Radio host Charlamagne Tha God mixed it up this year with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, but in the end, he’s going to vote for him.
Well, not him, per se, but the Democratic ticket, anyway.
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris, I’ll tell you that in a heartbeat. I’m not necessarily voting for Joe Biden, I’m voting for Senator Kamala Harris,” Charlamagne Tha God told CNN’s Don Lemon on Tuesday.
The radio host, whose real name is Lenard Larry McKelvey, said that Harris represents “change.”
“I believe Kamala’s a political change agent; I think she’s exactly the leader this country needs to lead us in the future. If she’s not, then I’ll just be wrong,” McKelvey said. “I’m just so tired of like, old white male leadership in politics.”
"I'm voting for Kamala Harris … I'm not necessarily voting for Joe Biden," says Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod), when asked who he's voting for. "…I'm just so tired of … old white male leadership in politics." pic.twitter.com/QFTbTgJUhe
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) October 21, 2020
McKelvey said others in the black community will have to make up their own minds. “I can’t speak for all black Americans, black Americans aren’t monolithic, I’m only speaking for me. And to me, I’m just sick of that. I’m tired of old white male leadership in government,” he said. “Trump wants to make America great again, Biden wants to build back better. As a black man, I don’t want to do none of that, because we know America has never been great for everyone.”
Biden sat down in May for an online interview with McKelvey on his popular radio show “The Breakfast Club,” at one point telling the host that if he supports President Trump, “then you ain’t black.”
Here’s the full exchange:
McKelvey: Listen, you gotta’ come see us when you come to New York, Vice President Biden. It’s a long way until November, we got more questions.
Biden: You got more questions? Well, I’ll tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.
Biden later expressed regret for his remarks during a phone conversation with the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., and offered the following excuse for his comments.
“I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy. I shouldn’t have been so cavalier,” Biden reportedly said, adding: I don’t take it for granted at all and no one should have to vote for any party based on their race, religion, or background. There are African Americans who think Trump is worth voting for. I don’t think so, and I’m prepared to put my record against his, that was the bottom line, and it was really unfortunate. I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
McKelvey said he was not impressed with his conversation with the former vice president. “My overall takeaway from the conversation was I heard him, you know, talking about things that he did for black people back in the day, but you know, ‘What have you done for me lately’ is my motto,” he said on CNN.
“I don’t even care about the words and the lip service. And the apology is cool, but the best apology is actually a black agenda,” he said in an interview with MSNBC. “You know, they got to make some real policy commitments to black people.”
Fox News noted that CNN hardly bothered to cover the story. “CNN, which often dedicates wall-to-wall coverage for any latest controversy from President Trump, virtually avoided covering Joe Biden’s ‘you ain’t black’ remarks Friday morning that sparked backlash throughout the day,” Fox wrote.