Condoleezza Rice weighs in on Kanye West controversy: People don’t always have to agree

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Former secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threw her two cents into the fray about Kanye West’s controversial ‘slavery is a choice’ comments, saying she supports him speaking his mind and everyday doesn’t have to think the same way, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

“First of all, I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it,” Rice told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo. “But I can say, people ought to be able to express their views. Not all of us have to think politically the same way. I’ve said to people sometimes, ‘You know, I’ve been Black all my life. You don’t have to tell me how to be Black.’ ”

READ MORE: Condoleezza Rice calls U.S. a country divided

Rice said people shouldn’t automatically think that your race and views will align.

“I think we need to recognize that in some ways the height of prejudice is to look at somebody and think you know what they think because of the color of their skin,” Rice said. “I hope we get to the point that people get to express their views and you can agree with them or disagree.”

Rice said as a college professor, she doesn’t try to force a particular view on her students.

“You know I teach at Stanford and I have students who come from a wide variety of political views,” Rice said. “I always say to them, ‘Look, it’s not my job to tell you what to think. It’s my job to teach you how to hone your arguments.’”

Rice herself has been criticized for her conservative viewpoint, as well as her role in the Bush administration. But in her defense of West, she joins the anchors at Fox & Friends who praised his tirade.

Wednesday morning, the co-hosts played a clip of the rapper’s controversial remarks during his appearance on TMZ, followed by his enthusiastic endorsement for the current president.

“I just love Trump, that’s my boy!” West said during his live appearance, prompting the co-hosts to defend the rapper’s antics, even his remarks that slavery in America was a “choice.”

READ MORE: Kanye West’s Tubman tweet turns out to be rooted in erroneous fiction

“He came out and says slavery was a choice and then he went ahead and clarified on Twitter because it caused outrage — obviously — with that statement,” said co-host Brian Kilmeade.

“He said to think about 400 years ago and be in that mindset today is a choice. Get out of that mindset and think about now,” continued Kilmeade.

“Lives in Hollywood. Getting a lot of backlash from the Hollywood folks out there,” pointed out fellow co-host Ainsley Earhardt. “Many people out there. Liberal. They don’t like him. So for him to speak up, good for him. He’s tripling down.”