Bernie Sanders didn't 'fake being hip' during his 2020 presidential campaign interview with Cardi B, book says

• Bernie Sanders didn't "fake being hip" during his campaign video with Cardi B, per a new book.
• Ari Rabin-Havt wrote that Sanders and Cardi B remained true to themselves during their 2019 talk.

In the lead-up to the 2020 election, Democratic presidential candidates were all seeking to court the youth vote, recognizing that the demographic would be critical in both the party primaries and the November contest against then-President Donald Trump.

In July 2019, the rapper and songwriter Cardi B — who had become a household name from the 2017 megahit song "Bodak Yellow" — tweeted a message of support for independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

"I been reading about Bernie Sanders and I'm really sad how we let him down in 2016 This man been fighting for equal rights, HUMAN rights for such along time. Seeing this country become a better place been really his passion for a long time not a new front for a campaign," she wrote at the time.

Soon after the tweet went live, the pair — who are both native New Yorkers — met up to film a campaign video in Detroit in an effort to appeal to the youth bloc.

Despite their generational difference, Sanders and Cardi B — who name is Belcalis Almánzar — hit it off, with the senator maintaining his usual demeanor during their talk, according to a new book by the lawmaker's former deputy campaign manager Ari Rabin-Havt.

In the book, "The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders," Rabin-Havt spoke of how Sanders was deeply impressed with Cardi B's commitment to issues like social security and raising the minimum wage, with the duo remaining true to themselves during the appearance.

"After brief introductions, the staff exited the room to allow the two of them to speak in private. When I asked Bernie, afterward, what the conversation had been about, he told me, 'Ari, she is so smart. She just understands how to reach out and talk to people. We might understand issues, but she understands communications better than any of us,'" Rabin-Havt wrote.

He continued: "The next day, in their more formal, filmed conversation, Bernie and Cardi B, despite their different backgrounds, both came off as authentic and unpretentious. Bernie did not do what most politicians do in these situations: he did not fake being hip. At the same time, Cardi did not attempt to be a political commentator. They were two people sharing their messages for their fellow citizens."

The video quickly went viral, with the Sanders and Cardi B appearance highlighting how deeply progressive messaging had come to define the campaign platforms of many of the leading candidates.