ELLE Magazine arranged a Zoom conversation between Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Cardi B, who’s become more politically engaged over the past few years.
Following some small talk and praise for Cardi’s charitable efforts, Biden asked her about her priorities as a voter. The multi-platinum rapper made it no secret her biggest wish is to simply get Donald Trump out of office.
“I have a whole list of things that I want and I wish and I desire for our next president to do for us,” she told Biden. “But first, lemme keep it buck, I just want Trump out. His mouth gets us in trouble so much.”
Cardi then elaborated on what she wants from her next president. The “WAP” creator sought honesty while expressing her concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“I don’t want to be lied to,” she said. “We’re dealing with a pandemic right now, right? And I just want answers. I want to know when this is over. I wanna go back to my job. I wanna be able to go outside. I wanna be able to feel like I’m not trapped in my home. But I don’t want someone to lie to me and tell me that it”s OK to go outside, it’s OK not to wear a mask, that everything is going to be OK. I want a timeline of when things are gonna get better.”
She continued, “I want a president to tell me what are the steps for us to get better besides taking precautions … I need somebody to tell me, ‘This is gonna be over when we find this cure. This is why it’s taking so long. This is why other countries are doing better than ours when it comes to this pandemic.’ I need somebody to tell me the truth, the hardcore truth.”
Cardi also brought up her views on healthcare, college education and police brutality.
“I of course want free Medicare,” she stated. “And this is why it’s important to have free Medicare because look what’s happening right now. We should’ve been having free Medicare for a long time. I of course think that we need free college education. That’s second. And I want Black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it. I’m tired of it.”
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She added, “I just want stricter laws that is fair to Black citizens and that is fair for cops too. If you kill somebody that doesn’t have a weapon on them, you go to jail. You know what? If I kill somebody, I’ve got to go to jail. You gotta go to jail too. That’s what I want.”
Biden and Cardi’s dialogue addressed those topics while providing her with some clarity on his stances. One of the presidential hopeful’s answers even helped her recognize the importance of funding child care.
The two also delved into the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and how cell phones have helped expose the injustice against Black people in America. Biden emphasized the need for citizens to vote to enact change.
“One of the things that I admire about you is that you keep talking about what I call equity — just decency, fairness, treating people with respect,” he told her. “John Lewis used to say the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool you have. Use the power to change for the change you want.”
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Cardi closed out her chat with Biden by revisiting her concerns over taxes. The former vice president responded by pointing to the need for corporations to pay their fair share before wrapping up with a message for Cardi.
“Thank you for your willingness to help,” he said. “I’ll make mistakes as president, but I’ll admit to the mistakes I make, and you’re never going to have to wonder whether I’ll keep my word. Just check me out; I’ve never broken my word on anything I said I was going to do. Never in my life.”
Watch Biden and Cardi’s conversation above.
