Politicians Who Made Their Case to Charlamagne Tha God

In 2020, then-presidential hopeful Joe Biden sat down with Charlamagne to drum up support for his campaign. The two covered a wide-ranging set of issues, including his cognitive health, how then-President Trump was handling the COVID-19 pandemic and Biden’s decision to choose a Black woman as his running mate.

But while he was tooting his own horn, Biden made a statement that raised plenty of eyebrows, telling Charlamagne, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” Biden faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for his comments and eventually apologized, saying he “shouldn’t have been such a wise guy” during the interview.

In a 2021 interview with Charlamagne on Comedy Central’s Tha God’s Honest Truth, Vice President Kamala Harris took time to lay out what has kept her busy since taking office, including advocating for Black maternal health, student loan forgiveness and securing more capital for minority-owned businesses.

But the conversation took a turn when the two got into an animated exchange when Charlamagne asked the Vice President who the real President of the United States is, seeming to imply that other people may be pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“I want to know who the real president of this country is — is it Joe Biden, or Joe Manchin?” Charlamagne asked.

“It’s Joe Biden. And don’t start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not he’s president,” Harris responded.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on The Breakfast Club in 2019 to talk about his 2020 Presidential campaign and how his agenda would benefit the Black community, including advocating for tuition-free colleges, prison reform, affordable healthcare and reparations.

In 2022, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on The Breakfast Club to talk about the Biden administration’s accomplishments since the bipartisan infrastructure bill was signed into law in 2021. He also answered the hosts’ questions on what still needs to be done to deliver on promises made to the Black community that have not been fulfilled.

In 2021, former President Barack Obama sat down with The Breakfast Club hosts to talk about his book, “A Promised Land.” He also reflected on his eight years in the White House and answered the hosts’ questions on what he did for the Black community.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) appeared on The Breakfast Club in 2019 to make the case for her 2020 campaign for President. She criticized Donald Trump’s racist and sexist playbook and laid out her plans if elected – particularly those that help close the racial wealth gap, including universal childcare, higher salaries for teachers, canceling student loan debt and investments in HBCUs.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke out on everything from the migrant crisis to the implementation of congestion pricing in the city during a March 29 appearance on The Breakfast Club. But he was put in the hot seat when challenged by lawyer and political activist Olayemi Olurin, who forced him to defend his decision to deploy additional police in the subway system, accusing him of being a fearmonger on the issue of crime in the city.

Former Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy stepped into the hot seat in 2023 when he appeared on The Breakfast Club to make a case for why he should be elected to the highest office in the land. But the hosts pressed him on his lack of political experience, accusing him of trying to go from “preschool to President of the United States.”

“You want people to believe in country and you want people to have civic engagement. I just find it very telling that you haven’t had any civic engagement at all,” said former Front-Page News coordinator Tezlyn Figaro.

In a March 2024 interview on The Breakfast Club, conservative political commentator Candace Owens covered lots of topics, including why she thinks Donald Trump is a better option for President than his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden. Along with being better for the economy, Owens said she appreciates Trump for being a straight shooter.

“Do you want to be politely lied to or have somebody that’s at least telling you what they think about you in no uncertain terms?” she said.

Right wing conservative radio host, author and former 2024 Presidential candidate Larry Elder appeared on The Breakfast Club to sell himself to the show’s audience. During the interview, Elder called systemic racism a “myth” and argued that fatherlessness is a bigger issue in the Black community.