Rapper Jay-Z released a new track on Thursday responding to Republican inquiries about his recent trip to Cuba with wife Beyonce, bragging that President Barack Obama told him he would get "impeached."
Republicans are already seizing on one line from the new track, which Jay-Z released on his website Thursday — "I got White House clearance." U.S. citizens cannot travel to Cuba unless approved by the government. According to multiple reports, the Treasury Department said it approved the trip as part of an "educational" exchange.
Upon release of the new track, the Republican National Committee sent out an email questioning whether the White House had a hand in the approval. Subsequently facing questions on the topic from reporters, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the White House didn't have anything to do with it.
"I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury," Carney joked, "because Treasury offers and gives licenses for travel, as you know, and the White House has nothing to do with it."
Jay-Z and Beyonce have faced criticism from Florida lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balar, and Sen. Marco Rubio.
On the track, Jay-Z pushed back.
"Politicians never did s— for me, except lie to me, distort history," he raps. "They wanna give me jail time and a fine? Fine, let me commit a real crime."
Listen to the song below (for what it's worth, the beat's solid). The lyrics are here.
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