Obama Calls Kanye West 'Jackass' Again

More than two years after President Obama skewered Kanye West for stealing Taylor Swift's thunder, he's still calling the rapper a "jackass."

In the May issue of The Atlantic, the president says he prefers Jay-Z over Kanye:

“Although I like Kanye,” Obama continues, with an easy smile. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.” He is displaying his larger awareness of the question, looking relaxed, cerebral but friendly, alive to the moment, waiting for me to get to the heart of the matter.

“Even though you called him a jackass?,” I ask.

“He is a jackass,” Obama says, in his likable and perfectly balanced modern-professorial voice. “But he’s talented.”

When Kanye interrupted Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Obama called him a "jackass" in a CNBC interview.

"I thought that was really inappropriate. You know it was like she's getting an award -- why are you butting in?" he said. "The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person. She's getting her award. What's he doing up there? He's a jackass."

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[rebel1803]

32 minutes ago ( 4:58 AM)

Actually if you look at the photos at the top of the page it looks like Obama is saying " Ok, Who farted? And Kanye is thinking, Wasnt me, it musta been Michelle.

[Ruth Loraine]

11:30 AM on 04/20/2013

So what. Is this noteworthy, again?

[marbiol]

10:07 PM on 02/24/2013

Y IS DIS UNDA POLYTIKS???HOWE COM DIS AINT UNDA BLACK VOICES??
'spehully since its what DEMOKRAZY looks like!!

19 arrested after disturbance at Chicago mall

February 24, 2013 07:14 PM EST |

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CHICAGO — Nineteen teenagers have been arrested following a disturbance that shut down a Chicago shopping mall and left two people with minor injuries.

Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak says the teens arrested Saturday were males and females ranging in age from 13 to 18.

Most are charged with misdemeanor mob action. A 16-year-old is charged with battery of a mall security guard who was trying to evacuate the mall.

Ford City Mall senior general manager John Sarama says the incident wasn't related to an appearance by the boy band Mindless Behavior, which ended about 45 minutes earlier.

Police say a large group of teens started causing chaos inside the mall. The disturbance continued in the parking lot, where some teens climbed on top of cars.

[Kendall Hawley]

11:08 PM on 04/15/2012

What's the news here? No Drama Obama strikes again. He's exactly right on every level.

[thetalkdiva]

02:04 PM on 04/15/2012

Why all the vitriol? Kanye acting like a jerk does not mean he's not talented, as the President stated. I don't think we have to support him in his abominable behavior just because he's black, African American, whatever. The President and I are the same age. I really don't know who gets to decide that black, African Americans are only the descendants of slaves. What about the few folks who've lived here all their lives and are descendants of folks who've lived here for centuries but were not slaves. The history of Africa and its descendants does not begin and end with slavery. Africans existed before America ever did. Descedants of Africa are all over the world, not just the USA. Go back far enough and the Americans of African descent will find relatives in Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, China, Russia, France, Norway, etc. The Americans of African descent have a culture that's developed as a result of our shared experiences here and even that culture is divided into numerous subcultures. That is to say, some black folks in America, I probably could not relate to at all because we are so different culturally. That does not make them more black or me more black. We need to explore our African culture rather than make up things and exhude behavior that is negative and becomes synonymous with "black culture." Sadly, even some of us believe that. Bad behavior is exhibited in every culture.

[Joseph Scott]

03:45 PM on 04/19/2012

The broad generalizations, the sweep brushstrokes, the unconsidered opinion....all three are part and parcel of posting on the internet, as well as the lack of critical thinking, which can drive a person batty sifting through sometimes.
However, prejudice deals in all three and they deal it in dump-trucks full.
And they seem to revel in it, which probably harkens back to our anti-intellectual streak in the culture, and which facilitates closing the mind off, and not applying understanding.

It can be very frustrating dealing with folks that have only one lens through which they can view their own culture, without a sense that others (we experience this also within our families of origin) can live in that same culture and by virtue of their representations, have a very different experience of what that culture's institutions and its agents are like.

[thetalkdiva]

05:22 PM on 04/19/2012

You are obviously a critical thinker. Thanks for the post. F&F.

[cejohn1465]

02:54 PM on 04/21/2013

Yeap!

[poppyCa]

02:01 AM on 04/15/2012

Right back ATCHYA Mr. President.

[ahetty2000]

01:54 AM on 04/15/2012

Ouch!!

[Don Stalvino]

12:58 AM on 04/15/2012

Kanye could say the same thing about the resident.

[Dee Gradee]

12:54 AM on 04/15/2012

isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? George W. Obama calling someone a jack*SS? the nerve of him. i wasted my vote. but not this november.

[Superabound]

01:28 AM on 04/15/2012

Does that mean youre going to vote for Mitt Romney? And if so, which one?

[poppyCa]

02:03 AM on 04/15/2012

I won't vote for the Jackass.

[Dee Gradee]

10:08 AM on 04/15/2012

um, i'm not voting for neither Dems or Repubs if at all. no change from Obama like he said. Probably vote None Of The Above in. or Jesse Ventura.

[queenhav]

01:23 AM on 04/15/2012

I think the classification black is idiotic and prefer african american. Their is no nation of Black we need to identify with our heritage not a color something about that reeks of slavery ideology when they aimed to strip us of all connections to our heritage and culture. Reminds me of Roots when they tried to make him say his name was Toby/Black hell no my name is Kunta Kunta Kinte/African

[afroblackfoot]

11:46 AM on 04/15/2012

I feel ya , there is a lot of confusion surrounding our race and this is what happens when a people are removed from they're source, there is no sense of connection to anything. I'm not interested in isolating any of our other brothers and sisters within the African diaspora but I do personally take pride in calling myself Black African American because it does give us some sort of identity and keep in mind that most Blacks in the country don't even identify with being from Afrika at all which is disheartening. Not to mention the huge amount of Blacks in this country have Native American blood as well. (myself included)

Question..Why is it that in most major cities you can find a Japan, China, Greek, etc Town but never a Black Afrikan or even Afrikan Town. Whenever we are thought of in a cultural sense it is usually based on references that are left over from slavery such as eating watermelon, chicken or loud talking, but every race has large amounts of people who do the exact same thing. Unfortunately we are surmised by the legacy of slavery which contain many ideals that were quite honestly forced upon us that are now outdated stereotypes, but I do sincerely appreciate your stance and I can discern your true pride for being of Afrikan decent, we are both branches from the same tree, no matter how we choose to describe ourselves.......

[Kire]

01:30 AM on 04/15/2012

not half jewish

[Maxwell Silver]

02:40 AM on 04/15/2012

His mom is from like... Kansas. No Jewish heritage whatsoever.

[art69z]

12:25 AM on 04/15/2012

We finally agree on one thing Mr. President...it's a start...Now, if I just get you to say Rev. Jackson is a Jack A**....I invite you to my house for a few beers...with a mess load of chicken wings and dip...

[thewestyard]

12:17 AM on 04/15/2012

he son would look like Kanye

[CHARLIE X]

12:56 AM on 04/15/2012

and probably act like him, too!

[Superabound]

01:30 AM on 04/15/2012

Thats offensive. How dare you bring peoples young CHILDREN into your shameless partisan political games! Both of Obama's daughters are perfectly well behaved, and you should be ashamed of yourself for dragging children through the Washington mud like that. How would you feel if people went around lying and saying you were a bad parent?

[Ryan81]

12:12 AM on 04/15/2012

Although I applauded Kanye West's claim that the previous president "doesn't care about black people" based on the latter's response to Katrina, on the whole Kanye suffers from a superiority complex - much like modern Republican politicians.

[tropicaloz]

11:38 PM on 04/14/2012

Good for the President to say it like it is.....remember people it isn't about race because the President is half white and half black. So many blacks seems to jump to siding with blacks regardless of what they have done or said regardless if it is just or right. Take a look at Jesse Jackson and Sharpton....they jump to conclusions and start issues before the facts are in place and create problems of so many all over. They are hungry to make everything negative and think that everything is unfair or unjust when it comes to their race.

[queenhav]

01:27 AM on 04/15/2012

when African American run the media I will entertain your concerns about them siding with African Americans btw its African Americans not blacks

[Misty Sanchez]

02:36 AM on 04/15/2012

I have a friend who is actually from Africa that is offended by people from this country calling themselves 'African' when they have no idea of the struggles he went through living in Ethiopia. And most of my friends who are black prefer to be called that over African-American. I think if you want to be called African-American, that's fine. Just don't assume every Black American wants to be called that.

[Rafael Perez]

11:19 PM on 04/14/2012

a talented jack-a... kray.