*The Democratic ticket is spending the waning days of the presidential campaign courting the black vote.
But unlike GOP nominee Donald Trump’s visits to black churches and barking out “what do you have to lose” in voting for him, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine sat down in separate interviews to discuss real issues affecting the black community, including gun violence, police brutality, the criminal justice system and systematic racism.
“It’s something that we have to be honest about. We have to face up to systemic racism,” Clinton said this morning during her second appearance of the campaign season on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club in New York with DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God. “We see it in jobs, we see it in education, we see it in housing. But let’s be really clear; it’s a big part of what we’re facing in the criminal justice system. African American men get arrested, charged, convicted, and incarcerated far more often and for far longer for doing the same thing that white men do.”
Asked by Yee about tensions between police and minority communities, Clinton said: “I’m going to do everything I can to restore trust and build back those bonds between the police and communities. I think we’re all safer when the police respect the communities they’re supposed to serve, and the communities respect the law.”
Charlamagne asked if, during the debates, she ever looked at Trump and thought, “Why am I debating this guy? He’s not a politician, he doesn’t have the experience I have.”
“I’m debating someone who is the nominee of the other party, so they chose him, and I have to accept that – but who isn’t ready to talk to me about what’s the best way to make college affordable, or what can we do to really reform criminal justice from end to end, or how are we going to deal with the epidemic with gun violence, or what are we going to do about prescription drug costs? I’ve laid out plans on all of this because that’s what people talk to me about. And it was hard even getting some of those important issues into the debates because of the way that he wanted to talk about, as you say so correctly, insults – not issues, insults,” Clinton said.
Clinton was also asked about the “Saturday Night Live” parodies, being a Cubs fan, President Obama’s dance moves and possibly making history as the nation’s first woman president.
Stevie Wonder joined the end of the interview and shared his thoughts on Clinton’s campaign, often referring to her as “Madam President,” before leading the Breakfast Club in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” in honor of Clinton’s 69th birthday today.
“And that was less awkward than Mary J. Blige singing at you,” Charlamagne quipped.
Watch below:
Meanwhile, Clinton surrogate Pusha T sat down with her running mate Kaine during a recent campaign stop in Miami.
The two chatted also about the criminal justice system, police brutality, systematic racism and more.
Watch below:
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