Kanye-Trump & student apathy

A meeting between two major figures in American media stirs…very little

Lilyana Espinoza / Opinion Section / The USD Vista

In late April, Kanye West made Americans’ heads spiral with a tweet in support of President Donald Trump.

“We are both dragon energy,” West said. “He is my brother. I love everyone.”

While the wording was eccentric, the bottom line shone through: Kanye West was in support of Trump.

Senior Cody Anderson-Parks has followed the issue and spoke on his understanding of the situation.

“West has always been a figure in the public spotlight and he has been a longtime media favorite due to his ‘brilliance’ in music and his upfront attitude,” Anderson said. “Before West came out in support of Trump, he had come out about his own personal struggles with some mental health issues. After coming out with his support for President Trump, even longtime supporters and defenders of West were more than happy to throw him under the bus and attribute his support to a contrarian brand of insanity and bipolar disorder.”

This subject has returned to media headlines due to West’s visit to the Oval Office for a meeting with the president earlier this month. While there was no specific reason given for the meeting, many speculate that it was orchestrated by Trump in order to get more press for his administration that is not centered around his scandals.

Junior Imari Clement’s reaction to learning of West’s visit was not a positive one.

“(My initial reaction was) literally an eye-roll,” Clement said. “I don’t think I was surprised, more so amused at the level of foolishness we seem to accept from the President of the United States.”

Students such as Clement do find that West is a talented artist, but believe his large platform is being wasted as a result of his behavior and opinions that often alienate his original fanbase.

“I was (a fan of West) and I would say I still very much appreciate his older works of music and can’t deny that he is talented,” Clement said. “Although, I don’t particularly like him as a person, especially considering what a large platform he holds to spread nonsense.”

Other students, such as Anderson, are afraid that this type of media coverage does not show the true nature of politics and undermines the nature of informative news.

“Certainly this is an important topic that could be covered in the media,” Anderson said. “However, the level of political analysis and the conclusions that the media is reaching for are ridiculous and quite frankly embarrassing. As a member of the millennial generation, I am personally very embarrassed and fearful that others my age eat up the narratives that the mainstream media spews on a daily basis.”

This fear for Anderson is reaffirmed through daily interactions he has with other students.

“I often find that I can’t discuss topics with other students because they simply are unable to mentally reconcile facts that disagree with the account of events that they have been spoon fed by the news,” Anderson said. “While this is an interesting event, does it truly deserve to be the subject of hours of primetime media analysis and screen time, while hosts discuss Trump’s hidden motives to destroy their ideology? I don’t think so. The media has destroyed public trust.”

While sentiments from those who chose to speak on the topic are strong, there is also a level of apathy towards this issue that pervades the general student body. Many students who were asked to comment on the subject simply refused to speak to it, claiming that they felt uninformed or simply didn’t care enough about the issue to speak on it.

This conclusion was reaffirmed by Clement who stated that USD students are not actively following this commotion.

“Honestly, I don’t think the average USD student cares all that much,” Clement said. “This action isn’t outside of the usual stunts (Trump) pulls.”

Media stunts, such as this one, are meant to get people talking and have the potential to change the public image of the those involved.

Anderson, however, doesn’t think this event should have an impact on how the public interprets the actions of the president.

“I don’t think that the issue is unimportant per se, but I don’t form my political opinions based on who comes out in support of a leader,” Anderson said. “People should be judged by their own words and actions alone. West coming out in support of Trump, whether West is mentally compromised or not, shouldn’t affect the evaluation of Trump’s actions as the leader of America. That is for each and every person to decide on their own, and I hope that they do their own thorough analysis of the facts before jumping to quick conclusions.”

Controversy continues to surround this administration, but the general public seems to have grown indifferent to these happenings. If the public cannot be moved to care when the issue is eye-catching, the apathy could be even stronger with issues that are decidedly more political and mundane at first glance.