it.
Caption: In Kanye West, Trump has found a complete believer in his policies and way of doing things.
Commuted Sentences
Previously, West’s wife Kim Kardashian West had also been very outspoken on the matter and even met the President back in May to discuss its importance and the significant need of passing this law.
That meeting and the things discussed in it led to the former Celebrity Apprentice host in commuting the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson. The 63-year-old had been sentenced to life in prison for a non-violent drug offense for the first time. On the basis of Alice’s help in another drug trafficking case, she was released after having served more than 20 years of her life sentence.
Matthew Charles was another non-violent offender who was released under the First Step Act. This Act aims to provide increased leeway to judges when handing out sentences to non-violent offenders for non-violent crimes.
In addition, it also calls for better rehabilitation programs for people who have served their time and are now looking to re-integrate into society. This will also have an impact on the high number of incarcerated individuals currently held in US prisons, which is currently one of the highest in the world.
Charles, a Tennessee grandfather who had made headlines for being resentenced two years after his original prison sentence had supposedly been ruled unfairly by a judge as well and was also let go from a Kentucky prison where he had been for the last 7 months under the stipulations made in this Act.
Caption: This Act aims to provide increased leeway to judges when handing out sentences to non-violent offenders for non-violent crimes.
Charles’s flirtations with prison date back to the 1990s when he was first convicted for dealing in crack cocaine. A few other charges were also indicated by court records. He had served 21 years of a 35-year sentence before it was ruled as unfair and he was subsequently released. Later, he was ordered to come back to jail and complete his term. His release had Kim Kardashian West singing the controversial president’s praises and she thanked him in her tweet.
An Important Role Played By Kim Kardashian
Back in October, Trump and Kim had exchanged views on a number of issues such as mental health, racism, prison reform, and tax cuts. This meeting in the White House was the butt of many jokes on shows like Saturday Night Live, although in hindsight it has proved to be a very important meeting.
Caption: Back in October, Trump and Kim had exchanged views on a number of issues such as mental health, racism, prison reform, and tax cuts.
Although earlier this month West made no secret of his great admiration for Trump, on the other hand sources have reported that Kim Kardashian West doesn’t really support Trump or his political views but recognizes the opportunity at hand to be able to get through to the US President.
There are quite a few things that she feels about very strongly and passionately and is more than willing to meet with the controversial President to discuss them. Thankfully, this was at the top of her agenda, and surely many people serving long-term sentences behind bars would be thanking her for taking the initiative for years to come.