Radio host Lenard Larry McKelvey, known professionally as Charlamagne tha God, dubbed President Joe Biden "Donkey of the Day" after botching rapper LL Cool J's name and referring to him as a "boy."
"Donkey of the Day" is a segment during Charlamagne's show The Breakfast Club in which the radio host calls out celebrities, artists and politicians for objectionable behavior.
Biden was dubbed "Donkey of the Day" after flubbing rapper LL Cool J's name during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual Legislative Conference over the weekend. The President also referred to LL Cool J, a black man, as a "boy," which critics have suggested has a racial connotation.
“Donkey of the Day for Monday, September 25th goes to the 46th President of the United States of America, Joe Biden,” Charlamagne said during a Monday broadcast. “A lot of people are upset that Joe Biden referred to LL Cool J as a ‘boy,’ as you can hear he corrected himself on the spot. You know why Joe Biden corrected himself? Because he’s 137 years old."
"He fully understands the word ‘boy’ in a racial context around a white man referring to a black man as ‘boy,’" Charlamagne continued. "You see, ‘boy’ is absolutely a white racist word when used in a certain context.”
Charlamagne said he found Biden's botching the rapper's name as "LL J Cool J" egregious.
“LL Cool J has been white-famous for at least 35 years,” Charlamagne told his listeners. “There’s not too many more recognizable celebrities on the planet."
"It’s not like Joe Biden was speaking on somebody relatively new, someone he wasn’t familiar with in any way, shape, or form. It’s LL Cool J.”
The radio host criticized the Biden administration and Democratic sentiment, saying "it doesn’t matter how many black people you are around, doesn’t matter how many black people you have in your administration, doesn’t matter how many black people you have writing for you, if it’s not authentic to him, then it won’t come off as authentic to anyone."
"Y’all keep trying to make this 197-year-old man sound cool simply because he’s talking to black people, and there’s nothing more uncool than someone trying too hard to be cool," Charlamagne continued. "What’s that quote? ‘Don’t try too hard to be cool, it always shows, and that’s uncool?’ Yes. That is President Joe Biden."
In 2020, then-Democratic presidential candidate Biden appeared on Charlamagne's program saying "if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black."
The then-Democratic presidential candidate later walked back the comment, saying he “should not have been so cavalier” during the interview, per the Washington Post.
