Photo by Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images
Cardi B criticized President Joe Biden for continuing to send military aid to Ukraine and Israel while ignoring important domestic issues.
On the heels of New York City Mayor Eric Adams announcing a five-percent cut across the entire municipal budget, the politically involved rapper took to Instagram Live on Saturday, November 18 to condemn the U.S. government for prioritizing foreign issues over public services for the American people.
“There’s going to be a $120 million budget cut with schools, with libraries and the cops and the police department, and a $5 million budget cut in sanitation,” Cardi said, adding that the city was “already fucking super dirty” and would soon “be drowning in fucking rats.”
“I’m lucky, I’m blessed, I’m whatever the fuck. But what’s gonna happen to my nieces, what’s gonna happen to my nephews, what’s gonna happen to my cousins? My aunts, my friends?” the Bronx native continued, “I don’t wanna see my shit affected.”
Cardi went on to specifically condemn Biden — whom she supported during the 2020 election — saying he was more concerned with sending billions overseas to “fund two wars” in Ukraine and Israel than addressing “a hundred million dollar budget cut in New York City for fucking schools, library, police safety, and sanitation.”
Cardi then ended her broadcast by saying, “I swear to God, if something happens to me, it’s because I gotta speak the truth. I cannot be fucking quiet.”
According to ABC 7 News, the cuts — which Adams blamed on the migrant crisis, economic troubles, and a lack of federal support — translate to billions of dollars being funneled away from schools, libraries, firefighters, police, and the NYC Department of Sanitation. However, critics have voiced their suspicions, with many pointing out that tax revenues have gone up and the city’s economy has only continued to grow post-pandemic.
Meanwhile, the federal government has reportedly sent $75 billion to help Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Congress also recently voted to provide $14.5 billion in assistance to Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas, despite the Israeli government already conducting relentless attacks upon the densely populated Gaza Strip, where the death toll has now surpassed 13,000, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Watch Cardi B’s Instagram Live broadcast below.
