Kanye West has declared his support for US president-elect Donald Trump, admitting to fans last night that he “would have voted” for him.

The rapper, designer, and self-proclaimed “genius” made the shock announcement during his Saint Pablo Tour show in San Jose on Thursday; reportedly telling the crowd that he liked the Republican’s “politically incorrect” way of communicating. “I told you I didn’t vote,” West admitted. “But if I voted, I would have voted on Trump.”

His support was greeted with a mixed reaction from the SAP Centre crowd, with many booing the rapper’s choice. After all, Trump’s campaign – while undoubtedly “politically incorrect” – was also awash with extreme right-wing, misogynistic and racist rhetoric.

“Rappers are philosophers of our now,” West added. “Celebrities are the influencers of our now, just look at the president, he wasn't in politics and won.”

The announcement was particularly unexpected given West’s inconsistent history with politics. In 2015, the rapper apparently donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and has previously given $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee. A year later, he also expressed strong support for Republican candidate Ben Carson, calling the anti-choice Islamophobe the “most brilliant guy” and “extremely impressive”. 

West also reaffirmed his plans to run for president in 2020 during the San Jose show, according to tweets from fans. However, given all the mixed messaging, it’s still not clear which party he would run for.  “I don’t wanna put words in his mouth, but I’m pretty sure the Democrats,” Kim Kardashian speculated in an interview with Wonderland back in September. “Maybe independent? I don’t know how serious he is about it. We’ll see…”