Cardi B has endorsed Kamala Harris for President claiming in her speech in Wisconsin that she ‘wasn’t going to vote’ until the Vice-President entered the race against ‘bully’ Trump.
Both candidates held rallies within 7 miles of each other last night in the Milwaukee area as part of a fevered final push for votes in swing-state Wisconsin’s largest county.
Milwaukee is home to the most Democratic votes in Wisconsin, but its conservative suburbs are where most Republicans live and are a critical area for Trump as he tries to reclaim the state he narrowly won in 2016 and lost in 2020.
One reason for his defeat was a drop in support in those Milwaukee suburbs and an increase in Democratic votes in the city.
The outspoken A-list rapper did find herself in an awkward moment at a rally for the Vice President, due to teleprompter issues.
However she continued: ‘I wasn’t gonna vote this year,’ before adding that Ms Harris taking over as the Democratic nominee changed her mind.
‘She’s passionate, compassionate… and most of all she is not delusional,’ she said.
She referred to Donald Trump as a ‘bully’.
‘He said he’s gonna protect women whether they like it or not,’ she says.
‘If his definition of protection is not the freedom of choice… then I don’t want it. I’m not giving Donald Trump a second chance.’
Democrats know they must turn out voters in Milwaukee, also home to the state’s largest Black population, to counter Trump’s support in the suburbs and rural areas. Harris is hoping to replicate, and exceed, turnout from 2020 in the city, which voted 79 percent for Biden that year.
The famous female rapper dressed in white took the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and immediately paused as the crowd cheered wildly.
‘One second guys. One second!’ she began as the crowd cheered her on.
She removed her white gloves and tried to begin speaking, but ultimately paused again after the teleprompter screen went blank.
‘OK. So I don’t take lightly the call,’ she began, before pausing. ‘I’m sorry guys, I’m a little nervous. I’m a little nervous guys, I’ve been waiting for this moment this whole life, my whole life.’
‘I need patience over here, patience where are you girl?’ she shouted. ‘I need patience over here!’
‘Are we ready to make history?’ she asked repeatedly.
Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a point, or fewer than 23,000 votes.
It was absentee votes from Milwaukee, which typically are reported early in the morning after Election Day, that tipped Wisconsin for President Joe Biden in 2020.
After about 90 seconds of stalling, finally an aide rushed on stage to give her a phone with what looked like her prepared remarks on the screen.
‘Now I took my time writing my speech, so I wanted to make sure I delivered it right,’ she said.
Cardi B quickly regained confidence and read off her speech from the phone.
‘Just like Kamala Harris I too have been the underdog, I’ve been underestimated, my success belittled, and discredited,’ she said, praising Harris for ‘standing up’ to bullies.
‘Women have to work ten times harder, perform ten times better and still people question us how we got to the top!’ she said.
The rapper famously took shots at President Joe Biden in July when he was running for president, calling him and the Democratic party ‘selfish’ for not stepping aside for Harris.
Before heading to Milwaukee, Harris campaigned in the southern Wisconsin city of Janesville, where she talked up her support for organized labor in a speech at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local.
‘Nobody understands better than a union member that as Americans we all rise or fall together,’ Harris said. She promised to eliminate ‘unnecessary’ degree requirements for federal jobs and push private sector employers to do the same.
She called Trump ‘an existential threat to America’s labor movement’ and said the nation lost manufacturing jobs during his presidency.
Trump, whose base includes working-class voters, has made sporadic efforts to reach out to rank-and-file union members, who have traditionally been core to the Democratic coalition.
Harris later went after Trump on health care, telling hundreds who packed into a high school in Little Chute, Wisconsin, that the former president wants to undo the Affordable Care Act law and take the United States back to the days when insurers could deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions.
‘I feel like this would have been her perfect time to shine. We already know she’s sharp with the f–king mouth,’ she said in mid-July after Biden’s disastrous debate performance.
She went on to repeat a lot of familiar themes from the Harris campaign, hitting former president Donald Trump for selling $100,000 watches, sneakers and Bibles from China.
‘I’m not giving Donald Trump a second chance,’ she said. I’m not taking any chances with my future and I d**n sure am not taking any chances with my children. … I’m not giving him the chance! I’m with Kamala!’
Cardi B was one of several celebrities Harris recruited to speak or perform at the campaign event to rally supporters to vote in the final days before the election.
Rapper GloRilla took the stage at a Kamala Harris rally in Milwaukee on Friday, where she performed two of her hits: ‘Hollon’ and ‘Yeah Glo.’
The more graphic lyrics were censored, but the amount of silenced lyrics prompted attendees to wonder if there were technical issues with her microphone.
Harris urged everyone in Wisconsin to get out and vote, and gave a shoutout to young Gen-Z voters who were voting for the first time.
‘I love Gen-Z,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Here’s what I love about you guys. You are rightly impatient for change. I love that about you!’