(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) An urban radio host, who gained national attention following a viral altercation with then-candidate Joe Biden, expressed regret for his endorsement and claimed that Kamala Harris went Hollywood on him.
Lenard Larry McKelvey, known professionally as “Charlamagne tha God,” told Politico that he felt “burned” after backing Biden because of Harris.
Charlamagne’s endorsement came despite Biden’s live on-air berating him, saying, “‘If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
Speaking candidly with Politico about not endorsing Biden-Harris in 2024, Charlamagne said, “I’ve learned my lesson from doing that,” before adding, “Once they got in the White House, she … kind of disappeared.”
Charlamagne, co-host of the nationally syndicated show The Breakfast Club, criticized Harris for seemingly turning her back on her supporters.
“When I give people my word like: ‘Yo man, I think we should be supporting Kamala Harris for vice president… because she’s going to hold it down.’ When we say those things and people don’t see her holding it down, that causes issues,” he added.
Trouble with tha God https://t.co/kelttZRpdV
— POLITICO (@politico) January 2, 2024
The radio host said he faced backlash for urging voters to support Harris in 2020. “‘Damn, you told us to vote for [them].’ Do you know how many people say that to me all the time?” he said.
Charlamagne hasn’t been a vocal supporter of Biden. In 2020, he backed Biden against then-President Donald Trump because of Harris’s selection as vice president.
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris, I’ll tell you that in a heartbeat. I’m not necessarily voting for Joe Biden, I’m voting for Sen. Kamala Harris,” he claimed, according to Fox News.
Charlamagne explicitly stated he voted for Harris because of her skin color, citing being “just so tired of old White male leadership in politics.”
The relationship turned sour after Harris was sworn in as vice president. In 2021, Harris rebuked Charlamagne during a live interview after he asked who the “real” president was.
“I want to know who the real president of this country is — is it Joe Biden, or Joe Manchin?” he asked Harris, to which she replied, “C’mon, Charlamagne… No, no, no, no, it’s Joe Biden.”
Harris continued to barrate him, saying, “And don’t start talking like a Republican, about asking whether or not he’s president.… And it’s Joe Biden, it’s Joe Biden, and I’m vice president and my name is Kamala Harris.”
Notably, this wasn’t the first time Charlamagne faced direct criticism from a Democrat politician. In 2020, Biden humiliated Charlamagne during an infamous interview where the then-candidate said if black voters were still deciding whether to vote for him or trump, they “ain’t black.”
