President Trump on Friday thanked Kanye West during his speech at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention, giving the artist credit for his rising popularity in the polls among African-Americans.

“And by the way, Kanye West must have some power, because you probably saw, I doubled my African-American support numbers,” the president told those gathered in Dallas. “I went from 11 to 22 in one week.”

“Thank you Kanye, thank you,” he added.

Trump appeared to be referring to numbers from a Reuters tracking poll that noted an 11-point rise in support among black men between April 22 and April 29.

{mosads}

Among all black respondents, his support rose from 8.9 percent in the poll to 16.5 percent over the week.

West has sparked outrage and intense debate among the hip-hop and African-American communities in recent days with tweets in support of Trump, with some celebrities expressing support for West while others, including many of his fans, have expressed disappointment.

“We are both dragon energy. He is my brother,” West tweeted in one of his pro-Trump messages starting April 25.

In other messages, the rapper took shots at former President Obama for not bringing more positive change to Chicago, their shared hometown, which faces an epidemic of gun violence.

Trump has previously thanked West for the support on Twitter, tweeting that it was “very cool!”