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- In July 2019, A$AP Rocky was detained in Sweden after a fight with two men.
- The rapper was found guilty, but Trump helped get him released from Swedish jail in August 2019.
- Rocky recently said Trump's involvement was a "chess move" and "made it a little worse."
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A$AP Rocky recently revealed how he felt about Donald Trump getting involved in his 2019 Swedish assault trial.
In his new documentary "Stockholm Syndrome," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, the "Praise The Lord" rapper opened up about his street fight with two men in Sweden, being detained in the foreign country, and having the then-president come to his aid.
The Swedish court put Rocky behind bars in July while police investigated the June altercation, considering the American rapper a flight risk. But later that month, Trump intervened, and by August 2, 2019, the court had granted Rocky probation, permitting him to fly back home with no prison sentence.
However, the 32-year-old Harlem native apparently refused to properly thank Trump and his team for their assistance in his release, reportedly leaving the administration angry, according to a 2019 Yahoo report.
"The White House didn't ask for anything. There were no conditions attached, but my condition … was that all I'm asking for you guys to do is say thank you," Darrell Scott, Trump's representative, said he told the rapper's manager, according to the same Yahoo report.
In the documentary, the A$AP Mob member reflected on being bailed out of jail and revealed his true concerns with Trump's involvement in the process.
"It was a chess move and they tried to strong-arm a lot," he said in the film, according to Rolling Stone. "In reality, I had no problem saying thank you to the man, especially if he helped me. That's the narrative they pushin': That he got me out. And he didn't free me. If anything, he made it a little worse."
"I kinda was scared that Trump was going to fuck it up," he added. "But then on the other hand, I'm just like, 'That's what's up, man.'"
The rapper continued: "You want the most support you could and it's like, 'Oh, the president supports you.' That felt good. Cause for the most part, I don't think he ever knows what's going on in the urban communities … I was thankful for that, I can't lie. I was also scared that it would jeopardize me being in [jail] longer."
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At the time, Trump told reporters that "many, many members of the African American community" had called his attention to Rocky's case and urged him to support the "Sundress" rapper.
"I personally don't know A$AP Rocky but I can tell you that he has tremendous support from the African American community in this country … I have been called by so many people asking me to help A$AP Rocky," the businessman said in archival footage featured in the documentary, according to Rolling Stone.
Kim Kardashian and her former husband Kanye West were a couple of those constituents who had called Trump and fought to free the rapper from Swedish jail.
"Rocky and Kanye have been friends a long time and I've been doing a lot of justice reform and bill reform with that administration," Kardashian said in the documentary, according to Rolling Stone."So I was compelled to reach out to the White House and call my contacts over there to see what we can really do."