Charlamagne Tha God and Vice President Kamala Harris had a heated exchange on Friday, Dec. 17, during his Comedy Central late show series, Tha God’s Honest Truth.
While the conversation lasted 20 minutes, the host discussed with Harris, who is the first Black woman and South Asian woman to be vice president of the United States, a variety of topics, including student loan forgiveness, her role as vice president, and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s divisive political stances, Revolt reported.
Manchin, who is labeled as the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, has been known to vote against policy proposals from progressive members of his party. Universal medicare, ending the filibuster, and additional justices to the supreme court are just some of the plans the West Virginia governor has disagreed on. In addition, he recently voted against President Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ bill.
When Charlamagne asked Harris, “Who’s the real president of this country? Is it Joe Manchin or Joe Biden?”
In her response, the vice president reminded the host, who holds the presidency in the United States.
“C’mon Charlamagne, c’mon. It’s Joe Biden,” Harris passionately responded. “And don’t start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not he’s president … It’s Joe Biden, and I’m vice president, and my name is Kamala Harris.”
She continued to make her case by mentioning that the Biden administration has taken the lead to combat Black child poverty by providing families with child tax credit checks, urged the Department of Justice to initiate investigations into troubling police departments, and is treating Black maternal mortality as a “serious issue,” among other important matters.
“I hear the frustration, but let’s not deny the impact that we’ve had and agree also that there is a whole lot more work to be done, and it is not easy to do,” Harris asserted. “But we will not give up, and I will not give up!”
According to a December poll from the Los Angeles Times, just 41% of registered voters favor Harris, while 52% have an adverse viewpoint of the vice president. Charlamagne discussed her approval rating and asked why many Americans have villainized her when the attention should be placed on Manchin, Revolt reported.
“The problem is — we have right now in America, a party; I’m not talking about all Republicans, but the Republican Party that is drawing a line and basically standing in the way of what is in the best interest of all people,” Harris said. “On the issue of voting, for example … This is about everybody’s right to vote. We’re not telling people who to vote for … It’s happening all over. Any American who takes the oath to uphold the constitution should agree, run on your merits, don’t try to win because you manipulated the system to make it difficult for certain people to vote. That’s what’s at stake right now.”
“And it’s a mindset that if we’re going to say what’s to blame and then who is doing that, let’s not forget what happened on Jan. 6. There was a mob that attempted a coup, that with force and violence took over our nation’s Capital to prevent the deceleration of an election where the people had voted,” she continued. “These are the things that are happening, and I just want to urge us to really see where the attacks are coming and who is doing the attacking, so we can hold them properly responsible for what they’re doing to harm all of us.”
Watch the full interview with Vice President Kamala Harris below.
