Last month, after dining out in Atlanta, Killer Mike delivered a powerful speech endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, in which he proclaimed Sanders the “next President of the United States.”
Now, a six-part interview from the same day has emerged between the Run The Jewels rapper and the Senator.
Slouched in a barbers char in Mike’s own SWAG shop, with his top button undone and tie askew, Sanders answered questions on a variety of topics, including Cannabis, Gun laws and voter ID laws. Watch each part of the the conversation below:
On Economic Freedom
“You can go out and give a speech, but you don’t have any food in your stomach. You don’t have a house, a roof over your head, no education… Are you really free? We can do infinitely better in providing rights to our people. You have a right, regardless of your income, to health care. You have a right to education. And in 2015 you should have the right to free tuition in public colleges and universities if you have the abilities.”
On Social Justice
“I didn’t get into politics to try and figure out if I could be a President or a Senator. I got into politics because I give a damn. I do think that it is an outrage that we have people sleeping on the streets in this country. That 51% of African American kids are unemployed or underemployed.”
On A Rigged Economy
“Almost all of the new wealth and income is going to the top 1%. The folks who have the money, they want political power. The media does an awful job in educating people about the reality of what is going on.”
On Free Health Care
“You go 50 miles to the Canadian border. In Canada, everybody has healthcare. It ain’t a big deal. Go to the UK, everybody has healthcare. Go to Scandinavia, go to Germany, go to France, everybody has healthcare. Why are we the only major country without healthcare?”
On Donald Trump
“People are angry and frustrated, and someone like Trump comes along. And he says ‘You’re angry and frustrated? It’s that black guy. That’s the guy. They’re criminals and they’re rapists. We’ve gotta keep them out. It’s the Muslim across the street, that woman with the thing on her head. That’s your enemy.’ You play on people’s fear and anxiety.”
On When People Vote and Guns
“Democrats win when people vote. Republicans win when nobody votes…In my state what a gun means is that you are a hunter…do people have a right to own weapons? Of course they do. But what don’t people have the right to do? Should somebody who has a criminal record or a record for beating up his wife be able to get a gun? I don’t think so. What you need is enforced and strong instant background checks.”
The presidential election will take place on November 8th 2016 with either Senator Hilary Clinton or Senator Sanders set to represent the Democratic Party.