Cardi B and Joe Biden had an open and honest discussion about Covid-19, police brutality and the upcoming 2020 presidential election in an interview in partnership with Elle magazine. The talk arrived just in time for the Democratic National Convention this week.
The interview, conducted in a socially-distant manner, captures Biden first congratulating Cardi for her monumental appearance on the cover of the publication. From there, the pair waste no time in discussing how imperative it is to elect President Donald Trump out of the White House.
“I have a whole list of things that I want and I wish and I desire for our next president to root for us,” Cardi said when asked by Biden which issues are most important to her.
“I don’t want someone to lie to me and tell me that it’s okay not to wear a mask, that everything is going to be okay,” Cardi, who also advocated for healthcare reform during the discussion, said. “I want a president to tell me what the steps are for us to get better, to tell me, ‘This is why it is taking so long, this is why other countries are doing better than ours.'”
To which Biden responded that there is “no reason” why Americans can’t have “all of that.” He also shared his assessment of the job of POTUS as one rooted in responsibility to the people.
“I understand one of your favorite presidents is Franklin Roosevelt,” he further stated. “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.”
And he is absolutely right, truths are being revealed now more than ever. Beyond learning how our government is in deep need of improvement, and complete reconstruction we’ve also been exposed to the reality of the prejudice sentiments, and racist practices being enforced all across the nation. Cardi later brought up this year’s ongoing protests in support of social justice, telling Biden “it’s simple” what is being demanded here.
“We are asking for fairness, and we are asking for justice,” she expressed. “That is all. I feel like everything people are asking for is getting interpreted in a very different way. No, it’s simple: We just want justice. We want to feel like Americans.”
Biden reacted by expressing an optimism that he says is inspired by the actions of rising generations, including Cardi’s.
“You’re the smartest, the best educated, the least prejudiced, and the most engaged generation in history. And you’re going to change things,” he said, adding that recent developments regarding, for example, the removal of Confederacy-praising monuments is all part of a game of division that benefits Trump.
This then paves the way for the very important discussion about free higher education for all American citizens. The chart-topping rapper spoke about making college more affordable for young people, and reducing cuts to after-school programs.
“I couldn’t afford to go to McDonald’s on my lunch break,” she said, something that many of us can relate to. “That is so important, to finance students while they’re in college, because they get really discouraged.”
Watch the full discussion, which also sees Biden promising “free education” for anyone with a family making less than 125K and free community college for all, below.
