Radio host Lenard McKelvey, better known as Charlamagne tha God, had some choice words about the 2024 presidential election and its frontrunners in an interview with ABC News on Sunday.
Believe me, these words were the right ones.
Charlamagne co-hosts “The Breakfast Club” on iHeartRadio alongside Raashaun “DJ Envy” Casey and Jessica “Jess Hilarious” Moore. The show reaches roughly six million listeners each month and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2020.
“The Breakfast Club” is well-known in the political sphere, with politicians often joining during their campaigns to gain support — particularly from the show’s young, diverse listener base.
Thus, Charlamagne has long been critical of politicians and outspoken about his views.
In an interview with Jonathan Karl for ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Charlamagne said that “nobody is inspired” by the 2024 presidential election, nor does anybody want to see a rematch between frontrunners President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
He also described what I consider to be a perfect embodiment of this year’s election — a “threat to democracy” versus an “uninspiring candidate.”
Of course, the “threat to democracy” in question is Trump. A brash, erratic and dangerous figure, he cannot become president for the sanctity of the United States and its democratic institutions.
The Jan. 6 insurrection, in which armed Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in response to Trump’s incessant claims that his 2020 loss to Biden was fraudulent, is the most obvious example of Trump’s attempts to say “to hell with” the rule of law and bend the Constitution to get what he wants.
Historian Robert Kagan wrote an analysis for the Washington Post which argued that a second Trump term would be an opportunity for Trump to quench his “deep thirst for vengeance.”
Kagan further anticipates that Trump’s loyal followers will “seek favors through acts they think will make him happy, thereby enhancing their own influence and power in the process” — which is indicative of a budding dictatorship, if you ask me.
With this in mind, I think it’s pretty understandable then why Charlamagne considers Trump a greater threat should he be elected president.
However, I also 100% agree with Charlamagne’s take that Biden is “uninspiring.”
In his words, Biden has “no main character energy at all, none.” Biden lacks the energy to rally his base — especially since he needs to get young voters on his side to keep his seat in the Oval Office.
Not that I was old enough to vote in 2020, but I feel as though the only reason Biden won was because of Trump’s awful actions during his presidency, especially that year.
From Trump withholding information about the COVID-19 pandemic to condemning Black Lives Matter protesters following the murder of George Floyd, it was an election for voters to make Trump lose, not help Biden win.
Plus, Biden received a boost from his charismatic glass ceiling-shatterer of a running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman vice president in United States history.
The 2020 election was never about Biden — and we shouldn’t be surprised that the 2024 one isn’t about him either, even if we need it to be to keep Trump out of the White House.
Ultimately, I respect and appreciate that Charlamagne would be so open and brutally honest about both Trump and Biden’s faults.
I may seem like an “anyone but Trump” kind of voter — and I am — but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look at Democrats under as harsh of a lens as Republicans.
I obviously believe that a Trump win would be devastating, but Biden would not be my first choice to give the presidency to either.
That being said, it’s just inevitable that with his incumbency advantage and lack of convincing competition — rest in peace, Marianne Williamson’s campaign, though I love your policies — Biden will be the Democratic nominee.
And, at least this year and in years past, voting third party will not be effective. Maybe that progress can happen in 2028 with the right candidate.
I’ll be listening in 2028 for Charlamagne’s take on — hopefully — a fresh crop of candidates.
