Trump allies say A$AP Rocky was supposed to thank him but his team stopped ‘returning our text messages’: report
Some of President Trump’s allies who said they were involved in the White House’s recent push to secure A$AP Rocky’s release from detainment in Sweden earlier this month claimed that it was understood that the rapper was supposed to thank the president for his efforts after his release. But now they say his team is longer “returning our text messages.”
In an interview with Yahoo News released on Thursday, Darrell Scott and Kareem Lanier — a pastor and co-chair of the Urban Revitalization Coalition, respectively, who have made several appearances at White House events focused around black issues — said they were instrumental in kickstarting the Trump administration’s efforts to secure the release this month.
{mosads}The two said they were first put in touch with Rocky’s team by self-described Hollywood “fixer” Hassan Muhammad. Muhammad, who reportedly has a reputation in the entertainment industry for handling problems, said he got in touch with Scott and Lanier for help getting Rocky out of Sweden after he was arrested for alleged assault in July.
“If you are in a situation like this, then there’s only one or two places you call, the White House or the State Department,” Muhammad recalled telling the rapper’s team. “I know somebody at the White House.”
Scott told the paper that he and Lanier decided to bring Rocky’s case to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner’s attention after seeing videos of the street fight involving Rocky connected to his arrest and a man who had been following him.
Lanier told Yahoo News that he perceived the situation as “a black man that we believe is innocent stuck in jail.”
In talks he shared with Rocky’s manager, John Ehmann, Scott recalled saying that “White House didn’t ask for anything” in exchange for its efforts to secure the rapper’s release.
“There were no conditions attached, but my condition and Kareem’s condition was that all I’m asking for you guys to do is say thank you,” Scott continued.
“If a serial killer gets Rocky out of jail, I would have no problem saying thank you to the serial killer,” Scott recalled Ehmann responding.
In the days following their conversation, Scott said Trump asked him about Rocky’s case during his trip to Cleveland in July.
“What do you think about this Rocky guy?” Trump asked him, according to Scott.
“He’s a good guy. It’s a good move,” Scott recalled responding.
Days later, Trump brought up Rocky’s case before reporters at the White House, saying: “Many, many members of the African American community have called me, friends of mine … I can tell you he has a lot of support from the African American community in this country.”
But Lanier told Yahoo News that relations between him and Rocky’s team began to sour after Trump’s involvement.
At one point, Lanier said he “snapped” at one of Rocky’s attorneys with whom he was in contact, Damien Granderson, after he appeared unappreciative of Trump’s efforts.
“I was like, man, you ungrateful motherf—-ers, you. I can’t believe you. … We didn’t ask you guys for nothing other than for you guys to be grateful,” Lanier recalled saying. “We just want you guys to be appreciative and say thank you.”
Scott and Lanier also said that once Rocky was released, Ehmann stopped “returning our text messages” shortly after.
“All he had to do was do a two-minute call to say thank you. Rocky hasn’t even called us and said, ‘Hey, man, thank you guys. I appreciate it,’ in private. Just in private,” Scott told the publication.
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