Charlamagne Tha God hosts The Breakfast Club, one of the biggest radio shows in the country, and he’s sort of fashioned himself as one of the go-to interviewers for Black artists and Black political and cultural figures. There had been some back-and-forth about whether Kamala Harris would sit down with Charlamagne, then it all came together quickly. She did the interview on Tuesday. While she didn’t make any major news – she called Trump a fascist and pushed back on some of Charlamagne’s bizarrely Republican-flavored narratives – this was considered yet another late stage push for the Harris-Walz campaign to turn out Black voters, specifically Black men. There’s been a lot of talk in the past week about “Black men aren’t supporting Kamala Harris.” I think that’s a Republican narrative, but whatever, it’s been a larger conversation, especially after Barack Obama “scolded” Black men for not supporting Harris enough. Some highlights of the interview, via the NY Times:
Vice President Kamala Harris agreed on Tuesday with the radio host Charlamagne Tha God that former President Donald J. Trump was a fascist, going a step further than she had before in casting her Republican rival as a dangerous authoritarian leader. During a free-flowing interview that often spoke to the concerns of Black Americans, Ms. Harris was contrasting her vision for the nation with Mr. Trump’s when Charlamagne jumped in to say: “The other is about fascism. Why can’t we just say it?” “Yes, we can say that,” Ms. Harris replied.
Harris also agreed with Charlamagne that Mr. Trump has embraced fascism and said that his plans would make “it more difficult for working people to get by and to destroy our democracy.” Republicans have accused Democrats of fomenting political violence, including the assassination attempts on Mr. Trump, by labeling him a threat to democracy. She also attacked him for admiring dictators, citing a report that he sent President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia valuable Covid-19-testing equipment “when Black people were dying every day” from the pandemic. “The man is really quite weak,” Ms. Harris said. “He’s weak. It’s a sign of weakness that you want to please dictators and seek their flattery and favor.”
She again condemned Mr. Trump for his role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, even as she shut down questions about whether the Justice Department had moved too slowly to prosecute him and whether he should be in jail in November. “The court should handle that, and I’m going to handle November,” she said.
Ms. Harris adopted a far different strategy to appeal to Black voters, specifically Black men, than former President Barack Obama used when he campaigned for her last week in Pittsburgh. Responding to the wavering enthusiasm among some Black men that has caused panic in the Democratic Party, Mr. Obama scolded them and accused them of not “feeling the idea of having a woman as president.” On Tuesday, Charlamagne said Mr. Obama had been “finger-waving at Black men” and questioned when anti-Harris white voters would be admonished.
“What is happening is that we are all working on reminding people of what is at stake,” Ms. Harris replied. But she also acknowledged that she was not owed anyone’s support. “I need to earn every vote, which is why I’m here having this candid conversation with you and your listeners,” she said.
It’s funny/sad to me that Obama’s comments were seen and felt as “scolding” when really, I thought he was a Black man speaking truth to other Black men. As in: get yourself together, another Trump presidency will make our lives so much worse. Obama was calling out the misogynoir which exists within the Black community, for goodness sake. And he did so while visiting a field office, it wasn’t part of his surrogate stump speech. Now, that being said, Charlamagne brings up a good point, which is whether white voters would be “scolded” in the same way by a national figure. Who is that white guy who could do it though? President Biden? Bill Clinton? I do think they’re doing their part to scold white voters, but sure, bring them out to do it louder.
.@cthagod: What do you say to people who say you use talking points?
Vice President Harris: I would say you’re welcome. My opponent belittles people. I love having conversations, which is why I’m so happy to be with you this afternoon pic.twitter.com/LqdFs3izpr
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 15, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.