The radio show hosted by the entertainer and author has long been a venue for candidates to appeal to Black voters.
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Charlamagne Tha God said on Friday that he would host a town hall-style event in Detroit with a local audience asking Vice President Kamala Harris questions.
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend a town hall-style event in Detroit on Tuesday hosted by the morning radio program “The Breakfast Club,” one of the show’s hosts, Charlamagne Tha God, said Friday.
Charlamagne, a comedian and author whose nationally syndicated show is popular with Black millennials, said the event in the swing state of Michigan would have a local audience that would be allowed to ask Ms. Harris questions.
“I know we’ve got some pressing issues to talk about,” Charlamagne said on the program on Friday.
The event will last an hour and air Tuesday evening across some 140 radio stations nationwide, according to the Harris campaign.
Ms. Harris’s planned appearance comes as her campaign works to solidify its support with Black men. Ms. Harris would be the second Black president and first Black woman in the office, but Democrats view the vice president’s relatively soft support from Black men as a significant concern in the election.
On Thursday, former President Barack Obama delivered a stern message to Black men, who he said were “coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses” not to back Ms. Harris.
“Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president,” Mr. Obama said as he visited a group of campaign volunteers and officials at a field office in Pittsburgh ahead of a campaign appearance. The choice between Ms. Harris and former President Donald J. Trump “isn’t a close call,” Mr. Obama said.
“The Breakfast Club,” which has a reach that extends far beyond radio in its podcast form and in viral videos on YouTube, has long been a venue for candidates to appeal to Black voters. It has also been a site of some memorable moments in presidential politics.
Appearing on the show in 2016, Hillary Clinton said she carried hot sauce around in her bag. (Charlamagne immediately replied, “People are going to see this and say, ‘OK, she’s pandering to Black people.’”) In 2020, Joseph R. Biden Jr. said on the program, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” Mr. Biden received criticism for the comment and apologized, and Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard Larry McKelvey, endorsed Mr. Biden anyway.
In 2019, Ms. Harris, then a senator from California seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, appeared on “The Breakfast Club” and discussed her support for marijuana legalization and her taste in music, which led to a backlash over her responses.
See more on: 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, Charlamagne Tha God
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Source: nytimes.com
