A live Today, Explained, conversation on what Democrats need to show Black voters this year.
A New York Times/Siena poll last month showed that 23 percent of registered Black voters polled said if the election was held that day, they’d vote for Donald Trump.
Considering Trump only won 8 percent of Black voters in 2020, that would be a big deal. Black voters historically overwhelmingly vote for Democrats, and in a potentially close presidential race, Democrats can’t afford slippage among their most reliable voting bloc.
That discontent among Black voters with the party does not surprise Charlamagne tha God, the celebrity radio host of “The Breakfast Club,” who is known for his provocative interviews of politicians, and, more recently, his critiques of President Joe Biden and Democrats.
“I think as a Black person, you shouldn’t be beholden to any political party in this country,” Charlamagne told Vox’s Noel King in a live Today, Explained podcast taping at South by Southwest in Austin on Sunday. “I mean, Democrats have done more, but we haven’t really seen anybody systemically help us get out of this situation that we’re in, because I think that’s something that people never truly address.”
And it’s especially unfair, given those unaddressed issues, to put the weight of the election on Black voters, said political commentator and Native Land Pod podcast host Angela Rye at the live taping.
“I think that it is one of those things where we end up talking about this and then Black voters are to blame in November if that’s what ends up happening,” Rye said.
So what should Democrats — and Republicans — be prepared to show Black voters who are more up for grabs this year than they have previously been?
You can listen to the full Today, Explained episode to hear our discussion with Charlamagne and Rye on that and more. A transcript of their portion of the episode is below, edited for length and clarity.
Noel King
It’s 2020. Charlamagne tha God is interviewing candidate Joe Biden, and you’re trying to get a couple more minutes with him. You’re telling him, “Hang on, don’t end the interview yet,” which is something every interviewer does. The candidate tells you you’ve got two minutes left and you say, “No, give me 10.”
And at this point, candidate Biden makes this statement: “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” I am very curious what went through your head.
Charlamagne tha God
Exactly what I said to him in that moment: It’s not about Trump, it’s about me wanting to make sure that the Democratic Party is going to show up and do things for our people. I didn’t even disagree with his statement because I think what he — I hate trying to say what white people are trying to say — what he was trying to say was if you’re Black and you vote for Donald Trump, you’re voting against your interests.
Noel King
So this is before Biden is elected. In that moment, did you believe that to be true?
Charlamagne tha God
Yeah. I believe that to be true now.
Noel King
Okay. Sometimes people aren’t sure. People will say: Charlamagne is critical of President Biden. That means he is directing his audience toward Donald Trump.
Charlamagne tha God
Yeah, I think we really insult Black people, especially. We insult our own intelligence when we make those kind of statements, when we say things like, you can’t be critical of whoever the elected official is and still know what’s in our best interest to do when we get into the the voting booth come November.
Noel King
We have all been watching the polling for the last couple months, and one thing that we’ve seen is that President Biden does appear to be losing some segment of Black voters. What do you think is happening here? Has he done something wrong? Has he failed to do enough right?
Charlamagne tha God
When people say this nowadays, I’m like, why are they just focusing on the Black voters when you see him going lower and lower with everybody?
Noel King
Because for a long time it was a gimme!
Charlamagne tha God
I think that’s overstated. I don’t see 23 percent of Black people voting for Donald Trump. I could be wrong, but I don’t. I think it might go up, but I don’t see 23 percent.
Angela Rye
But I think that it is one of those things where we end up talking about this, and then Black voters are to blame in November if that’s what ends up happening. So I don’t think that that’s fair. We’ve carried this country long enough.
But I would say that it’s not about what Joe Biden himself has done or not done for Black people. I think this is about an institution, an establishment, that has regularly failed folks who look like me, folks who feel voiceless and unseen.
Noel King
You get questions about this, because you take calls on your show, which means you have this intimate connection with people. What are you hearing from people about this election?
Charlamagne tha God
My guy [former Ohio Democratic Rep.] Tim Ryan, he talks about the exhausted, exhausted majority. And he says he feels like most people in this country, they’re not leaning to the left and not leaning to the right. They’re just tired.
I think it’s up to both candidates right now, but especially Democrats: How are you going to energize those people who don’t want to get up off the couch in November? That’s the biggest thing I’m hearing from people. They’re just tired, fed up with the political process all across the board.
Noel King
What do you hear Biden has gotten done?
Charlamagne tha God
Student loan forgiveness is a big one. Honestly, that’s the biggest thing I’ve heard people from our community talking about, because people like to see tangible things. They like to see things that they can touch and they can feel. When people wonder why folks keep bringing up these stimulus checks, it’s because it’s something that they could actually touch and they could feel and they could see. It’s the same thing with student loan debt forgiveness. But outside of that, I personally haven’t heard much.
Noel King
When you say tangible things, I hear the economy.
Charlamagne tha God
That’s literally all it’s ever about. When they asked people, well, what do Black people want? We want the same thing everybody else wants in this country: upward mobility, money. People like cash. Cash rules everything around me. It’s been like that since the beginning of time.
Angela Rye
This is where we disagree too, though.
Charlamagne tha God
But it’s true — there’s nothing we can talk about on this stage that money doesn’t revolve around.
Angela Rye
It’s not just money that we need. We need safety. We need the same folks who are there to protect and serve other communities, to protect and serve us, not shoot to kill. I want a Department of Justice that serves us. I want some folks that are really aggressive on voting rights cases. [Biden’s] not going to be able to get to the finish line in November if they don’t start taking these voting rights issues really seriously.
Charlamagne tha God
The voter suppression is going to be so real come November. And Democrats’ only defense against voter suppression historically has been to have the largest voter turnout in the history of America this election. I don’t know if you get that in 2024. So if you don’t get a large voter turnout, how are you going to stop the voter suppression?
Noel King
Truthfully, I think one of the criticisms is even saying something like that could lead to people sitting home and staying on the couch. You’re not advocating for anyone to sit home and stay on the couch.
Charlamagne tha God
I think that if these elected officials were doing what they were supposed to be doing for the people, it wouldn’t matter. The only question I’ve ever asked that is considered critical is, are they still a winnable ticket come November? I think that’s a very valid question to ask.
If we have a threat to democracy on the other side, what’s wrong with asking that question? Are they still a winnable ticket? When you look at the polls, when you look at the approval rating, what’s wrong with asking that question? When David Axelrod said [it], nobody said anything. When, what’s the name of the guy who wrote the article for the New York Times?
Noel King
Ezra Klein.
Charlamagne tha God
When Ezra Klein writes an article like that, nobody said anything. But when the Black guy from the hip-hop station in a hoodie says something, then everybody has a problem with it. Any power that I have is derived from the people. I’m literally only asking the questions that I hear everyday working-class people ask of me when they call into the radio station in the morning or when I’m walking the streets in New York or when I’m home in South Carolina. These are the things that I’m hearing people say.
I’ll give you an example. I remember back in January, I was having a conversation with Fox News, and the guy said to me, “Do you think the border is going to be an issue come November?” And I said, hell yeah. And the reason I said, hell yeah, because for the first time, I’m having people that I talk to on a regular basis come to me and they’re having these conversations.
You have people in Chicago, you have people in New York complaining about the resources that they feel the migrants were getting, that people in the community that have been there forever aren’t receiving. And you literally had MSNBC run a headline that said, Charlamagne the God is pushing MAGA messaging. Now, two months later, that’s all everybody’s talking about is the border. So literally, my answer came from talking to regular, everyday people. So how is it MAGA messaging if it’s coming from the people?
Noel King
If people think Donald Trump and the Republicans take crime more seriously than Democrats, that 23 percent doesn’t seem unrealistic to me.
Charlamagne tha God
We got to stop saying that in regards to Black voters, though. When you look at Joe Biden’s approval ratings, he’s getting his ass kicked everywhere. It’s not just Black people. So I think that in order to really get that campaign on the right track, they’ve got to start looking at the totality of what’s happening with that campaign and how different groups of people feel about him.
Noel King
In 2020, you endorsed Joe Biden. This year you have not made an endorsement. You hear how Angela speaks. You hear what your very well-informed friend says is at stake. Are you going to endorse anyone this year?
Charlamagne tha God
No. I’m endorsing our democracy, though. I think that you should go out there and you should vote to keep this democracy alive. So this is clear as day. We’re not even talking hyperbole when we have these conversations.
You’ve got some pretty good examples of what [Trump is] capable of. January 6, 2021, was a pretty cut-and-dry situation. That was an attempted coup of this country. And then you also have a man who doesn’t believe in the Constitution. Like when you say you should suspend the Constitution, to overthrow the results of an election. You have his lawyer saying, well, he didn’t sign up to say he was gonna support the Constitution. That kind of tells you where we’re going.
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