Cardi B grills Bernie Sanders on jobs and wages at a nail salon

Bronx rapper Cardi B released a clip of her sit-down chat with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to her more than 49 million Instagram followers Tuesday.

Cardi, born Belcalis Almanzar, teased late last month that she was filming a voter outreach video with the Vermont senator, who she has openly supported in the past. Cardi asked fans what they wanted her to discuss with Sanders during their conversation, which was filmed at a nail salon owned by two black women in Detroit.

In the clip released Tuesday, the pair addressed what Cardi asked what she claimed was her fans’ most asked question, “What are we gonna do about wages in America?”

“For example, as a New Yorker — not now but when I was not famous — I felt like no matter how many jobs I get I wasn’t able to make ends meet,” Cardi said.

The rapper and new mother has been open about her life prior to fame, working as a stripper to pay her bills after she left a job at a supermarket that she claimed in a 2016 interview paid her $200 a week.

“Right now we have tens of millions of people making what I call starvation wages,” Sanders responded. “How do you pay your rent? How do you pay for food? How do you pay for transportation? You can’t.”

Sanders also said he supported federal legislation to increase minimum wage to $15 and policies that would make it easier for American workers to form labor unions.

Cardi also seemed to take a subtle hit at a President Donald Trump, who has consistently bragged about low unemployment rates and job numbers during his administration.

“My thing is, you know certain people like to brag there is more jobs now in America,” Cardi said. “But it’s like yeah there’s an increase of jobs given, but what are they paying in these jobs? They’re practically paying nothing.”

NBC News previously fact checked Trump’s claims with economists in September and again in February.

Cardi has talked openly about her fascination with politics and government. Earlier this month, the Bronx rapper attacked Trump after a gunman targeting Hispanics opened fire at an El Paso Walmart and killed 22 people.

“Law enforcement took rapid action but what are YOU going to do to control some of your RACIST SUPPORTERS?” Cardi wrote in response to a tweet from Trump.

When others criticized the rapper for speaking on something beyond her scope, Cardi responded that she was allowed to speak out on issues in her own country.

“I get it you are a conservative you and you can support who you want but you can’t ignore the slowly but surely racial war that going on in this country that are the reasons of these tragedy,” she wrote.

The rest of the Cardi B interview with Sanders is expected to be released in segments throughout the week by the rapper and in its entirety at some point by the candidate’s campaign.

source: nbcnews.com