Elgin Nelson
The love affair between Snoop Dogg and Donald Trump appears to be over. Trump’s antics on social media reveals an ongoing fixation with Snoop, stemming from a feud that began in 2017.
At that time, Trump, newly inaugurated as president, faced criticism from Snoop in a music video for the song “M.A.C.A. (Make America Crip Again).” The video depicted Snoop pointing a toy gun at a Trump-like clown. Enraged by the video, Trump took to social media to express his outrage.
“Can you imagine what the outcry would be if Snoop Dogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!” Trump posted at the time on Twitter.
The conflict between Trump and Snoop persisted into the following year, with Snoop openly disparaging Trump in various instances, including a 2018 interview where he criticized Trump, Kanye West, and their supporters, labeling them as racist.
“I don’t give a f***, I tell ’em straight up. If you like that n***a, you racist,” Snoop lamented about Trump and his supporters.
Snoop’s stance on Trump mellowed out as he collaborated with the Trump administration in late 2020 and early 2021 to advocate for the pardon of Harris. At that time, Harris was serving a life sentence for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and cocaine trafficking in the 1990s.
Trump’s disposition changed on Jan. 18, 2021, upon learning of Snoop’s remarks in an interview. In retaliation, Trump removed Harris’ name from a list of 150 individuals seeking pardons.
A former administration official for Trump said that he, “moaned about Snoop Dogg in the closing days of his term,” telling staffers, “Well, f*** him,” when asked about the rap star about Harris’ clemency campaign.
Despite this setback, luck favored Harris through Weldon Angelos, an activist filming a documentary about Harris’ clemency campaign, which featured Snoop making positive comments about Trump.
“I was aware that the [Daily Beast] article caused a problem for Mr. Harris’ clemency petition, and I was asked by someone close to the White House to send a clip of a previously recorded message from Snoop where he commended Trump’s efforts on criminal justice reform,” Angelos told Rolling Stone. “The campaign to free Harry-O was recorded for documentary purposes.”
This year, Snoop Dogg recently made comments as a pivotal election season looms, remarking, “He (Trump) has done nothing but great things for me.”
The famous rapper’s attitude is linked to his connection with Michael Harris, a co-founder of Death Row Records. Harris, who was serving a sentence for drug trafficking and attempted murder, was granted clemency by Trump in January 2021, earning the rapper’s gratitude.
“He’s never wronged me. He’s done nothing but good for me by pardoning Michael Harris,” Snoop Dogg stated.
Currently, polls indicate a shift among African-American voters, predominantly consumers of hip-hop, away from Biden, stirring concern. The hip-hop mogul is hardly alone as a growing number of hip-hop artists—and young Blacks— say they will lend their support to the former president in the 2024 White House bid. Internet celebrity and rapper Sexyy Red lauded Trump for his acts of clemency, such as pardoning Lil Wayne, and for rolling out stimulus payments during his term from 2017 to 2021.
Despite the previous beef, Snoop Dogg still has not mentioned any official endorsement of the former president ahead of a groundbreaking election.