Cardi B and Joe Biden have a presidential chat

August is the month of Cardi B. In between launching her controversial music video “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion and gracing the September cover of Elle (where she called out male rappers for not talking enough about Breonna Taylor), the performer also sat down for an open and candid conversation with U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden.In a Zoom call sponsored by Elle, Cardi and Biden start off the conversation lightly enough, chatting about nicknames (Biden’s daughter used to call him Joey B) and congratulating each other on their recent successes. Then Biden kicks off the real talk when he asks Cardi—who has spoken out on her political views in the past and previously supported Bernie Sanders—what her real interest in this election is.“I have a whole list of things that I want our next president to do for us. But first, I just want Trump out. His mouth gets us in trouble so much. I don’t want to be lied to—we’re dealing with a pandemic right now, and I just want answers,” she started. “I want to know when this will be over. I want to go back to my job. But I don’t want someone to lie to me and tell me that it’s okay not to wear a mask, that everything is going to be okay. I want a president to tell me what the steps are for us to get better, to tell me, ‘This is why it is taking so long, this is why other countries are doing better than ours.’ Tell me the truth, the hard-core truth.”Honesty and good leadership weren’t the only things on Cardi’s mind. The 27-year-old also revealed that she wants to see some real change in America. “And also what I want is free Medicare. It’s important to have free [healthcare] because look what is happening right now. Of course, I think we need free college,” she continued. “And I want Black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it. I’m tired of it. I’m sick of it. I just want laws that are fair to Black citizens and that are fair for cops, too. If you kill somebody who doesn’t have a weapon on them, you go to jail. You know what? If I kill somebody, I’ve got to go to jail. You gotta go to jail, too. That’s what I want.”

It's the remix! Presenting Cardi B and Joey B—the collaboration you didn’t see coming. In an exclusive interview for our September issue, @iamcardib sits down with @joebiden to discuss Medicare, free college tuition, and the fight for racial justice. https://t.co/fn1haGKZPK pic.twitter.com/tvT4sQRpo6

— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) August 17, 2020

Throughout the chat, Biden and Cardi continue to address the issues of free healthcare and education, but they also chatted about child care. As mom to two-year-old daughter Kulture, Cardi revealed that she believes no one is more motivated than a mother. But at the same time, all of the parents out there want something better for their kids."I feel like this country is so hurt, to the point that this year, a lot of people couldn't even celebrate July 4th, because not everybody feels like an American. A lot of people feel like [they're] not even part of America," she said. Later on she added, “And you know, I feel like Black people, we’re not asking for sympathy, we’re not asking for charity—we are just asking for equality. We are asking for fairness, and we are asking for justice. That is all. I feel like everything people are asking for is getting interpreted in a very different way. No, it’s simple: We just want justice. We want to feel like Americans.”Biden, who was complimentary of Cardi’s passion and said that he admired her “equity—decency, fairness, and treating people with respect,” also wanted to take advantage of his time with the "WAP" rapper to encourage her younger fanbase to vote in the upcoming election. He added that the turnout in the primaries was encouraging, and that he thinks people are ready for change. “The American people have never, ever, ever let their country down. They’ve been battered by this president and the way he continues to divide [our communities]. He appeals to their prejudice. He spews hate. We’ve gotta stop it,” he said.“This prejudice is dangerous. It could be the start of a civil war. It makes people feel uncomfortable around different people. Nobody wants to feel targeted. Nobody wants animosity. Everybody just wants the best for themselves, their future, their kids’ future,” Cardi added. “Racism has always existed. But I feel like right now, there’s just a lot of tension. And we need somebody to clean that up. I’m just so tired of it.”