Lenard “Charlamagne Tha God” McKelvey has yet again made headlines with the latest episode of his new TV show, “Tha God’s Honest Truth with Charlamagne Tha God.” Vice President Kamala Harris made a remote appearance on the late-night TV show, and amidst all the niceties befitting her stature, she was faced with a burning question from Charlamagne. “I want to know who the real president of this country is: Is it Joe Biden or Joe Manchin?” Charlamagne asked Harris.
Panic struck the room when the gravity of the question sunk in. Harris’s spokesperson Symone Sanders sounded the alarms and tried to end the show, citing audio difficulties. Charlamagne was quick to catch the play in motion, remarking, “They’re acting like they can’t hear me.” Harris, however, braved the question and replied “I can hear you…I can hear you,” to which Charlamagne once again responded, “Who is the real president of this country: Is it Joe Biden or Joe Manchin, Madame Vice-President?”
This time Harris was quick in reprimanding Charlamagne. “Come on, Charlamagne, come on. It’s Joe Biden. It’s Joe Biden, and don’t start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not he’s president.”
“And it’s Joe B-, Joe B-, Joe Biden, and I’m vice president, and my name is Kamala Harris,” she continued. “And the reality is because we are in office, we do … the things like the child tax credit which is going to reduce Black child poverty by 50 percent.”
She then outlined several of the administration’s policy measures, which included investment in public transit, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, enacting criminal justice reform, and allocating funds to provide families with clean drinking water.
Moving past the controversial question, Charlamagne replied, “That, Madam Vice-President…that Kamala Harris…that’s the one I like. That’s the one putting pressure on people and sitting and hearing. That’s the one I’d like to see more often out here in the streets.” The segment ended on a positive note, with Charlamagne asking Harris to give his love to her husband and Harris jokingly implying she wanted to see Charlamagne have children soon.
The gravity of the question stems from recent events which have unfolded in Capitol Hill, concerning the Build Back Better legislation. The social legislation plan was proposed by President Biden ahead of his inauguration. It includes funding for COVID-19 relief, welfare, social services, as well as for matters pertaining to climate change.
Charlamagne’s question was pertinent due to recent attempts by Senator Joe Manchin to pull support from the bill. In Charlamagne’s words, “Someone has to push back on Joe Manchin. That guy is stopping progress, he’s ruining democracy. Are you willing to be that superhero?”
Following the release of this episode, Joe Manchin publicly revealed that he would not be supporting the Build Back Better legislation, to the shock and dismay of many Democrats.
Charlamagne, who grew up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, is no stranger to the kind of exchanges we saw in the episode. He previously interviewed Joe Biden in the lead-up to the 2020 election, in which Biden famously said, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” An aide of Biden also tried to end that particular interview, by stating that Biden was out of time.
Charlamagne’s love for radio began during an internship in his hometown and the 90s saw him becoming a voice to be reckoned with. He attained radio stardom when began a radio show, “The Breakfast Club,” alongside co-hosts DJ Envy and Angela Yee. Proclaimed the “World’s Most Dangerous Morning Show,” it has risen to become hip hop’s most successful radio platform and was recently inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Branching out from radio stardom, Charlamagne recently ventured into late-night TV, as producer and host of the show, “Tha God’s Honest Truth with Charlamagne Tha God.” The Comedy Central show is a chance to see the maestro at his best, dissecting social issues using deep dives, sketches, and social experiments.
The show has seen a large number of celebrities grace its doors, with episodes ranging on topics from the racism present in the FBI’s treatment of Black people and communities, critical race theory, mental health, and generational trauma, to the toxic effects of social media.
The latest episode on which Kamala Harris appeared was a run-up to the festive season. Comedian Amanda Seales also made an appearance, to delight viewers with her Christmas power rankings. The rankings rated the top five things associated with Christmas. The list included our all-time favorite Christmas movie, Home Alone, the one and only Jesus, the nightingale Mariah Carey, Christmas sweaters, and finally an audience favorite, Black Santa. Seales pointed out the importance of promoting racial equality in the festive season, in a tongue-in-cheek manner and we loved every bit of it.
In the final segment of the show, Tha God’s Honest tribe member, Chico Bean alongside DJ Nyla, spent time in the streets of Brownsville, Brooklyn. A mic in their hand, the duo strolled across streets, asking people who they found more important, Jesus or Santa. Many of the children they encountered, to our surprise, chose Jesus. However, that did not stop many of them, grinning from ear to ear, from shouting out, “Santa!” Chico then appeared with two pictures, portraying a Black Jesus and a White one.
These social experiments are typical of Charlamagne’s style of production. He is more than happy delving deeper into what holds society together and what divides it. The segment was also geared towards revealing how the commercial nature of Christmas and Santa Claus has not yet entirely removed the importance of Jesus; at least in communities such as those found in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
To watch this episode and more, you can visit the website here. Episodes premiere weekly, exclusively on Comedy Central.
