Cardi B Asks Bernie Sanders If He’s “Scared” of Upsetting Many Powerful People
Cardi B has been a fan of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders for a while now. In the 2016 presidential primaries, she encouraged her fans to "Vote for Daddy Bernie, bitch." And even before he got in the race for the 2020 presidential nomination, she told Variety, "Imma always be with Bernie." She added, "Bernie don't say things to be cool. There's pictures of him being an activist from a very, very, very long time." Now she's gone from fan to interviewer: In a new video out Thursday, the rapper sat down with Sanders at the TEN Nail Bar in Detroit, asking him questions submitted by her fans on social media, touching on racism, police brutality, health care, and their shared love of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It may be the most that Sanders has ever smiled in an interview.
"Don't you ever feel scared that these people who run drug companies, and these schools, you know it's all a business, are you scared that you'll get so many powerful people upset?" she asked.
"Cardi, that's what I've been doing my whole life," Sanders replied.
They also talked, briefly, about Cardi B's favorite president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "He became a president when America was in one of its worst times. And not only are you going through a depression, but you're also going through World War II, so you're trying to fix the economy while you have to fund a war," she said, adding, "It's just like, goddamn, I love him."
"Well, I want to be your favorite after I’m elected," Sanders said.
The first heavy subject they got into was police brutality. "That is discouraging our people, it's discouraging us to fight. It makes us feel like we're worthless. We constantly see our men getting killed every day. And it seems like nobody cares, nobody's sympathizing, nobody's talking about it," Cardi said.
"If a police officer kills somebody, that killing must be investigated by the United States Department of Justice," Sanders replied. "We at the federal level must make sure we do everything we can to make sure that police departments look like the communities that they serve, not like an oppressive army.
In a promo for the video on Instagram, Cardi B said that the question that her followers brought up the most was about raising the minimum wage. Face-to-face with Sanders, she asked, "What are we going to do about wages in America? Like, for example me, as a New Yorker, not now, but you know, when I was not famous, I just felt like no matter how many jobs I get, I wasn't able to make ends meet. Like, I wasn't able to pay my rent, get transportation, and eat."
"Right now we have tens of millions of people who are earning what I consider to be starvation wages. Can you imagine somebody today earning $9 an hour?" Sanders said.
In July, the House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, though it obviously faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still hasn't brought it to the floor for a vote. According to the Economic Policy Institute, it would raise the wages for 33 million people.
"It don't make no sense," Cardi replied.
"No, it doesn't. How do you pay your rent? How do you pay for food?" said Sanders. "How do you pay for transportation? You can't. And if you have a child?"
Cardi B continued: "My thing is, certain people like to brag that there is more jobs now in America. But it's like, yeah, there's an increase of jobs given, but what are they paying in these jobs? They practically pay nothing."
July was the 17th straight month that unemployment has been below four percent. But, according to a study from the Pew Research Center from August of last year, since the 1970s, wage growth has barely kept up with inflation. In fact, most of the gains have only gone to the highest-paid workers, while "the $4.03-an-hour rate recorded in January 1973 had the same purchasing power that $23.68 would today."
Sanders concluded with a call to arms:
Young people have got to get involved in the political process. Register to vote. It is not hard. It takes you five minutes. Register to vote. Trump does not want people of color to be participating in the political process. Participate in the political process. And then think about who the candidate is that is speaking the issues that are important to you, and then vote. If we have young people voting in large numbers, you know what, I have zero doubt that Donald Trump would be defeated.
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The rapper responsible for last year’s most unexpected hit emerged from a singular New York City story of strip clubs, gangs, and below-board basement butt injections. Navigating new fame and a new record, Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B is fighting to stay true to her Bronx roots while the world clamors for her to become a global superstar.
Originally Appeared on GQ
