(The Hill) — He endorsed him in 2020, but Charlamagne tha God is defending his decision not to publicly back President Joe Biden ahead of this year’s election, saying “both candidates are trash.”
“I am going to vote in November and I’m going to vote my best interests,” the “Breakfast Club” radio host told the co-hosts on “The View” on Wednesday.
“The reality is I think both candidates are trash,” the TV personality, who was born Lenard McKelvey, said of Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“I’m going to vote who I think can preserve democracy,” Charlamagne tha God said.
“If I think both candidates are trash, and I don’t feel like endorsing one, would you rather me endorse an individual or endorse the fact that, hey, we need to go out there and protect democracy?” he asked.
“If I’m sitting here telling my listeners that you have somebody out there who is a threat to democracy, you have somebody out there who said they want to suspend the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election, you saw this person try to lead an attempted coup of this country … There’s only two candidates out there,” he said.
“So, if I’m saying that about this individual: The choice is clear,” Charlamagne tha God said.
The threat to democracy, he said later, “is Donald Trump. If you want me to spell that one out.”
Despite indicating he’ll vote for Biden without endorsing him, the “Get Honest or Die Lying” author has been critical of the 46th president. Last year, citing Biden’s low poll numbers, he called on him to drop out of the White House race.
Describing Republicans as “crooks” and Democrats as “cowards,” the 45-year-old radio pro said both parties were in a race with apathetic voters.
“I feel like right now it looks like voter apathy may win,” he said. “But whose fault is that? Is that our fault or is it the candidates’ fault?”
Asked by co-host Sara Haines what Democrats could do to lose the “cowards” label, Charlamagne praised Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who famously clashed last week with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., at a House Oversight Committee hearing. Responding to an insult about her appearance from Greene, Crockett took a veiled jab at her GOP colleague, referring to her “bleach blonde bad built butch body.”
“The former first lady called a play one time, and she said, ‘When they go low, we go high,'” Charlamagne said, referring to the credo Michelle Obama made famous in her remarks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
“I think you got to rip that play up,” he said in his advice to Democrats. “When they go low, you got to take it to the floor with them.”