Melania Trump is now intervening on A$AP Rocky’s behalf.
Looks like A$AP Rocky has an unexpected supporter in the White House. After more than two weeks of detainment in Sweden on flimsy charges, Melania Trump stepped up pressure on Sweden to ‘send him back’ — to the United States, that is.
“We are working with [the] State Department and we hope to get him home soon,” Melania Trump told reporters from the Oval Office on Friday in response to questions about the rapper. The First Lady was prompted by Trump himself, who credited Melania for raising awareness of the issue to him.
President Trump also addressed the matter, indicating that he had received calls from ‘members of the African-American community’. But he stopped short of making any demands of Sweden or suggesting next steps.
“A$AP Rocky is a situation in Sweden,” Trump stated. “Sweden’s a great country and they’re friends of mine, the leadership. And we are going to be calling, we’ll be talking to them, we’ve already started and many, many members of the African-American community have called me — friends of mine, and said ‘could you help?'”
Trump then passed the mic to Melania. “Actually, the one who knew about ASAP Rocky was our first lady, right? She was telling me, ‘can you help ASAP Rocky?'”
Melania then offered her brief statement on the matter.
Trump has also reportedly had conversations with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian about the situation. West has repeatedly expressed his adoration for Trump, and routinely wears a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.
A$AP, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained by Swedish police earlier this month after an altercation with local Swedes. Video of the incident strongly indicated that Rocky and his entourage were unfairly attacked, though Swedish officials have detained the rapper while investigating the matter.
As a result of the unexpected incarceration, A$AP Rocky was forced to cancel the remainder of his European tour. The rapper also complained of putrid conditions and treatment, though pictures of a typical Swedish cell suggest rather sanitary and livable conditions (at least for a prison).
Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department also addressed the situation.
“We are aware that the Stockholm District Court announced it has granted until July 25 for prosecutors to complete their investigation in this case,” the State Department offered. “One of the most important tasks of the Department of State and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad is to provide assistance to U.S. citizens who are detained abroad.”
Sounds like a lot of soft-touch diplomacy, though Rocky is still stuck in a cell — and has been for 17 straight days. But underneath this issue is a growing sense of anger towards imprisonment against African-Americans in the U.S., for whom long prison detainments while awaiting trial are common.
Just recently, Jay-Z co-produced a documentary about Kalief Browder, a black teenager from the Bronx who was detained for roughly three years on Rikers Island for allegedly stealing a backpack. Browder spent two years of his three-year detainment in solitary confinement to escape extreme violence from other inmates — all while awaiting trial.
Browder was detained because he couldn’t afford a bail of less than $1,000, and was ultimately cleared of all charges. Browder committed suicide at age 22, likely because of the extreme mental and physical abuse trauma experienced in prison.