Cardi B and AOC have a lot in common: Bernie, Bronx, social media sass... and soon Congress?
Chart-topping rapper Cardi B, earlier this week, on January 13, caused quite a stir on social media after expressing a desire to become a politician and running for Congress.
"I do feel like if I go back to school and focus up I can be part of Congress. I deadass have sooo much ideas that make sense. I just need a couple of years of school and I can shake the table," the rapper had posted on Twitter.
While many believe it is an outlandish idea to think of the "Bodak Yellow" rapper as a lawmaker, there is one political bigwig who didn't think it was such a bad idea: Bernie Sanders. "She knows what it's like to live in poverty and struggle, and it would be great for her to bring that experience to politics," the Vermont senator told TMZ.
In fact, if you look at it Cardi B shares numerable similarities with another of Bernie's proteges: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The Bronx Connection
Both Cardi B and AOC have grown in the rough blocks of the Bronx, and know the struggle of living in poverty and making their way to the top from the dregs. While Cardi B was raised in a lower-middle-class family in South Bronx by a Trinidadian mother and a Dominican father; AOC was born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents. Although the congresswoman was raised in a middle-class suburban environment, she continued to frequent the Bronx and was in touch with the inequalities that came with being a person of color.
Service industry
Although both the women are now at the peak of their careers, they had to hustle in the service industry to be where they are now. While Cardi B worked as a stripper, Ocasio Cortez served tables to make ends meet. Both women of color know the struggles of working low wage jobs in a city that requires a high income to survive.
Social media queens
Cardi B and AOC can be called social media whizzes in the way they used and continue to use social media to catapult themselves to success. Cardi B began getting noticed for posting interesting videos on Instagram expressing her boogie-down-Bronx attitude. She was soon noted by VH1 and was put on 'Love and Hip Hop', where she became an immediate sensation, mainly because of her personality. While AOC, who began her political aspirations in the Bronx, virtually ran her entire campaign online, making her presence and her campaign felt on the internet, ultimately leading her to become the youngest Congresswoman in US history.
Bernie connection
It is intriguing how both Cardi B and AOC share a connection with the Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. AOC began her political career while working on Sanders' 2016 elections campaign, and has been very vocal about her support of the senator, who is a top Democratic contender for the 2020 election. Sanders, on multiple occasions, has reciprocated his affection and support for the New York representative.
Similarly, Cardi B and Sanders have also formed an interesting connection in recent months. Cardi B, a supporter of Sanders' 2020 campaign, had recently interviewed him in a sit-down special where the duo covered key issues in the country. Sanders, in a recent statement, was also seen in agreement with Cardi B's political dreams.
The Democratic contender, in a statement to TMZ, said: "Cardi B is deeply concerned about what's happening in the country. She knows what it's like to live in poverty and struggle, and it would be great for her to bring that experience to politics."