West Coast rap pioneer-turned-political affiliate Ice Cube has repeatedly denied being a supporter of Donald Trump or the MAGA movement years after a controversial meeting, but many of his fans don’t believe him.
Recently, the NWA co-founder shared that people have him “f—ked up” for thinking he’s a Trumper while explaining where the disconnect came from in his opinion.
The “No Vaseline” artist appeared on a Tuesday, Nov. 19, episode of “The Baller Alert Show” on YouTube and talked about everything from basketball’s newest star Caitlin Clark and the contract he offered her to the new movie in his “Friday” franchise. He also talked about how people think he’s down with the GOP and not supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
The host talked to him about a segment on his radio show called “You Got Me F—ked Up,” and asked if the artist has anyone he could say that to.
“People who think I’m MAGA or Trump supporter (and all that), and I went out there and voted for the Republicans and all this, man, they got me f—ked up,” Ice Cube said to hosts Ferrari Simmons and You Know BT.
He added, “I never said that. They have no proof. I ain’t never endorsed a candidate. So, you know I just think they got me f—ked up and it’s just a narrative that’s wrong.”
When Art of Dialogue posted a clip from the interview, many fans weighed in with mixed opinions.
“All he was use his voice and asked to see what both sides had to offer for black people, as he should as a voter. & People blew it way outta proportion,” one person wrote.
Other were convinced that he was supporting Trump.
“He supported and voted for Trump 100%,” someone declared, another person said, “Bet $5 he voted for Trump.”
Someone else said, “Anybody who’s thinks he’s wrong for voting for Trump has not been paying attention.”
A fifth comment read, “He has seen what is coming, now he tryna take his words back.”
According to Ice Cube, people believe that he supports Trump was because of his contact with the Trump-Pence campaign regarding what they planned to do for Black people during the 2020 election cycle.
He presented to them what he called the “Contract with Black America.”
You don’t understand why I don’t know Trumps plan like the back of my hand? It’s his plan. My plan is the Contract With Black America. Compare the two for yourself and see what they took. https://t.co/roKuVsWYWD
— Ice Cube (@icecube) October 17, 2020
In 2020, during the campaign season, he engaged with both the Democrats and the Republicans regarding his proposal which outlined policies aimed at addressing systemic inequalities affecting Black Americans.
“Both parties came to me,” Cube told the hosts. “I didn’t go to them saying, ‘Look what I got, man. You should sit down and talk to me.’ Both of them came to me like, ‘Hey, you got an interesting document here. Can we discuss it with you?’”
While the Biden campaign reportedly deferred discussions until after the election, the Trump campaign “plucked” elements of “Ride Along” star’s proposals and incorporated them into its “Platinum Plan,” leading to public backlash and accusations of political alignment.
“That’s not my plan, that’s there’s,” Cube added. “That was done in their own think tank.”
Another time when the “It Was a Good Day” rapper’s interactions with the Trump campaign drew controversy from fans, especially after Trump’s advisor Katrina Pierson publicly thanked him for his involvement.
Cube responded, stating that both parties had reached out, and he pursued discussions with the Trump campaign because of their willingness to engage immediately. He emphasized that his actions were about pushing for tangible benefits for Black Americans rather than endorsing any specific political ideology or candidate.
Fans even threatened to boycott his new film “Last Friday” over his political affiliations and being viewed as a MAGA maniac.
After Cube secured a partnership with Elon Musk to air the 2024-2025 season on his BIG3 basketball league on his social media platform X, people came out in droves criticizing him for supporting the well-known Trump supporter, claiming this was proof of Cube appearing to “align” himself with white supremacist ideologies.
Shut yo bitch ass up! I ain’t aligned with nothing, punk. I draw my own fuckin lines. https://t.co/hnKX3IMTNa
— Ice Cube (@icecube) March 22, 2024
The 2009 BET Hip Hop “I Am Hip Hop” honoree alleges that nothing could be further from the truth. He is not down with Trump, Musk, or any political figure. He clarified he was nonpartisan and solely focused on advancing his community-focused agenda.
The “Straight Outta Compton” rapper said he intentionally kept quiet about the 2024 presidential election, noting that he never told people not to vote or who to vote for despite false reports. But he did say, “You should get something for your vote and nothing is wrong with that.”
It seems that Cube’s stance exemplifies the fine line between advocating for real change and navigating political landmines.
While he has passionately defended his decisions to entertain conversations with Trump and other conservative lawmakers, he also wants to claim to his core fan base he is not in anyone’s political pocket.
Even still, Cube’s willingness to engage with continues to not only polarize him to many but sparked intense debates.