Between discussing his 2008 never-aired sketch puppet comedy show (he described it as “modern-day Jim Henson”) and revealing a picture of his adorable daughter, North, Kanye West took the time during his appearance on his mother-in-law’s talk show to address recent criticisms from President Obama.
Earlier this month, the president referenced Kanye and Kim Kardashian as an example of how the American dream has become distorted.
“Part of the American dream […] involves yearning for tangible things you can’t afford. Were there things, when you were growing up, that you yearned for that you couldn’t afford?” Obama said in an interview for a Kindle e-book. “Kids weren’t monitoring every day what Kim Kardashian was wearing, or where Kanye West was going on vacation, and thinking that somehow that was the mark of success.”
For those keeping track, the president has previously called West a jackass not once but twice.
Kanye came prepared. After Kris Jenner whipped out an index card and read the president’s quote, West responded:
Obama basically said we’re the new American dream. I think he was posing it like I was supposed to take it in a negative way, but I just feel really happy that the president mentions me so often. Thank you very much, Obama! I do think people should want to go on vacation or just want to travel, because that’s what opens people’s minds. […] So as Obama is talking about that, yes, they’re looking at what she’s wearing, where we’re going on vacation, because that is the way we relate to this new information age. There will be more people getting passports and wanting to travel. They’ll hear songs like N****s in Paris and they’ll be like, I want to be a n***a in Paris!
The full video is below, but the relevant bit starts around the 33 minute mark.
