Charlamagne Rips Fox News for Only Amplifying His Biden Criticism: He’s ‘Sh*tty,’ But Trump Would Be ‘The End of American Democracy’

Fox News is officially obsessed with an unlikely commentator: Charlamagne tha God.

Charlamagne hosts the massively popular syndicated radio show, The Breakfast Club, on Power 105.1 FM and iHeartRadio. He also had successful turns guest-hosting The Daily Show, and his interviews with notable guests such as Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Kanye West always seem to throw off a ton of headlines.

He is the rarest of personalities: a media darling who enjoys attention because it’s well deserved (#25 on Mediaite’s Most Influential!)

He was not, however, a mainstay on Fox News until this week. But for the better part of the last 36 hours, it felt like the network had dedicated a segment each hour to his new interview with Politico.

In the interview, Charlamagne was not particularly kind to President Joe Biden or Vice President Harris. From the piece:

Instead of thinking of better ways to play up policy achievements, he argues, Democrats rely too much on depicting former President Donald Trump as a crook.

“It’s almost like Democrats are doing this purity test. America is not pure. The people of America are not pure. We’re flawed,” he said. “I’m not looking for my politicians to be pure, … I’m looking for my politicians to be effective.”

Politico writer Brakkton Booker summed up Charlamagne’s position, writing, “And increasingly, Charlamagne’s appraisal of the Biden administration has been sour. While he anguishes at the thought of a 2020 rematch, the radio personality gives Trump props for commanding attention and selling his ideas.”

It should be clear by now why Charlamagne is suddenly a Fox News darling. Anyone who watches the right-of-center opinion programming of the top-rated cable outlet knows how consistently its coverage can be summed up as “Biden is the worst, and America is going to Hell as a result.” And it’s not just Fox News — former President Donald Trump shared a Breitbart article on Truth Social, so you know Charlamagne hit some sweet spot, unintentionally or not.

You can see in the Fox & Friends segment above, which, apart from Ainsley Earhardt’s remarkably awkward live reads of Charlamagne’s quotes, is remarkably lacking in nuance because, of course it is. Missing from the segment is the following bit from Politico:

Charlamagne doesn’t consider himself a Democrat or a Republican — a position he says allows him to call bullshit on empty campaign rhetoric politicians spew when they decide it’s time to engage Black audiences to wrangle up votes.

“In 2024, it’s a race between the cowards, the crooks and the couch,” he said, referring to Biden, Trump and the option to stay home.

So, his frustration lies not only with Biden but also with Trump. Huh. You can guess which part was missing from Fox News reporting.

I’ve known Charlamagne since I worked with him at iHeartRadio, launching their original video platform. I’m a big fan — aside from his nearly making me “Donkey of the Day” over a misunderstanding — he and I have gotten along very well.

Watching Fox News over the past day has made me laugh. Charlamagne is an iconoclast; to turn him into a poster child for an anti-Biden sentiment misunderstands what makes him tick. So I reached out and asked what he made of all this, and he had thoughts:

Well I completely understand FOX News is using my commentary to say “See! Even Black Folks are down on this administration!!” Even tho I have never and will never claim to be the spokesperson for Black People. I only speak for me and my experience with this administration has been underwhelming. I believe they have not delivered for Black People and given the many ways in which Joe Biden is indebted to Black People for his victory in 2020, I don’t see a showering of gratitude in executive actions. When it comes to the policies that create relief for the people I grew up with in rural areas like Moncks Corner, South Carolina, the ones who need stimmies and child tax credits- long term pain requires a lot more than temporary relief. My expectation is that this administration would work with and around Congress to create that relief. The same way it has done for people in other countries. To quote the late great Tupac Shakur “We got Money for War, but can’t feed the poor.”

I reserve the right to criticize America and to require it to be it’s best at all times regardless of what party is in the White House. Let the record show tho I also WARN America of what a second Trump term or should I say dictatorship will be like ALL THE TIME but Fox News doesn’t run with that. I have also consistently said that this isn’t just about Black People when you look at the recent polling data Joe Biden finds himself struggling with various demographics so this isn’t just criticism it’s me SOUNDING THE ALARM. The accomplishments mean nothing without messaging (and we all know Democrats suck at messaging) but it’s also extremely difficult to message a lack of meaningful impact.

The Bottom Line is America deserves better choices from both parties period. I would love to see the GOP move away from Trump and I would love to see the Democrats run someone better than Biden but sadly as of right now this is what we are stuck with. President Biden historically may have been a shitty elected official but as we approach the 3rd anniversary of an attempted coup of this country please understand that a second Donald Trump term is the end of American Democracy as we know it.

Well said.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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