Obama Still Thinks Kanye Is a Jackass, If You Were Wondering

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 04: Kanye West attends the Givenchy Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2012 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Lycee Carnot on March 4, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2012 Getty Images

There is much to discuss in David Samuels’s long Atlantic essay on Kanye and the Watch the Throne tour (including an unidentified quote from Big Ghostface’s WTT review), but the anecdote you will most likely be hearing about for the next 48 hours goes like this: Samuels was at a New York City fund-raiser for Obama back in January, and he got a chance to ask the president whether he prefers Kanye or Jay-Z. “Jay-Z,� Obama replied, “as if the answer should be obvious. ‘Although I like Kanye. He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.� Then Samuels asked the obligatory follow-up question: “Even though you called him a jackass?� referencing Obama’s infamous 2009 post-T.Swift comments, and our commander-in-chief did not waver. “He is a jackass. But he’s talented,� Obama replied. So he’s staying on message, at least.