Steve Harvey is no stranger to controversy; in fact, he welcomes it invitingly. Earlier this week, the man who has had plenty to say about any Obama detractor, set his talons into Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West for their constant criticisms of America’s first Black president. On Harvey’s syndicated morning radio show, he read an email from a listener who quipped that Smiley and West’s Poverty Bus Tour was nothing more than a hustle, and promptly added his own two cents into the discussion.
“I was a huge fan of Cornel West,” he said. “[But] Tavis, I seen him coming a mile away. His anger started when he had a town hall meeting, President Obama couldn’t come because of the campaign trailer and he sent Mrs. Obama. He has held that grudge ever since.” He continued his roasting session by attacking the basis of Smiley and West’s tour, saying, “Poverty existed before January 20, 2008. Where was your damn bus then?
The Original King of Comedy was full of ether, lambasting the duo and their request to council with the 44thCommander-in-Chief. Smiley and West were requesting that President Obama join in a roundtable discussion for two or three days on the subject of poverty in America. Harvey wasted no time in slanging the jokes, “Who in the hell got 2-3 days for your ass? We got three wars going on, the economy crashing, and we going to sit down with Tavis’ ass for three days?”
Harvey’s rant included a skit where he portrayed the role of president of UTLO.org (which stands for “Uncle Tom Look Out”) and that he spotted an “Uncle Tom” driving a bus. Do the funnyman's qualms with Smiley and West resonate with you, the American voter? Or should all parties involved focus on doing their part to be a solution and not the problem?
