President Obama Says Kanye West Is "Talented" but Still a "Jackass"

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Sorry, Kanye West.  The president still thinks you're a "jackass." 

The Atlantic recently published notes from an interview it did with Mr. Obama earlier this year during a fund-raising dinner, and the questions included this biggie: "Kanye or Jay-Z?," to which the president responded, "Jay-Z."

Sure, Kanye is, as Mr. Obama notes during the chat, "a Chicago guy.  Smart," but the POTUS prefers Hova.  The two icons seem to share a mutual admiration.  Mr. Obama has welcomed Jay and Beyonce to visit the White House, and even before that the rapper shouted out the president on his remixed version of "My President is Black."

Still, the commander-in-chief has kind words for Kanye, saying, "He's very talented."  But he stands by the description he gave Kanye after the G.O.O.D. Music rapper interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009.

"He is a jackass," the president says, reiterating his earlier insult.  "But he's talented."

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