Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden — who has no time for Chris Wallace and Fox News or any other Sunday morning news show where a hard-hitting question might slip through — found time to sit down with rapper Cardi B in an edited interview released Monday by Elle magazine.
Biden can almost be forgiven for stuttering a bit during his interview with the former exotic dancer, television personality, and rapper. In all honesty, the young woman wasn’t the easiest person to understand and the former vice-president may have struggled to know just what Cardi B was saying. With finger nails that looked like weapons and a demeanor more suited for a rave than an important political interview, the 27-year-old rapper offered slow-pitch softball questions to the 77-year-old Biden, who was relatively quick with his canned responses.
Cardi B started off disrespectfully by referring to the former vice-president simply as, “Biden,” rather than Mr. Biden or Mr. Vice-President. Biden corrected her by telling her, “my name is Joe,” before offering an anecdote about how his daughter gave him the nickname “Joey B.” and joking about whether he and the rapper might be related.
Cardi B, who had backed Bernie Sanders in the primaries, quickly got to the point about what she wanted from Biden: “I have a whole list of things that I want our next president to do for us,” she said. “But first, I just want Trump out.”
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More specifically, the young entertainer wished that healthcare and college tuition was free for everybody, and Biden answered as he was expected to.
“What I want is free Medicare. It’s important to have free [healthcare] because look what is happening right now. Of course, I think we need free college,” the entertainer said. “And I want black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of it. I want just laws that are fair to black citizens and that are fair for cops, too.”
According to Biden, there is “no reason we can’t have all of that,” and then he referenced the man to whom we owe much of today’s unwieldy bureaucracy — Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“Presidents have to take responsibility. I understand that one of your favorite presidents is Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt said the American people can take anything if you tell them the truth. Sometimes the truth is hard. But right now, we’re in a position where we have an opportunity to make so much progress. The American public has had the blinders taken off.” Biden said.
Biden then asked the young rapper what she thought her fans were most concerned about moving forward.
Cardi B responded: “A lot of fans are concerned about free college and Medicare, especially now that people are getting sick left and right. Sometimes people have problems in their community. For example, a lot of after-school programs that I [had] growing up [are] no more in my hood. Why is that?”
Biden blamed tax cuts and the limited-government ideals that many of us believe in. Then he lauded big government as the only solution to any of the problems that face America today. “Cause people don’t want to pay the taxes for it,” Biden said. “And that’s why this whole thing about ‘government’s bad’ has been such a downer for the things that really matter to you and me.”
Perhaps the entire point of the interview was an exchange in which Biden blamed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election loss on young voters, then exhorted Cardi B’s young fans to be the difference in 2020.
“In 2016, if 18 to 23- or 4-year-olds had voted in the same percentage as the rest of the population we would have had Hillary Clinton — not [Trump],” Biden said. “The vote matters, it matters a great deal.”
“Look, your generation and the young millennials beyond that — they can own this outcome, they can own what happens in the next election. They are the ones that can change things dramatically if they show up and vote.”
Appealing to young voters is, honestly, not the worst idea the Biden campaign has ever come up with. Young people can indeed influence the outcome of the general election if they turn out in strong enough numbers. However, sooner or later, Biden will have to stop hiding behind COVID-19 and talk to people who will push back against his talking points.
The interview showed that Biden can hold his own against a rap star who won’t push back in an edited interview. Can he do the same against a Chris Wallace on Fox New Sunday or on a debate stage with President Trump?
Image: screenshot from YouTube video
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects. He can be reached at [email protected].
