Chris Rock blames the Democrats for ‘letting the pandemic come in’

FX Winter TCA Starwalk

Chris Rock is doing a full promotion for his starring role in Fargo Season 4. He’s really proud of his work in it, and you can just tell that he’s more than happy to promote the hell out of it. Rock covers the latest issue of the Hollywood Reporter, which I’ll cover separately, and he also gave a big interview to the New York Times, which was released the same day at the THR piece. With the Times, Rock spoke more about politics and Black Lives Matter and racism. You can read the full piece here.

Whether his Fargo casting was “weird”: “My casting isn’t as weird as it seems if you really watch “Fargo.” Key and Peele are in the first season and Brad Garrett’s amazing in Season 2. Hey, it’s my turn, OK? I want to work on good stuff. Everything I’ve done hasn’t been great, but I was always striving for greatness. I loved “Marriage Story.” I’d kill for something like that. You see what [Adam] Sandler did with “Uncut Gems.” But you’ve got to get the call and be ready when your number’s called.

On Trump & Nancy Pelosi: “I talked about our political whatever. America. Part of the reason we’re in the predicament we’re in is, the president’s a landlord. No one has less compassion for humans than a landlord. And we’re shocked he’s not engaged. Did you ever see that movie “The Last Emperor,” where like a 5-year-old is the emperor of China? There’s a kid and he’s the king. So I’m like, it’s all the Democrats’ fault. Because you knew that the emperor was 5 years old. And when the emperor’s 5 years old, they only lead in theory. There’s usually an adult who’s like, “OK, this is what we’re really going to do.” And it was totally up to Pelosi and the Democrats. Their thing was, “We’re going to get him impeached,” which was never going to happen. You let the pandemic come in. Yes, we can blame Trump, but he’s really the 5-year-old. Put it this way: Republicans tell outright lies. Democrats leave out key pieces of the truth that would lead to a more nuanced argument. In a sense, it’s all fake news.

The second Civil Rights movement: “Put it this way: This is the second great civil rights movement. And Dr. King and those guys were amazing. But they knew nothing about money. They didn’t ask for anything. At the end of the day, the things we got — it was just, hey, can you guys be humane? All we got was, like, humanity. If they had it to do all over again, in hindsight, there would be some attention paid to the financial disparity of all the years of — let’s not even count slavery, let’s just count Jim Crow….My parents couldn’t own property in certain neighborhoods when I was born. There was an economic disparity there, and that was not addressed in the original civil rights movement. It was a huge oversight. So there’s no money and there’s no land. If you don’t have either one of those, you don’t really have much.

Racism is real, the movement is real: “It’s real. It’s not going away. I said this before, but Obama becoming the president, it’s progress for white people. It’s not progress for Black people. It’s the Jackie Robinson thing. It’s written like he broke a barrier, as if there weren’t Black people that could play before him. And that’s how white people have learned about racism. They think, when these people work hard enough, they’ll be like Jackie. And the real narrative should be that these people, the Black people, are being abused by a group of people that are mentally handicapped. And we’re trying to get them past their mental handicaps to see that all people are equal. Humanity isn’t progress — it’s only progress for the person that’s taking your humanity. If a woman’s in an abusive relationship and her husband stops beating her, you wouldn’t say she’s made progress, right? But that’s what we do with Black people. We’re constantly told that we’re making progress. The relationship we’re in — the arranged marriage that we’re in — it’s that we’re getting beat less.

On blackface: “Blackface ain’t cool, OK? That’s my quote. Blackface is bad. Who needs it? It’s so sad, we live in a world now where you have to say, I am so against cancer. “I just assumed you liked cancer.” No, no, no, I am so against it. You have to state so many obvious things you’re against.”

[From The NY Times]

I’d like Rock’s comments about the Democrats and the first Civil Rights movement to be the jumping-off point for a more nuanced conversation about the real history of Civil Rights and how a constitutional democracy is actually supposed to work. First of all, the Civil Rights movement did say a lot about economic inequality – the March on Washington was actually called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Civil rights leaders were marching with UNION leaders. They tied economic equality to freedom. It’s just that white folks rewrite the historical record so everything becomes about “voting rights” (which are incredibly important, but only one part of the equation).

As for what he says about Pelosi and the Democrats “letting the pandemic come in” while they were focused on impeachment – that was literally one of the arguments TRUMP made months ago. That the pandemic happened because everyone was so focused on the impeachment… an impeachment which was necessary because Trump was literally colluding with foreign adversaries to “dirty up” Joe Biden. That is Rock’s worst take.

Chris Rock at arrivals for FX Networks W...

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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84 Responses to “Chris Rock blames the Democrats for ‘letting the pandemic come in’”

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  1. Daisyfly says:

    Yep. How dare those democrats pretend like Joe Biden isn’t actually president and everything happening right now is his fault for not making mask mandates and closing the borders.

    Good grief.

    • Anony83 says:

      That was my immediate response too; mostly because I was absolutely flabbergasted that Trump tried to blame Biden for not instituting a national face mask mandate. On national television. Where we could all see and hear while also having functional memories.

      I get that he was maybe trying to make a more nuanced point about whether the impeachment was a distraction or not. But can anyone who isn’t a MAGA sycophant actually say with a straight face that, if the impeachment hadn’t happened, Trump would have responded better to this crisis? Or that the Senate would have agreed to a bipartisan effort to pass legislation to *actually* address the pandemic earlier.

      The idea that the Democrats somehow “distracted” the entire Trump Administration AND the entire Republican party with an impeachment proceeding, that ended in early February by the way, and are therefore responsible for Trump’s complete incompetence would be hilarious if it weren’t so bleak.

      • jwoolman says:

        Impeachment is one of the House’s Constitutional duties. It’s the only way to deal with a President abusing his power and engaging in criminal activities. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment, and the trial occurs in the Senate.

        The Department of Justice refuses to allow indictment of a sitting President. Mueller said as much – he expected the House to impeach since he wasn’t allowed to indict. The Watergate Grand Jury ran into the same thing with Nixon. They wanted to indict him but were told DoJ wouldn’t allow it. So they bundled all the info up and sent it to the House.

        The Democrats managed to continue to do all their other duties while pursuing impeachment. They were able to multitask.

        But the one to blame for dragging his feet on dealing with the coronavirus was clearly Trump. He knew in detail what was coming and refused to alert people and take the obvious steps of at least stockpiling masks and other protective equipment and preparing plans In case other actions were necessary. Instead, he didn’t even blow the dust off the pandemic handbook inherited from Obama or reinstall the CDC person in China to monitor events there.

        The House can’t do much without cooperation from the Senate and the President. Otherwise, both can stall long enough to make it all moot. The Republicans control the Senate and the White House, so what exactly was Pelosi supposed to do about it other than try to get the Idiot-in-Chief removed from office?

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I am SO F*CKING TIRED of the people who aren’t responsible being blamed for not babysitting the people who ARE RESPONSIBLE. Trump wanted the responsibility of the presidency, he can’t fault other people for not doing the job for him.

      Maybe Chris doesn’t see it, but this reminds me so much of when women are berated for not getting their man in line, and the fact that he is aiming at Pelosi adds to that impression.

      WOMEN ARE NOT HERE TO BABYSIT.
      TRUMP IS NOT A TODDLER.
      HE IS AN ADULT WHO SIGNED UP FOR HUGE RESPONSIBILITIES.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      If only Trump were president and the republicans controlled the Senate, then we could have stopped Covid from coming in. Oh, wait . . . .

      Blaming the democrats for not stopping the republicans from ruining America is like blaming the victim for not stopping the rapist (which republicans also like to do).

  2. Darla says:

    These both sides b*tches cause a lot of problems. Without both sides b*tches Trump doesn’t become President. I don’t talk to them. They think they’re better and smarter than everybody but they are actually quite dumb. I cut some of them out of my life like they were Magas. I don’t care. I don’t have that kind of time to waste anymore.

    • LahdidahBaby says:

      Same. I found out that two of my gf’s were big Trump supporters and then I couldn’t bear to be in the same room with them.I have all my life had friends of all persuasions but now, with the abomination that is Trump occupying the White House, I’m sad to say that I can’t bear to have a conversation with them.

      • Scollins says:

        Same. With a few of my neighbors. The mere sight of them pisses me off. I’m afraid I’m going to lose it and freak out on them, the stupidity and cruelty is astounding.
        Fk Chris Rock, ignorant mthrfkr.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        Same. Cut out complete contact with MAGAts. I can’t believe that some people I truly loved espoused those feelings, or somehow, even a little worse, feel “AS LONG AS I GET MINE! And TAXES!”

        That families separated, people sexually abused in detention camps by sadists, forced sterilizations, overt racism, murder by cops, fascism aren’t bad enough, but to hear an “Oh, sure, that’s horrible, BUT TAXES!” Or a disinterested shrug at worst, BECAUSE TAXES!

        It shakes me to the core. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, who really thought that after WWII, the world was woken up, and these horrors couldn’t happen again…and yet, here we are.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      This. Republicans let this 5 year old get nominated and take office. The Democrats are not responsible for cleaning up their mess.

    • Betsy says:

      I honestly think that the “BUHBOTHSIDES” people are in some ways worse than magats. Why? Because they’re somewhat more reasonable, they come to the point of reason and then turn away. There is no both sides here!! NONE!!

      Has anyone told Rock that Trump was, in fact, impeached? I know we’re not supposed to do this anymore, but he’s on my sht list.

      • Mel M says:

        I’ve said the same thing before. The people who are still undecided because they don’t like Biden or dump are worse than the magats because they know he’s awful and yet they still could stomach voting for him because they are privileged and only care about themselves and their future.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        TraitorTrump *KNEW*

        HE KNEW AS FAR BACK AS LAST NOV., WHEN HE TOLD ISRAEL, THAT THERE IS A DEADLY VIRUS. HE WAS BRIEFED.

        HE KNEW IN DEC. HE KNEW IN JAN. HE KNEW IN FEB. HE KNEW IN MARCH, APRIL…

        IN HIS OWN TAPED WORDS, HE TOLD BOB WOODWARD *HE. KNEW* HOW DEADLY AND CONTAGIOUS THIS WAS AND. HE. WANTED. TO. “DOWNPLAY IT”.

        AND. HE. CHOSE. TO. LET. PEOPLE. DIE. TO GET. REELECTED.

    • petee says:

      No the Virus was here way before the Impeachment trials.Trump just didn’t want to deal with it till it got out of control.

  3. Eliza says:

    Ha! Yes it’s only the democrats job to make sure new previously undiscovered strands of viruses don’t infect the US population, and not make sure officials are not committing acts of treason against the country. It couldn’t possibly be the fault of a, thanks to Trump, downsized CDC? The upper federal government for ignoring early reports for so long? Local governments for not locking down quickly enough? Yes its JUST democrats fault.

    • Esmom says:

      I think his point was that they should have been the grownups in the room…but he should know that they could only do so much with so little power. I don’t understand his take on this because he’s not stupid.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        They were the grownups in the room but they were outnumbered by bratty little thugs.

        He’s being shortsighted and unfair.

      • Diana says:

        Agree with all of you. He is completely wrong in his assessment of the democrats having enough pull to do something about the pandemic while baby trump lied to the American public. Their power is limited when outnumbered by the scum of the earth that is his admin and republicans at large.

      • kacy says:

        Congress’ job is to pass laws to handle these situations and provide funding. Those laws have been passed and on the books. Trump chose to circumvent them and not put in place the appropriate steps for the Pandemic. Arguing that the House alone could have done something is silly, especially since the recourse against a president not doing their job IS impeachment.

      • smcollins says:

        I’m also in agreement. Democrats are not the ones in control, Republicans are. Pelosi & the Dems are not to blame for the hellscape we’re currently living in, McConnell & all of the Trump boot-licking GOP are to blame (aside from Trump himself, obviously).

      • Soupie says:

        That’s my point too esmom! I know so many smart and even brilliant people who support Trump. I just don’t get it. It must be something about their true VALUES because it ain’t about REASON or ACCOUNTABILITY and FACTS – TONS of them. I know a homeless woman (she and her disabled husband can’t afford rent in California) who’s totally for Trump, hates the Liberals, and I have a relative who’s very well set financially and he and his wife are so pro Trump it’s sickening. Everything’s all about “those democrats” – demonizing them and making them responsible for everything. It’s just crazy making.

      • Traveler says:

        All checks and balances failed due to the republican dominance in each branch of government and their unwillingness to defend the law of the land and its people. Pure and simple. It is lunacy to not acknowledge that the democrats hands were tied.

      • Scal says:

        Also he’s WRONG. There were dems who in briefing sessions who were saying back in Feb/March that Trump were down playing the virus. Who called him out for calling it out as the ‘china’ virus.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        They are ALL grownups!!!!!!
        We can’t allow people to dodge responsibility by lowering the bar. Blaming the minority for the failures of the majority is not excusable in anyway.

        (directed at Chris Rock, not you, Esmom! )

  4. Lightpurple says:

    I realize that it seems like a century ago but Paul Ryan was Speaker of the House for the first two years of Trump’s presidency. Ryan is an ultra conservative Republican, not a Democrat. All Congress cared about from 2017 to January 2019 was tax cuts for the rich, including people like Rock, trashing the ACA, and controlling women’s bodies. Ryan was fine with Trump spending CDC pandemic money on other stuff in 2018. Democrats had no say whatsoever. People can do more than one thing at a time. Trump and those who kept him in power, not those who tried to remove him, are responsible for the pandemic mismanagement.

    • Esmom says:

      Yes. And I remember back then thinking, imagine if Trump was president in a real crisis, what tf will we do? We have our answer and it is so much worse than I could have ever fathomed. That anyone, let alone 40% of the country, could approve of this guy is depressing and leaves me almost completely hopeless.

  5. Lucy2 says:

    The rest of it was a good read and he makes some good points, but the pandemic stuff is nonsense.

  6. Who ARE These People? says:

    If the Republicans had convicted and removed Trump, that would have helped. The Dems did what they could in the House.

    • Olenna says:

      True, but would we be in a better place right now if Mother was running the show? I don’t know…

      • pottymouth pup says:

        I hate Pence with a passion and his plans for a Christotheocracy scares me, but I don’t think he would have ignored the scientists & public health officials on COVID & am pretty sure he wouldn’t have stockpiled supplies to keep from the states or actively sabotaged states from getting the equipment/supplies they needed

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        “But Pence” arguments, can we please stop? The Russians wouldn’t intervene of his behalf, he doesn’t have a cult following, and no one is going to wage war on his behalf.

      • Olenna says:

        Pence is not a leader; he will never be a leader even if given intensive coaching and hand-holding. And, that is why I have my doubts, not to mention he obviously has had no positive influence on drumpf or his senior aides. If I believed he was a good leader, then certainly he would’ve cleaned house after the impeachment and removal from office–the WH, Cabinet heads, and major agencies. But, I don’t believe he would have because he hasn’t displayed the type of courage and selflessness that a good leader should when facing down an overtly corrupt administration and working with the Repulsive-held senate to guide this country back to it’s democratic foundation. Bottom line: He’s weak, submissive and lacking in good morals.

    • cer says:

      They did what they could but then you still have people on the left complaining that they didn’t impeach enough, and should still be impeaching.
      This was never going to make anyone happy, even though it needed to be done.
      And Rock’s take on the impeachment is idiotic.

  7. sara says:

    Shocking, another rich man who never has to suffer like normal people shouting off some “both sides” garbage.

    A rich black man will always be a rich man first.

    • Darla says:

      I don’t know if that’s true. Look at LeBron!

      • sara says:

        LeBron? The man who bent over backwards for China to protect his coin? Again, the rich will always be rich, first and foremost.

    • TIFFANY says:

      Nooooppppeeee

      Chris has spoken out a lot about being a Black man in America.

      He literally documented getting pulled over serveral times a week on his social media.

      No Sara. Know your role and know this ain’t it.

      • Onemoretime says:

        But he is the same man who let Louis CK and Ricky Gervis say the N-Word and giggle like a school girl and Seinfeld had to tell them it’s not okay.
        I’ve been done with this clown for a minute.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        I’m canceling Chris Rock because of his beliefs here. Not because of his financials. Not because he’s a black man.
        Because he has a platform and he’s using it to spout this ignorant argument of where to place blame instead of how we survive a pandemic months and months later.

        No season 4 Fargo for me.

      • Ain’t No Tellin’ says:

        @ Tiffany: telling Sara to know her “role”, and that “this ain’t it”, is very disrespectful.

        Would you enlighten us as to what Sara’s “role” is, exactly?

        Because I have no official “role”, nor otherwise, let me say that Chris didn’t think his thoughts out through well enough to allow Sara to respond in a ways that actually, with zero equivocation, allowed Sara to not choose her assumption about “wealth before race”, when pondering as to why Chris would make such a illogical statement about Democrats being responsible for the pandemic entering the United States. Or perhaps he did, and his statement was edited to reflect otherwise. Because here’s the thing, Chris Rock? Stupid and “both sides”, he ain’t, so I’m also scratching my nappy head, wondering why an intelligent black man who knows what’s really up, would say something like this.

        Being an intelligent woman of color, I’m gonna assume this comment was placed in there, in order to not alienate “certain folks”.

        Am I wrong here? Because I’d say Imma ‘bout as intelligent as Chris, & I know that I’d be weighing out my thoughts on this as well, were I asked that very same question, especially if I’ve got some money to make.

        Hey, no shade from me when it comes to being a minority caught up in the game, with some $$$ on the line. I understand this as no white person will ever understand this, as I am sure he does too.

        The problem here isn’t so much as what Chris said, as much as why a smart, black man in the entertainment industry, at a very specific level and under very specific management, feels that he cannot actually give his full answer, without the suits on the room telling him he just cannot say that under today’s political climate.

        And while I completely disagree with his assessment of where the responsibility for this pandemic stems, I agree with his assessments regarding “in a way, it’s all fake news”. Because he is right. Republicans lie their asses off, however, Democrats DO leave out very key items of information, when developing non-nuanced, very simple, easily digestible tripe, that is fed to the masses on a daily basis, as if we were all little girls and boys, living in a plastic bubble alá John Travolta, back in the early 80s.

        Things are nuanced. The story ain’t simple and it is not something Americans can digest in one sitting. However, no one wants to ever bring up the real reasons why we cannot say this and say that, because as soon as we do, we are met with false accusations of racism, of fascism, or xenophobia, or anti-semitism, or classism, or unpatriotic-ism.

        We have become too uncritical in our thinking, & we are about to lose our democracy if we don’t stop hurling accusations at each-other that make zero sense. And no, Joe Biden, who I am sure as hell voting for, just like I did Hillary and Obama beforehand, is not going to fix this for us, because he, nor any progressive politician/POTUS, cannot tell us anything close to the truth, either. Our country and our society will not allow it and that’s why people are bombarded with falsehoods 24/7, on BOTH SIDES.

        There’s no such thing as “BOTH SIDES”. There’s only ONE SIDE, & either you play the game to make money on that ONE side, or you don’t make money.

        I’m not gonna hate on Chris for this particular interview right now. He ain’t stupid & I’m not either. Those of us who understand why he said things the way he did, aren’t going to be too pressed about this.

        You wanna pay your bills in HW? Then this is how it works.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        Ain’t no telling

        Your comments are problematic. If you tell people your thoughts they accuse you with being racist, anti Semitic, etc, etc…
        Often times that’s because the comments and views are these things. The holder of these views just can’t see it.
        And yeah, both sides suck, but that argument these days is a tactic for shifting blame and misinformation. The whole system does blow in many ways, but 1 side sent this whole country to hell in a hand basket and is blaming the other. And this country by majority doesn’t understand politics so yeah, things get put into layman terms. We are not all majoring in political science, economics, foreign relations, etc…
        Now, I’m grabbing that soap box to reach some high up shelves.

    • Yup, Me says:

      Girl, go sit down somewhere. His take on the Democrats was garbage but his comments about the mental incapacity of white supremacy were spot on.

    • Thirtynine says:

      I’m with you on this one, Sara. The whole thing sounds like contradictory gibberish. It reads to me like a man who knows he ‘ought’ to support anti-racist views and policies, but whose priority really is increasing his personal wealth, and that’s where his true loyalties lie. So he comes up with this nonsense. Blame Obama and the Democrats for both their own perceived failings AND Trumps too. And completes the trifecta by taking a swing at Mar t in Luther K i ng Jr. Unbelievable. Basically, he sees what Trumps got, and he wants it, that’s the bottom line.

    • Lady2Lazy says:

      @ Sara, I find it amusing that Chris Rock failed to mention that Pelosi and the House passed a crucial unemployment, PPE and small business programs back in March!! Yet, McConnell and his henchmen refuse to discuss this package and come back with bills that are a fraction of what Pelosi and the other member of the House created in May! Drumpf, McConnell and the entire RepubliCANT’S refuse to address the entirety that the Corona Virus has caused and their actions that plagued hospitals, first responders and other facilities that were desperate for PPE’s. To that point that the FBI and other branches of the US government STOLE PPE’s supplies that institutions purchased with their own money. Pelosi stated that today no one is leaving the House until she secures an relief bill for Americans! So Chris Rock, stick that information into your tiny brain before you speak!!

  8. Miranda says:

    I have been frustrated with the Democrats’ response to Trump, especially early on, in that I think they played nice for WAY too long and wasted time trying to reason with people who can’t be reasoned with (Trump, his supporters, and the congressional Republicans who knew damn well that his stupidity, stubbornness, and senility were liable to destroy us all, but cared more about getting reelected than they did about the wellbeing of their constituents). But I also recognize that it’s pretty damn hard for the Democrats to change anything when they weren’t in a position to do that. And it’s not like Trump himself is constrained by laws, anyway. He says and does whatever the fuck he wants, with or without legal authority.

    • Nic919 says:

      The Dems couldn’t do anything until Jan 2019 so I don’t blame them for delay until then. But impeachment should have happened sooner because they had so much and they didn’t go to court on the tax returns soon enough either. Pelosi is very establishment and was trying to work with the GOP which should never have happened because McConnell was an obstructionist back when Obama was president. Sarah Kendzior laid out how the Dems have not done what they could and waited too long.

      That said, impeachment shouldn’t have distracted mango Mussolini because Clinton managed to do his job while enduring impeachment hearings. I don’t think you can legitimately say the impeachment trial prevented any work being done on the pandemic, especially as it was mostly done by January and dump was still pretending it wasn’t a big deal as late as April. The deaths are Dump’s fault. It was intentional and he should be tried for criminal negligence.

  9. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    People still equate a good (and as much equality that can realistically be acknowledged) economy with freedom. This is the only way orange shit stain discusses racism. Positive economic availability and pervasiveness. So sure. Fine.

    BUT, shit stain is NOT five years old and acting like one doesn’t make it so. And apparently this comedic ride-the-fencer doesn’t have a clue how Congress operates. Giving the man in charge a pass because he’s immature is the very reason we’re still in this shithole. And saying Nancy and her band of merry Democrats let the virus take over is as immature and stupid as anything bunker baby has ever said.

    • Chris says:

      Completely agree.

      It’s some mysoginist BS to say it was this womans job to soothe and fix up after an immature man leader. Where’s the criticism for all of the Republicans who are aiding trump? Who are blocking legislation in the senate? Who have put tons of conservative judges in lifetime appointments?

      All of these people who complain about the Democrats currently, what EXACTLY do you expect them to do? Like explain the specific things they should be doing that is within their power to do?

      I am very worried about the vast amount of Americans who fundamentally do not understand how their own government works.

  10. TheOriginalMia says:

    The utter gall. As if the Democrats have had the power to control Trump & his enablers. Newsflash: They didn’t have power to block him until 2018. Thankfully.

  11. Edna says:

    The Dems really need to stop playing nice all the time and grow some balls to deal with these GOP anti democracy grifters. But the Dems have only had any power since 2018 when they retook the House so I don’t get what Chris Rock is talking about. And his ignorance over what the Civil Rights Movement was about is ridiculous. MLK was in Memphis in support of the black sanitary public works employees, who were on strike for higher wages and better treatment. Economic empowerment was always a part of the movement. The fight for economic equality is what got MLK killed. And Chris “Mr. let my white friends throw around the n-word and laugh about it” Rock needs to take all the seats cause he lacks any credibility as far as I’m concerned.

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      Sometimes he says very insightful things, but he’s extremely problematic and I agree with the take earlier that his rich privilege is showing. I am someone who ordinarily likes to take both sides into consideration, but the situation we’ve been faced with since even before Trump was elected has prevented this. The GOP are no longer serving the needs of the people of the USA, they are serving the needs of themselves and the rich and whoever will offer the most to them. The Democrats can’t fight against a situation where the other isn’t playing by the rules laid down by the laws they are governed by. Even if they wanted to go rogue, they still don’t have the numbers to do so and has only had enough power to make any difference for less than 2 yrs when they retook the house. Both sides doesn’t work in this situation, but I’m not at all surprise that Rock is saying these things.

  12. Valiantly Varnished says:

    His pandemic comments make zero sense and sound like he hasn’t been paying attention and doesn’t know who is has a majority in the Senate. It sounds like he doesn’t know how government works.

  13. Soupie says:

    Sure Rock. Sure. I’ve always really liked Chris Rock because he made white people really see themselves while making them laugh doing it. But this take that the Democrats are responsible for the pandemic is BS. Total BS. Fame and wealth often goes to peoples’ heads and messes with their reasoning skills and Chris Rock is no exception. I do agree with the initial analysis (i.e. “helps white people”).

  14. Aang says:

    King was shot just as he was beginning to lean into the poor people’s campaign. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. They’ll make the out in the open racists share a drinking fountain but when it comes to sharing the wealth? No.

  15. Veronica S. says:

    The faux intellectualism of both side-ism at this point is hilarious to me. Is the Democratic party rife with issues? Absolutely. Are they f*cking Nazis, though, running literal concentration camps on the border while allowing a viral genocide to occur among poor and ethnic communities and attempting to intercede with an election? No. Suggesting they are remotely the same just reveals you for the privileged idiot that you are. I’m over it.

  16. Lala11_7 says:

    Everyone complaining about what DEMS didn’t do…don’t know how Government works.. PERIOD! The ONLY reason ocer 500k aren’t gone NOW…due to the pandemic is because DEM GOVENORS stepped up and did the right thing…if Dems had the SENATE TOO? All this would be moot…

    I have NEVA been a Chris Rock fan…that trend continues

  17. ME says:

    Hate to break it to you but the virus was in America long before we even knew about it.

  18. Nina Simone says:

    This entire interview is bull. But I’m most enraged about the fake news he’s ironically spilling. What the hell is he talking about? MLK’s last speech, literally the night before he died, he was advocating for fair wages and economic equality for the Memphis sanitation workers. Jobs, MONEY, Economic equality were central to the civil rights movement. So again what the hell is he talking about?

  19. minx says:

    Sit down Chris.

  20. detritus says:

    What a grossly common refrain. Man f-cks up, but the woman should have known better and dealt with it beforehand. You see it all the time when a guy is a shit husband.

    Wt everlasting hell is that logic? It abnegates all responsibility from person actually responsible for the mistake, in this case the literal president.

  21. Shadeau says:

    “First of all, the Civil Rights movement did say a lot about economic inequality – the March on Washington was actually called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Civil rights leaders were marching with UNION leaders. They tied economic equality to freedom. It’s just that white folks rewrite the historical record…”
    THIS. Leaders of the Civil Rights movement in Detroit were demanding economic equality from the early 1900s. Black people had to set up a whole parallel economic system because they couldn’t get anything but the most menial jobs in the White world. Black leaders used the need for defense workers during WWII to gain access to skilled work in factories and membership in the UAW. The League of Revolutionary Black Workers published a manifesto in the late 1960s calling for reparations from White religious institutions to be used to promote economic self-sufficiency for Black people. He needs to talk to some of his elders in the movement, they’ll tell him.

  22. Traveler says:

    I read his comments yesterday and all I could think was WTF are you talking about!

  23. Rapunzel says:

    “Republicans tell outright lies. Democrats leave out key pieces of the truth that would lead to a more nuanced argument. In a sense, it’s all fake news.”

    That is some absurdity right there. Completely untrue. And a gross misreading of right wingers, Trumpsters in particular, who are literally incapable of nuance.

    I’ve had Trumpsters tell me in the last week that the theory of evolution is liberal propaganda, that I’m disgustingly evil for using “Dying of Whiteness” in my critical thinking class, that I’m “ignorant of what’s real” because I think teachers aren’t brainwashing children, and that Marxism equals communism because Marx wrote the communist manifesto (spoiler alert- it isn’t).

    These f–king idiots have created their own reality and are incapable of logic or common sense. F–k Chris Rock for having these purity standards for Dems while excusing Republicans.

    It’s not okay for Repubs to tell outright lies just cause Trump is a 5 year old. And no amount of nuanced argument is gonna help Dems if Republicans are supporting a 5 year old. The 5 year is the problem. End of.

  24. What...now? says:

    UGH! SHUT. UP. Chris. “The democrats should have stopped it. . .” HOW?

    Oh right, Dems have magic wands and we can just fix shit, because Chris Rock thinks it should somehow just “happen.” WTF? Don’t you think, that if they could have stopped the Coronavirus they would have? And if they could have stopped it, don’t you think they would have stopped other things they were strongly opposed to, as well?? Jeez peas.

  25. Annabel says:

    God, what a dumb take on the pandemic.

    Also, Chris, speaking as a landlord, f*ck you. Were my husband and I insanely fortunate/privileged to afford to buy a house a few years ago? God yes. Are we automatically bad people because we rent out the first floor to help cover the mortgage? Probably not.

  26. Hyrule Castle says:

    You all need Black Twitter.

    What he’s saying, grassroots Black activists, the real activists, are saying it.
    All the things you guys don’t like about trump?
    Are not new things. Not a single one of them.
    That you think they are, that they will disappear under Biden, that’s a level of privilege you need to dismantle.
    Biden IS trump. His record stands for itself.

    The fact that for the most part, your lives will be ok and back to normal if Biden wins, is privilege.

    Check yourselves, Karens.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I disagree. For example, the Trump administration is trying to dismantle the ACA in court. The Biden administration wouldn’t do this. The ACA has allowed many people with pre-existing conditions to get coverage. That is real and substantive. The things that people don’t like about Trump will not continue with Biden. That kind of both-sides-ism is only hurting people. Democrats aren’t perfect, but their policies are vastly different. Saying “Biden IS Trump” is just so not accurate, and spreading it will actively hurt the Black community. I can totally understand a lack of trust with politicians, but they are not all the same.

      Additionally, Biden is the nominee in large part because of the votes of Black Americans. I think it would be unjust to ignore their voices.

    • Betsy says:

      Yikes, strong disagree. Biden is nothing and nowhere near anything like Trump.

    • minx says:

      Biden is not Trump. Nope.

    • Courtney B says:

      That is what got us Trump in 2016–‘oh they’re both the same.’ Well of Hilary was elected, there’d be 6-3 liberal split on scotus (maybe 5-4 if Kennedy hadn’t retired under her) and we wouldn’t live in fear of rbg dying while Trump is president. SCOTUS will have a hell of a lot of influence for DECADES on issues including racial ones. Not to mention almost two hundred federal judges with LIFETIME appointments. If nothing else that should’ve motivated people. It certainly does republicans.

    • Becks says:

      Nope, not even close.

    • Lexluthorblack says:

      Black twitter is Amazing and a safe space.

  27. Atti says:

    I thought he was smarter than this.

  28. GrnieWnie says:

    I really like that he calls racism a mental handicap. I strongly feel that white American culture makes you dumb. If you are a product of that culture, it takes a lot of work to shed that stupidity.

  29. normadesmond says:

    Yup, that’s great Chris. Gonna help a lot.

  30. Rongela Redmond says:

    I was disappointed he is in the new season of Fargo because he is a terrible actor.
    He is the reason why trump thinks he has a chance to get a % of black male votes.
    He thinks he is smart but he is not.

    I have not like him since he was foul with the documentary of black women hair. I felt it was negative

  31. Mexicalides says:

    But we ARE responsible. We, the voters, put Trump into office. You and I may not have voted for him, but we did not (or at least I did not) staff my phone banks in 2016. I did not give money to non-California candidates. I did not see what I could do to work on eliminating the Electoral College.

    Why should Trump do anything other than what he is doing, and did we really expect him too? He made his position clear from the start. He is perfectly fine not having a babysitter. WE need to do every single thing we can now, every single thing, to get him out.

    That being said, I found Chris Rock’s comments pretty sad. He’s great at analyzing historical wrongs, but what is he doing to correct them? He has a great place from which to speak, and to lead by action. He just seems to be one of those people who knows he made his own money through his own talent (and he did), so is happy to give other people advice and let them fix their own problems. Ugh.

  32. JanaTHING says:

    Love Chris Rock, but he is so completely OFF the mark on the pandemic remarks~as if this imbecile in the White House has EVER listened to or followed the advice of a Democrat, give me a break! This entire COVID pandemic is on the shoulders of the President, who is in charge of protecting this country, not the minority party, who has gone hoarse voicing their concerns to stop his stupidity.

  33. Bears says:

    I don’t understand how an intelligent, critically thinking person can still be riding that fence so hard. Is it the higher tax bracket causing it or just cowardice?

  34. Guest says:

    Many don’t know this but Chris Rock is a republican. He’s just quiet about it just like The Rock.

  35. jferber says:

    You’re an idiot, Chris. Who the hell was in office when the pandemic struck in January?