A Jewish grandfather and a former stripper walk into a nail salon. There’s no punchline here, I’m just reporting the news.
In the greatest video of the summer, rapper Cardi B sits down with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at The TEN Nail Bar in Detroit, Michigan to talk about the senator’s platform. Some may consider it an unlikely pairing, but the 12-minute long interview starring the odd couple is fucking gold.
Just how did this educational banger of a video come to be? Back in July, the “Be Careful” singer tweeted: “I been reading about Bernie Sanders and I’m really sad how we let him down in 2016. This man been fighting for equal rights, HUMAN rights for such a long time. Seeing this country become a better place been really his passion for a long time not a new front for a campaign.”
I been reading about Bernie Sanders and I’m really sad how we let him down in 2016 This man been fighting for equal rights,HUMAN rights for such along time.Seeing this country become a better place been really his passion for a long time not a new front for a campaign.
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) July 16, 2019
And voila! With nearly 7 million Twitter followers, that’s really all it took for Cardi to lockdown an interview with her dream president. A staunch human rights advocate, Cardi has always used her platform to push her fans to get educated on political issues that effect their daily lives. Her latest effort shows the lengths she’ll go to make getting that education as accessible as possible.
Sitting across from Sanders, dressed in a modest light green blouse and skirt and donning her usual curtain of straight black hair and dagger nails, Cardi’s interview skills are on point. Prepared with questions crowdsourced from her followers, the rapper gets into everything from health care to student loans.
You really must watch the video for yourself, but here’s a quick recap:
Police brutality
Up first, Cardi asks Sanders what the hell they’re going to do about police brutality in the United States. “It’s discouraging our people to fight and makes us feel like we’re worthless,” Cardi said.
Before answering the question, Sanders says that Trump is an “overt racist.” Retweet! After dragging him for a hot second, he then tells Cardi how he plans to ensure that young people get the education and job training they need so they can get jobs. “Invest in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration.” Catchy!
Sanders also adds that if a police officer kills someone, they must be investigated by the United States Justice Department and that police departments need to be demilitarized and represent the communities they serve.
The DREAMers
Cardi is extremely worried about DREAMers, young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the States as children, who are being deported to countries they “know nothing about.” What is Sanders going to do about it?
“The first week I’m president we’re going to reestablish the DACA program,” he tells Cardi, referencing the program that Trump has terminated.
Government budget
Cardi then asks the question on many people’s minds: How does he plan on affording his plans? Is it really possible to get free health insurance, free education, and forgive student loans??
Sanders contrasts the United States’ corrupt health care system with countries like Canada and France, where healthcare is free as a human right. “The current system works to make billions of profit for drug companies and insurance companies,” he tells Cardi. Sanders plans to overhaul that.
As for taxes? While Sanders says they would go up for most individuals, those same people would no longer be paying health insurance premiums, co-pays, and out-of-pocket expenses, so the overall costs would go down.
Job wages
“As a New Yorker, not now, but when I was… not famous, no matter how many jobs I get, I wasn’t able to make ends meet,” Cardi tells Sanders, a struggle many Americans know all too well.
Sanders proposes raising the minimum wage to $15, which he actually passed as legislation in the House fairly recently.
FDR stans
Okay, this is probably the best part of the interview. Apparently, both Cardi and Sanders have a mutual respect for former president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Why? “Oh, well, you know, me and his wife, we have the same birthday,” Cardi explains.
Not quite what I was expecting, but I held my horses and waited for further explanation. My girl Cardi didn’t fall short.
In full fangirl fashion, Cardi shows off her extensive knowledge about her favorite president. Gushing, she tells Sanders that it amazes her how, while dealing with personal problems like polio, FDR was able to come “up with all these things” like the New Deal while simultaneously funding a war and bringing the United States out of the Depression.
“Goddam, he’s my favorite!” Cardi exclaims.
“Well, I want to be your favorite after I’m elected president, but we’ll see!” Sanders replies. Bold!
Student debt
Following the FDR intermission and b-roll of the nail bar, Cardi moves on to her last question: How is Bernie going to eliminate student debt?
“By putting a modest tax on Wall Street speculation,” he says. BOOM. (For more on what that means, see here.)
Honestly, Cardi B should be the moderator for all presidential debates. She’s a badass educated babe who wholeheartedly cares about her country, and she’s funny as hell. This interview is going to reach the youth that Sanders and Cardi believe have the power to take down our “bully” of a president, and I’m interested to see how it plays out in the elections. Cardi 2024 anyone?
