Trump Tells Sweden He’ll Vouch Bail for Jailed Rapper A$AP Rocky

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he received assurances from Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven that detained American rapper A$AP Rocky would be “treated fairly” after promising to “personally vouch” for the bail of the hip-hop artist.

The leader-to-leader phone call came after recording artist Kanye West lobbied Trump to help secure the release of the musician on Friday, after a Swedish judge ruled he would be detained until at least July 25.

Trump, who’s spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, said he and Lofven planned to speak about the case again in the next 48 hours.

Earlier, Lofven said he would be happy to speak with Trump about the case but “will not attempt to influence prosecutors or courts,” according to the Associated Press.

A$AP Rocky, 30, whose given name is Rakim Mayers, was detained on July 2 for his alleged role in a street fight the night of June 30. The rapper is “suspected of aggravated assault” according to the Stockholm prosecutor’s office, and a Swedish judge said Friday he should remain in jail while authorities continue to investigate.

Two other American performers, Bladimir Corniel and David Rispers, were also detained.

Video of the incident obtained by TMZ shows the trio punching and kicking a man, but A$AP Rocky’s attorney told the celebrity news website that his client was acting in self-defense.

The president told reporters on Friday that “many, many members of the African-American community have called me” to ask for help with the case. The president also said that first lady Melania Trump personally appealed to him to intervene.

The rapper’s situation has become a cause celebre among Hollywood elite, with West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, leading a social media push to call for A$AP Rocky’s release.

Kardashian West, who has repeatedly met with the president to discuss criminal justice reform and to lobby for the release of incarcerated Americans, tweeted thanks to the president, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their diplomatic efforts.

“Your commitment to justice reform is so appreciated,” she wrote.

The State Department has also weighed in, saying in a statement that “One of the most important tasks of the Department of State and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad is to provide assistance to U.S. citizens who are detained abroad.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve Geimann

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