HE came to Washington to spruik weighty causes including prison reform and black rights, but after a wandering and obscenity-laden 10-minute speech, rapper Kanye West left showman-in-chief Donald Trump almost speechless.

“I tell you what, that was pretty impressive. That was quite something,” said President Trump, who is rarely not in command of a room, to reporters packed into the Oval Office.

Mr Trump was speaking after the pair’s pre-lunch press conference saw Mr West, wearing a red Make America Great Again cap, discuss his marriage to reality TV star Kim Kardashian, ponder a tilt at his own run for president in 2024, and even swoop around the Resolute Desk to hug a grinning Mr Trump.

“I love this guy,” West declared.

In one of the Trump White House’s more unorthodox days, a rare interview also screened with Melania Trump, in which the First Lady described herself as possibly “the most bullied person in the world”.

On the heels of a tour of Africa, Mrs Trump said her personal experience, and that of her son, Barron, being cyber bullied had spurred her to start her charity Be Best.

“We need to educate the children of social-emotional behaviour, so when they grow up, they know how to deal with those issues,” Mrs Trump said.

“That’s very important.”

The day started with Mr Trump giving a meandering 46 minute phone interview to his favourite breakfast show, Fox and Friends, which ended with host Steve Doocy winding up the chat with a direction to Mr Trump to “go run the country”.

But it was the Yeezy meeting that drew saturated media coverage. It was not his first meeting with Mr Trump and he has been criticised in the past week for appearing on comedy show Saturday Night Live in a MAGA hat.

“Trump is on his hero’s journey right now,” Mr West said.

“And he might not have expected to have a crazy motherf---er like Kanye West run up and support, but best believe we are going to make America great.”

Explaining his support of the president, Mr West said he reserved the right to his own opinions.

“You know, people expect that if you’re black you have to be Democrat,” he said, adding that he was drawn to social activism because of his own experience in growing up without a father.

“My dad and my mum separated so there was not a lot of male energy in my home and also I’m married to a family where, you know, there’s not a lot of male energy. It’s beautiful though,” he said of his family life.

West said that lack of ‘male energy’ prompted him to support Trump for President rather than Hillary Clinton.

“The campaign ‘I’m with her’ just didn’t make me feel, as a guy that didn’t get to see my dad all the time, like a guy that could play catch with his son,” he said.

He also addressed criticism of his support of the president.

“I think it’s the bravery that helps you beat this game called life. They tried to scare me to not wear this hat, but this hat, it gives me power, in a way,” he said.

“It was something about when I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman. You made a Superman (he said to Mr Trump).

“That was my - that’s my favourite superhero. And you made a Superman cape.”

Addressing a question afterwards of whether Mr West was presidential material, Mr Trump said: “Could very well be”.

“Only after 2024,” Mr West responded.

West credited Mr Trump with preventing a war with North Korea and encouraged him to swap his usual Air Force One for a hydrogen-powered plane.

West also argued that Mr Trump deserved more respect, saying, “If he don’t look good, we don’t look good.”

During one pause in West’s comments, Mr Trump said: “I tell you what that was pretty impressive.”

He also described West as a “smart cookie.”

The rapper also spoke against stop-and-frisk policing policies, which Mr Trump recently expressed support for. Mr Trump said he was open to other ideas.

Mr Trump recently tweeted praise for West, who closed a Saturday Night Live show again wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and delivering an unscripted pro-Trump message after the credits rolled.

West is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian, who pushed Mr Trump to grant a pardon for a drug offender this year.

The televised visit drew an astonished reaction from some commentators, with one MSNBC host exclaiming: “This was an assault on our White House”.

“That was bonkers,” continued Stephanie Ruhle.