Kim Kardashian West says it wasn’t a question of whether she’d meet with President Trump or not, despite backlash she faced from critics of the president.
In an interview with CNN’s Van Jones that aired Thursday, Kardashian West revealed more about her Oval Office meeting with the president that led to the commutation of Alice Johnson’s life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. Johnson was released this week after 21 years in prison.
Kardashian praised Trump for how he handled Johnson’s case during their meeting.
“He was compassionate. He was sympathetic to her. He said, you know, ‘This is a really long time that she’s been in there, this just isn’t fair.’ He knew it was the right thing to do,” Kardashian West said.
[Related: Kim Kardashian thanks Trump for White House meeting]
The reality TV star said she decided to meet with Trump, despite other celebrities and athletes giving him the cold shoulder, because she had the chance to change Johnson’s life.
“I do still respect their choice,” she explained of those who have refused to meet with Trump. “Everyone can do what they want to do. I never judge other people and I do think sometimes situations are different.”
“I just am focused and I could separate my feelings on certain policies. To me it wasn’t about policies, it was about I can change someone’s life. If I have the opportunity to do that, it just wasn’t even a question for me.”
Kardashian West landed a meeting with Trump after months of communication with Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, who has been pushing prison reform. She said she was upfront with Kushner about how she felt about Trump’s policies.
The reality star also revealed that her meeting with Trump began with a hug and a joke at her sister Khloe’s expense, who appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2009. When the two sat down in the Oval Office, Trump asked Kardashian West what she wanted to discuss.
“I said, ‘What I really want to know, I’m here because I really want to know why did you kick Khloe off ‘The Apprentice?’ It was a laugh and it was funny and then we got into business,” she said.
