Fresh off of "WAP" becoming the No. 1 song in the country, Cardi B spoke to Joe Biden about the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, police brutality and universal health care in an interview organized for Elle magazine.
The 16-minute discussion covered a ton of ground, with powerful anecdotes from both parties about their pasts as well as more specific calls for policy changes.
“I have a whole list of things that I want and I wish and I desire for our next president to do for us. But first things first, let me keep it a buck, I just want Trump out. … I don’t want to be lied to. We’re living in a pandemic right now, and I just want answers," Cardi B said.
"I want to know when this is over, I want to go back to my job, I want to be able to go outside, I want to be able not to feel like I’m trapped in my home," she added. "But I don’t want somebody to lie to me and tell me that it’s OK to go outside, it’s OK not to wear a mask. … I want a president to tell me what are the steps for us to get better."
She also called for universal health care, free college education and more accountability for police violence. The superstar rapper spoke about her experience in college struggling to make ends meet and pushed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to do more for young people.
“I couldn’t afford to go to McDonald’s … on my break. … That is so important, to finance students while they’re in college because they get really discouraged,” Cardi B said after speaking about how difficult it was to afford the $5 daily subway fare she needed when she was a student in New York City.
Cardi B also spoke about the need for child care, and Biden shared his struggles with caring for his children after his wife and child were killed in a car accident.
Biden thanked the rapper for her donations to coronavirus-related causes and for her work advocating for masks and other necessary public health measures. The former vice president didn't address Cardi's concerns about health care beyond the need for a better coronavirus response, but he did commit to some form of free college education.
"One of the things that I admire about you is you keep talking about what I call equity, just decency, fairness, treating people with respect. … You and other people of your stature, who have millions of people who look to you, you're exercising courage. It's not easy for you to do this. You're going to get a lot of flack for the kinds of things you say. But you have the courage to stand up and say 'now is the time,'" Biden said.
"We're gonna have, if I get elected president, free college education for four years of college, flat out. Anybody with a family [making] less than $125,000, you're going to get a free education. Everybody gets a free education for community college," he added.
Cardi B has frequently used her success and fame to push major candidates on issues like social justice and health care. She spoke at length with Biden's former rival Sen. Bernie Sanders in August and often discusses policies she hopes to push.
In January, Sanders told TMZ, "Cardi B is deeply concerned about what's happening in the country. She knows what it's like to live in poverty and struggle, and it would be great for her to bring that experience to politics."
