A Comprehensive Guide to All the Times Cardi B Sounded Off on Politics

While most people probably know Cardi B for her history-making album, Invasion of Privacy, the Bronx rapper has also made headlines of late for her interest in politics and current events. Cardi, no stranger to a viral moment online, hasn’t shied away from sounding off on politics, whether that means questioning how her tax money is being spent, discussing the repercussions of President Donald Trump’s government shutdown or showing support for Rep. Ilhan Omar in the face of racist attacks.

True Cardi fans (or Bardi gang as they refer to themselves), however, know that Cardi’s interest in politics has been longtime and spurred by a deep love of history, something that was confirmed by her high school history teacher, who noted on social media that not only did Cardi take her AP Government class, but that she was proud of her for using her platform to speak about issues that matter.

With that in mind, here’s a look on all of Cardi B’s most memorable political moments.

Cardi B announces she’s interested in running for Congress

Is she ready for more than commentary and endorsements? On Sunday, that was a distinct possibility according to a string of tweets.

“I think I want to be a politician. I really love government even tho I don’t agree with Government.”

Cardi B endorses Bernie Sanders for president during the lead-up to the 2016 election

Cardi cautioned voters ahead of the 2016 election about the possibility of Donald Trump becoming president, encouraging them to consider Bernie Sanders for the job, citing concerns about Trump’s proposed policies on immigration.

Cardi B helps Desus & Mero with live commentary during election night in 2016

The rapper joined fellow Bronx natives Desus Nice and the Kid Mero for live coverage of election night for the 2016 presidential election. During the night, Cardi revealed that the possibility of Trump becoming president made her nervous, even though she had “shmoney”: “Trump got me nervous because he might take my shmoney away!”

Viceland Desus and Mero Live Election Special – Cardi B from eric on Vimeo.

Following a year of major career success, Cardi posed a question that many Americans could identify with: she wanted to know how her tax money was being spent. Her inquiry related to both the national and local levels, with Cardi questioning the state of prison reform and issues with New York City’s MTA system.

Cardi B reveals her favorite U.S. president and discusses the Social Security

In an in-depth interview with GQ, Cardi not only revealed that she was a politics nerd (“I love political science. I love government. I’m obsessed with presidents. I’m obsessed to know how the system works”) but that her favorite U.S. president was Franklin D. Roosevelt, because of his policy work that helped the country recover from the Great Depression and started Social Security. Her passion for politics was so enthusiastic that it earned a response from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Cardi B endorses Cynthia Nixon for Governor of New York

Cardi B endorsed Cynthia Nixon for Governor of New York and Jumaane Williams for lieutenant governor via Instagram during the gubernatorial primaries. While many believed that Cardi’s endorsement of Nixon was due to her rival Nicki Minaj endorsing Nixon’s primary opponent Andrew Cuomo the day prior, she never addressed the speculation.

Cardi B calls out President Trump for the government shutdown

Cardi B took to her Instagram to sound off on the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, offering headline-making critique of Trump and his proposal to build a border wall. Cardi argued that while government shutdowns happened under the Obama Administration, they were for health care and didn’t impact government workers to the extent that this shutdown had.

Cardi B claps back at Tomi Lahren, resulting in a Nancy Pelosi comparison

Following Cardi posting a viral video about the government shutdown, Tomi Lahren criticized Cardi on Twitter, which resulted in two clap backs from Cardi, one of which eventually merited a comparison to Nancy Pelosi squaring off with Trump over the government shutdown.

Cardi B explains why she chose not to perform at the Super Bowl

In an interview with the Associated Press ahead of the 2019 Super Bowl, Cardi B revealed that she declined to perform at the halftime show to show support for Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement: “You have to sacrifice that. I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform,” she said. “But there’s a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him.”

Cardi B continues to feel the Bern by shouting out Bernie Sanders on Twitter

Cards re-upped her support for Sanders on Twitter, pointing to his long history in politics. Her sentiment did not go unnoticed by the senator, who responded to her on Twitter.

He also shared during an appearance on MSNBC’s Velshi & Ruhle that he had spoken with Cardi and that he values her support. “She is very sharp and understands a lot about politics and a lot about history,” he said. “I’m very appreciative to have her support.”

Cardi B shows support for Rep. Ilhan Omar after Trump supporters chant ‘send her back’ at rally

After Donald Trump brought up Rep. Ilhan Omar at a campaign rally, Trump supporters began chanting “send her back.” The aggressive chants followed a series of racist tweets Trump wrote over the weekend attacking Omar and her fellow congresswomen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, in which he told the politicians to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” Following the hateful targeting, Cardi posted a photo of Omar, who was born in Somalia but is a naturalized U.S. citizen, to Instagram, using a lyric from Beyoncé’s song, “Formation” in a show of support and solidarity.

Bernie Sanders shouts out Cardi B during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel

The mutual support between Bernie Sanders and Cardi B continues during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“She is really smart and she is deeply concerned about what is happening in this country,” he said. “That’s the truth, she comes from a humble background… she wants to make sure that we can improve life for working people in this country.”

Cardi, for her part, was extremely excited about Bernie’s late night shout out, taking to her Instagram to encourage her followers to become more politically engaged to affect change in their country.

Cardi B and Bernie Sanders partner for a 2020 campaign video

With the second round of Democratic debates swiftly approaching, Cardi got directly involved in the political process. Further demonstrating her support for Sanders, Cardi took to Instagram to reveal that she had sat down with the senator to ask him questions about how he will change the country that were submitted by her fans.

“Stay tuned to see how he will fight for economic, racial, and social justice for all,” she wrote. “Together, let’s build a movement of young people to transform this country. LETS LEARN OUR CANDIDATES!”

During an interview with CNN, Sanders explained that the end product of the Q&A with Cardi would be a 2020 campaign video.

“We [are] working on a way to involve more young people in the political process,” he said. “The future of America depends on young people. They are voting in large numbers, but not large enough numbers.”

Cardi B considers running for office in the future

Cardi’s already demonstrated a longtime love of politics and presidential history, as well knowledge of how government can and should work, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that the rapper has interest in possibly becoming a politician. In a series of tweets, Cardi cited both her love and distrust of organized government, seemingly voiced her disapproval of American leadership in the current situation in Iran, and expressed a desire to run for Congress in the future.

If Cardi does run for office in the future, she’ll have the backing of Bernie Sanders’ supporters.

Cardi B wants AOC to run for president

Cardi B endorsed her fellow Bronx native, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for president — that is, once Ocasio-Cortez is old enough be eligible for the position. Cardi’s support came via tweet, after Ocasio-Cortez used her song “Bodak Yellow” to talk about the need for affordable healthcare.

“She better run for president when she turns 35,” Cardi wrote alongside a video of Ocasio-Cortez bopping to her 2018 hit.

Ocasio-Cortez returned the love with a tweet reply of her own that referenced Cardi’s latest chart-topping hit, “WAP” — and while the acronym in the song stands for something far more explicit, AOC created a new meaning for it that was on-brand for both her and Cardi: Women Against Patriarchy.

Cardi B interviews Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election

During an interview she conducted via Zoom for ELLE magazine, Cardi B didn’t shy away from asking Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden policy-related questions. In the piece, Cardi and Biden discussed everything from the need for universal healthcare and affordable college education to tangible ways to address racism and police brutality.

“What I want is free Medicare,” she says in the interview. “It’s important to have free [healthcare] because look what is happening right now. Of course, I think we need free college. And I want Black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it. I’m tired of it. I’m sick of it. I just want laws that are fair to Black citizens and that are fair for cops, too.”