Death Row Records founder endorses Trump after clemency

Michael “Harry O” Harris, one of the founders of the legendary hip-hop label Death Row Records, endorsed former President Trump on Monday, according to The Washington Post.  

The former president granted Harris clemency in 2021 after he spent 33 years in prison on drug charges. Harris has since focused on Black empowerment and social activism, and founded a nonprofit organization called Community First.

Harris’s organization posted a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post praising Harris to its Instagram account.

“Michael Harris (Harry O), is working hard to support and build on what my administration did for Black Americans in the first term,” the Truth Social post reads. “Good luck to Michael and the Community First team. Working together, we will Make America Great Again for everyone!” 

Earlier this month, Harris and Community First posted a video to their social media accounts challenging both presidential candidates to make commitments to the Black community. They called on the candidates to increase access to investment for Black business leaders, to expand rent-to-own programs and to promote prison education, among other initiatives.

“As a community, we waited for that chance. Our politicians, they failed us, took us for granted. That changes now,” Harris said in the video.

Harris, who helped found Godfather Entertainment, the parent company of Death Row Records, served time after being convicted of running a nationwide cocaine trafficking network from Los Angeles in the 1980s.

Trump granted the rap mogul clemency seven years before his time behind bars was scheduled to end. Around the same time, the GOP president also granted clemency to rappers Kodak Black and Lil Wayne over weapons charges.

Rapper Snoop Dogg signed to Death Row Records early in his career and currently runs the organization. In January, he said he had “nothing but love and respect” for Trump.  

“He ain’t done nothing wrong to me. He has done only great things for me. He pardoned Michael Harris,” he said in an interview with London’s The Sunday Times.  

Trump has previously said he would support death penalty charges for drug dealers depending on the “severity.” The Post reported that Michael Harris did not support this policy.  

“There isn’t a candidate running for anything who I agree with on 100 percent of the issues, but I strongly align with the majority of Donald Trump’s initiatives that aim to improve the lives of underserved communities,” Harris told the Post. “This is why I support him — because he supports us.”

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.