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The political spotlight had another heated exchange, this time starring Cardi B and Elon Musk. The two influential figures sparred on social media following Cardi's appearance at a Milwaukee rally supporting Vice President Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential bid.
Cardi took the stage at the Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center on November 1 to share her support for the Harris-Walz ticket, championing issues such as economic inequality and women's rights. The rapper's presence, however, caught the attention of billionaire Elon Musk, who voiced his disapproval, implying that Cardi was not speaking her own words.
Musk shared a clip of her speech on X, captioning it, "Another puppet who can't even talk without being fed the words. The Kamala campaign has no authenticity or true empathy."
Known for her candid and fearless responses, Cardi wasted no time addressing Musk's claims, pushing back on his suggestion that she lacked authenticity. "I'm not a puppet, Elon," Cardi fired back on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. She laid out her own story, recounting her upbringing as the daughter of two immigrant parents who struggled to provide for their family. "I'm a product of welfare, I'm a product of section 8, I'm a product of poverty, and I'm a product of what happens when the system is set up against you," she wrote, challenging Musk's understanding of what it means to overcome hardship. "But you don't know nothing about that. You don't know not one thing about the American struggle."
Cardi's Milwaukee speech, which ran about ten minutes, was an impassioned endorsement of Harris and her policies. She voiced frustration with former President Trump's impact on economic fairness and women's rights, calling him a "hustler" with a self-serving agenda. "Hustling women out of their rights is disgraceful," she asserted, adding, "Hustling Americans out of their hard-earned money by selling Trump watches, Trump sneakers, Trump Bibles… do we really trust this man with our economy? A man who only cares about getting rich and cutting taxes for his billionaire friends."
The rapper expressed her respect for Harris, revealing that her initial doubts about finding a candidate who resonated with her values were dissolved when Harris entered the race. "I didn't have faith in any candidates until she joined and spoke the words I wanted to hear about the future of this country," Cardi explained. She praised Harris for her empathy and realism, which Cardi sees as qualities often missing in politics.
After the rally, Cardi continued her social media discourse, directly calling out Trump and encouraging her followers to consider the motives behind his promises. "Donald Trump talks about having plans, but the only plan he has is to hustle YOU," she wrote.
Musk's critique of Cardi and her fierce response underscores a growing divide in how celebrities engage in politics. For Cardi, advocacy is personal—a continuation of her journey from poverty to success, shaped by her desire to address systemic issues.
This is not the first time the Dominican-American rapper has discussed politics and the economy. In 2023, the rapper took to social media to share how expensive it is to go to the grocery store. "Naaaaaa grocery shopping prices are ridiculous right now," Cardi tweeted. You might as well eat outside!!
The mom of two then expressed her outrage that ingredients to make a simple salad can cost up to six bucks. After some of her followers questioned why she cared about prices if she could afford it, the rapper shared a video explaining that even the rich need to think about their fortune.
"Let me tell you somethin': When I be complaining about food prices, and y'all be like, 'Ain't you rich? Why you complaining about this?' that just goes to show me when you become successful when you have money, you gonna go broke soon because y'all, not budgeting," Cardi said.
She continued, "I get a summary of the money that's being spent in my home every week. So, when I'm starting to see that groceries is, like, tripling up, it's like, ay, yo, what is going on? I wanna see for myself, and when I go to the supermarket — I went to the supermarket — I'm seeing that everything tripled up. That lettuce was, like, $2 a couple of months ago, and now, it's like $7. Of course, I'm a say something!"