DETROIT, Michigan (WASHINGTON POST) - Look out, Andrea Mitchell and Anderson Cooper: There's a new interviewer capable of eliciting lots of substance from a presidential hopeful. Rapper Cardi B led a meaty conversation with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont that touched on immigration, health, wages, police brutality and student debt in a new video released on Thursday (Aug 15) by his campaign.
The setup seemed goofy - the interview took place in a Detroit nail salon, a nod to the "Bodak Yellow" singer's signature striking manis.
But the conversation wasn't, with Cardi posing questions submitted by her millions of social media followers.
"What are we gonna do about the 'dreamers' in this country?" she asked, referring to the undocumented immigrants brought to America as young children.
Sanders laid out his plan, saying he wants to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme to the parents of young immigrants as well.
Her response: an enthusiastic "yeah!"
Cardi B also brought up the issue of a living wage, an issue that the senator often talks about on the campaign trail.
"As a New Yorker, not now, but you know, when I was not famous, I just felt like no matter how many jobs I got, I wasn't able to make ends meet," she said. "I wasn't able to pay my rent, get transportation and eat."
"That is an excellent and important question," he told her before laying out his plans to address it, which include raising the minimum wage and strengthening unions.
But it's Cardi B in a nail salon so of course the video did include some lighthearted moments of banter, including Cardi showing off her extravagant nails and the two discussing their mutual admiration for former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The pair ended with an appeal to young would-be voters.
"Please let's put our focus on this term's elections," she said. "I don't think people understand how serious it is."
"Trump does not want people of color to be participating in the political process," Sanders said.
"If we have young people voting in large numbers, you know what? I have zero doubt Donald Trump will be defeated."
