Like most of us, Lupe Fiasco has had enough of Donald Trump’s racist behavior.
Hours after POTUS reportedly questioned why the U.S. was accepting immigrants from “shithole” countries, Lupe went to Twitter to announce he would finally participate in the democratic process. He claims Trump and the Republican Party’s bigotry is what forced him to reconsider his previous anti-voting stance.
“For help or harm I’ve never voted in my life. a dedicated abstainer,” Lupe tweeted Friday. “But due to circumstances beyond my control & the overall unpleasant racist shittiness of our president & the republican members of Congress that echo his sentiments subtly or otherwise I’ll be voting this fall.”
Lupe then encouraged his followers to vote in the Nov. 6 midterm elections—and he asked for them to vote strictly Democrat.
“No reservations. No hesitations. Republicans need a timeout,” he wrote. “I could accept closet racism but this Haiti + Africa shithole talk is UNACCEPTABLE. They gotta go. All of them.”
To all my fans that are on the same wavelength as me. Mobilize on this one. I would say that I hate to ask but on this one I actually would LOVE to ask you step outside your political neutrality & comfort zones. Register to vote & show up on Tuesday November 6th. #StraightD
The Chicago rapper has expressed his opposition to voting throughout his career. In a now-deleted 2012 Twitter rant, Lupe revealed he wouldn’t participate in the presidential election because he didn’t believe in the U.S. voting system. Of course, his comments resulted in major backlash, with many people accusing him of promoting apathy to his young fan base.
“Young black men are going to listen to him, and they are the ones who have decisions made for them, decisions that they are not even involved in, which is silly to me," comedian and political commentator D.L. Hughley told Hot 93.7. “There are more black men in prison then there were ever slaves. And it's silly to me that people don't want to have a hand in their future.”
Though it’s hard to say there is a silver lining to Trump’s presidency, it’s a good sign that people like Lupe are finally realizing the damage this administration can cause, not only to Americans, but people all over the world.