Charlamagne tha God says Harris must do more interviews, jokes Walz is 'DEI hire'
Radio host Charlamagne tha God on Sunday called on Vice President Kamala Harris to do more media interviews and joked that her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is the race's "DEI candidate."
The co-host of "The Breakfast Club," which discusses black cultural, political, and social issues, accurately predicted President Joe Biden wouldn't fare well in a debate against former President Donald Trump before the two faced off in June. In comparison to Biden, who he said in February had "no main character energy," Harris has "super main character energy."
But Charlamagne questioned why she isn't taking full advantage of her virality by collaborating with more influencers and appearing on more shows with the November election less than 100 days away.
"She's never been this viral. She's never been all over social media in a good way like now," Charlamagne told ABC News host Jonathan Karl on Sunday. "So now that you've got those people's attention, go out there and talk to them and tell them what your future looks like because those kids are the future. That's how you win this election."
The Republican nominee made headlines for falsely suggesting Harris "happened to turn Black" during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on July 31. Trump also reached a majority young audience by joining controversial but popular influencer Adin Ross' livestream last week and agreed to join Tesla founder Elon Musk for an interview that will air Monday.
"He's always calling into conservative talk radio, which is one of my biggest issues with the Democratic Party," Charlamagne said. "They don't use the media that supports them the way that the right uses the media that supports them."
Charlamagne also poked fun at Republican attacks on Harris calling her a DEI pick, a shorthand way to minimize her qualifications based on her gender and racial identities. The radio host joked that her vice-presidential pick was chosen to balance out the ticket because he is a white man.
"We knew she needed a DEI hire, right?" he quipped. "She needed a white male to make America comfortable."
He added: "It is what it has no need for us to, you know, act crazy about it."
Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlamagne tha God says Kamala Harris must do more interviews