Kim Kardashian Details Trump Meeting and Responds to Backlash: 'I Knew People Wouldn't Understand It'

The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star told Van Jones on CNN Thursday evening that she "knew there was going to be tons of backlash" but was determined to help Johnson, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a first-time drug offense.

"I knew people wouldn't understand it, and at that point, I had to make the decision that this was bigger than me," she said.

A week later, Trump granted Johnson clemency, and those mean tweets turned into rare praise for the reality star, who Jessica Chastain recently called one of the most influential women of our time.

"I was very focused," Kardashian told Jones. "I knew that if I have this meeting, I can't go in there and talk about all the policies that I don't agree with."

Mrs. Kanye West first became involved with Johnson's case back in October of last year after she happened to see a video on her Twitter feed of Johnson telling her story. Kardashian then enlisted her personal attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, to help bring Johnson's clemency petition to fruition. She called Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, who Kardashian said sympathized with Johnson. "She immediately felt it," Kardashian said.

The president's daughter then connected Kardashian with her husband and White House senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who the reality star spoke with multiple times over the phone. Kushner eventually brought Johnson's file to White House attorneys, and then to Trump.

Although heavily involved in the outcome of the case, Kardashian made sure to "give credit" where credit is due, giving kudos to Jones, Johnson's "whole team" and even Trump.

"People might think like, 'Oh, Kim went to the White House, had this conversation, it was done,' and that's it," she said. "I saw this 7 months ago, and I have been [having] daily phone calls with the White House, maybe a dozen emails a day trying to get letters -- letters from the warden. I mean, I have to give credit to where Alice's whole team has been working on this for years, so I did step in late in the game. So I don't want to take away from--"

"I mean, you've been working on this for 3 years," Kardashian added, gesturing to Jones.

The reality star said she was the one who delivered the news to Johnson during an emotional phone call to the prison in Aliceville, Alabama, that Alice had been confined to since 1996.

"I can cry thinking about it," Kardashian said as she fought back tears. "Hearing her scream was like -- I know I'm gonna cry so much when I see her."

Kardashian said she and Johnson "cried on the phone for maybe like 3 minutes straight" and that she can't wait to meet her face to face.