Ice Cube says CNN canceled his interview because they 'can't handle the truth'

Ice Cube blasted CNN for canceling his scheduled appearance on the network, saying, "They can't handle the truth."

The rapper, whose real name is O'Shea Jackson, was set to appear with host Chris Cuomo, but the network backed out after he acknowledged that he’s advising President Trump’s administration on a plan for black Americans.

“So the POWERS that be cancelled my interview on @CuomoPrimeTime tonight,” Jackson wrote Thursday night on Twitter. “I’ve actually been (banned) from @CNN for a few months so I was surprised they even asked. But it seems like they can’t handle the truth.”

Jackson has been helping Trump on his multifaceted Platinum Plan to improve economic prosperity for black Americans. The plan includes a pledge for 3 million new jobs for the black community, creating 500,000 new, black-owned businesses and increasing access to capital in black communities by nearly $500 billion. The plan also calls for better policing and access to education and job opportunities in the community.

The hip hop star said he offered to meet with both presidential campaigns, but Joe Biden’s campaign said they would address the plan “after the election.”

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign on Tuesday praised Jackson's help.

"Shoutout to @icecube for his willingness to step up and work with @realDonaldTrump Administration to help develop the #PlatinumPlan," senior campaign adviser Katrina Pierson tweeted Tuesday. "Leaders gonna lead, haters gonna hate. Thank you for leading!"

But that doesn't mean the 51-year-old is backing the president. In fact, he once said he would “never endorse a motherf***** like Donald Trump." But he also said he would help “anybody on the planet who has the power to help black Americans close the enormous wealth gap.”

Jackson also pushed back on the notion that he is being used by Trump.

"Every side is the Darkside for us here in America. They’re all the same until something changes for us. They all lie and they all cheat but we can’t afford not to negotiate with whoever is in power or our condition in this country will never change. Our justice is bipartisan," he tweeted.

"Black progress is a bipartisan issue. When we created the Contract With Black America we excepted to talk to both sides of the isle. Talking truth to power is part of the process," he also wrote. 

Republicans often get little support from black voters when running for the White House. 

George W. Bush got 9% of the vote in 2000, then made a heavy outreach and soared in 2004 –  to 11%. In 2012, Mitt Romney pledged to help the black community more than had President Barack Obama (who got 95% of the 2008 vote). Romney ended up with 8% of the that vote, the same percentage Trump got in 2016.

Rapper Kanye West, meanwhile, was backing Trump – before he himself jumped in to the 2020 race.

West ruffled feathers when he delivered a pro-Trump rant in front of a hyper-liberal crowd at the “Saturday Night Live” premiere in 2018. After the show was over, West donned a “Make America Great Again” hat and went on a tear.

“So many times I talk to a white person about this, and they say, ‘How can you like Trump? He’s racist,' " West said. “If I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of America a long time ago.”

“You see they laughing at me. You heard ’em, they scream at me, they bully me. They bullied me backstage,” said West, who was at the time considering a 2020 presidential run. “They said, ‘Don’t go out there with that hat on.’ They bullied me backstage. They bullied me."

In an apparent reference to Trump, Yeezy said: “If someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don’t have to believe in all their policies. … We need to have a dialogue not a diatribe, because if you want something to change, it’s not going to change by saying, ‘F**k that person.’ Try love. Try love.”