Cardi B talks minimum wage increase with US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
Rapper and social-media sensation Cardi B teamed up with US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in a video released this week showing the pair discussing the need to raise the minimum wage.
The unlikely duo — an elderly, oftendishevelled senator and a flamboyant, profanity-using performer — filmed the online campaign video at a Detroit nail salon in late July as a way to engage younger voters ahead of the 2020 election. “When I was not famous, I just felt like, no matter how many jobs I get I wasn’t able to make ends meet. I wasn’t able to pay my rent, get transportation and eat,” says the 26-year-old Cardi B, her trademark long nails shimmering as she sits opposite Sanders.
“Right now we have tens of millions of people who are earning what I consider to be starvation wages,” Sanders responds. “Can you imagine somebody today earning [US]$9 [280 baht] an hour?” “It don’t make no sense,” said Cardi B.
“It’s like, yeah, there’s an increase in jobs given,” she says, referring to the economy under US President Donald Trump that has seen consistent job growth. “But what are they paying? In these jobs, they’re practically paying nothing.”
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, a level supported by several other candidates in the crowded Democratic field.
The video, released on Cardi B’s Instagram feed, topped 2 million views in its first three hours online.
Sanders, who ranks third in 2020 Democratic polling, and the Bronx artist, born Belcalis Almanzar, have been exchanging compliments on social media and television for months.
In June Cardi B tweeted her support of Sanders, saying: “this man been fighting for equal rights, HUMAN rights for such along time.” Sanders replied, thanking the rapper and saying: “Our fight for justice is far from over and we are not giving up.”
In 2016 Cardi B famously encouraged her fans in an expletive-laden clip to “vote for Daddy Bernie”, warning that foreign women “gonna get deported if Trump is president”.