Over the weekend, Kanye West's long-awaited appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience provided plenty of material to unpack, with social media having an absolute field day with the three-hour conversation. Yet one of the most important moments arrived when the topic of the military was raised, with Joe Rogan's tough foreign policy question leaving Kanye West in stunned silence, gathering his thoughts for a few moments before issuing a thoughtful answer on the topic.
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"You're going to have to deal with hostile governments," explains Joe. "Hostile militaries and dictators in other countries, who don't have a value of human life. Throughout history, we've had immense problems because of military conflicts. How would you handle that? You'll be the commander in chief of the greatest army the world has ever known. If you're in that position and have to deal with some sort of military action with China--what if China takes over Taiwan. What if they invade Taiwan? What if something happens with Syria or Iran? What if something happens with Russia, and you have to make decisions about military action?"
Despite his initially stunned demeanor, Kanye shows great restraint by taking a few moments to gather his thoughts and choose his words wisely. Based on his body language, it's clear he understands the high-stakes nature of the question, which highlights one of the many challenges the President of the United States must face upon being sworn into office.
"I'm a civilian, and people can have all their perspectives of what they would do in that situation," says Kanye. "But I would have the greatest professionals on the planet, the most skilled people that have all the experience that would present the information, and I would make the most sound, rational decisions. And I would follow God's will in my approach to dealing with these other countries, these other leaders. There's something about our President's personality and the leader of North Korea's personality where there's a level of common respect, and that's the reason they were able to talk. The fear had been taken off of us."
"People who are God-fearing, self-made servants of their people," he continues. "These other scary dictators, they feel that they're that for their country. If they see a President they know is taking a cheque or part of a bigger conglomerate -- I don't want to denounce any of the other candidates -- then it's very transactional." He stops for a few moments, revealing that he "said a prayer" over the severity of the topic. "We have to be still in this moment, allow God to guide our steps, and ask the right questions with the highest-ranking officials possible. This isn't something you just wing."
It's a sobering exchange to be sure, and one that likely added some weighty perspective to Kanye West's oft-memed Presidential run. It's rare to see Kanye West left in awestruck silence, and it's important that Rogan opted to press him further on foreign policy. In fairness, many have praised his willingness to recognize his own unfamiliarity and delegate tasks to the experts. However, some critics have since noted that Kanye's repeated use of "God's will" is an alarming sign, especially where matters of the military are concerned. Check out the segment below.