Donald Trump allegedly threatened Sweden with trade sanctions due to A$AP Rocky's 2019 arrest.
On Friday (July 1), TMZ published a report about Sweden's Justice Minister Morgan Johansson commenting on his alleged interactions with then President Donald Trump. According to the report, Trump threatened the European country with trade sanctions if the Harlem, N.Y. rapper was not let out of jail.
"If you can try and do something like this against Sweden, what will you then try and do to slightly weaker countries that don't have the European Union behind them?" Johansson reportedly said of Trump's alleged strongarm tactics.
As previously reported, A$AP Rocky was arrested on suspicion of assault in July of 2019, after video surfaced of the rapper and his entourage getting into a fight with a man while in Sweden on tour. The incident became an international issue after Rocky was held without bail, causing Trump to step in and throw his weight around.
"A$AP Rocky is a situation in Sweden, a great country, and friends of mine and the leadership," Trump said in a statement a week after Rocky's arrest. "And we’re going to be talking to them, we’ve already started. Many members of the African-American community have called me, friends of mine, and said can you help? I personally don’t know A$AP Rocky, but I can tell you he has tremendous support from the African American community in this country. When I say African American, I think I can really say from everybody in this country because we’re all one. I have been called by so many people asking me to help A$AP Rocky."
Sweden's Prime Minister shot back at Trump, saying the POTUS would not influence the outcome of Rocky's case. Two weeks after his arrest, A$AP Rocky was charged with assault and held without bond, prompting Trump to again demand Rocky's freedom. A month after his arrest, Rocky was released.
Two weeks later, he was found guilty of assault. Instead of an additional sentence, he was given time served. Though A$AP Rocky later claimed he thanked Trump for any assistance the controversial Commander in Chief had in getting the rapper freed, Trump's allies labeled the rapper as ungrateful.