But in one light, the newfound brotherhood between Trump and West seems almost preordained given their similarities. Both men are known for their erratic commitments to any sort of core ideological platforms, often shifting positions wildly over time. Both men have a penchant for misogyny—and both have marked their careers with attacks against prominent women, and defenses of men accused of violence against women. Both are tireless self-promoters above all else, and seem to always react to controversy and even aversion by leaning into it, regardless of who gets hurt in the fallout. And, critically, both men were sent careening to this point in their careers by a single slight from one President Barack Obama, who famously called West a “jackass,” and in 2011 ridiculed Trump’s chance of holding office.

It’s worth noting, however, that Trump’s propulsion to the spotlight and now to the center of American life mean more than just validation of his own personal brand. The president may soon prevail at the Supreme Court in an effort to bar travelers from several mostly Muslim nations by executive order after running on banning Muslims from the country entirely. Millions stand to lose health insurance, largely from what seems one president’s vendetta against another’s signature policy. Immigration roundups are bolder and more pervasive, and anti-immigrant rhetoric exists alongside a wave of hate crimes. Candidates like the Trump-pardoned Joe Arpaio of Arizona—who once proudly proclaimed the immigrant “concentration camps” he ran as sheriff—have been energized. And police have been encouraged by the president to engage in brutality—a scourge against which West himself has railed. For black Americans especially, this administration is not just an exercise of contrarian “free thinking.”