Chamillionaire to VP debate’s Martha Raddatz: ‘Keep it gangsta’

Journalist Martha Raddatz was widely praised for her moderation of the pugnacious vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan last night. But perhaps her most unexpected accolades came from Chamillionaire, the Houston rapper who made a cameo in Raddatz’s pre-debate remarks on C-SPAN.

Raddatz was giving the audience at Centre College in Kentucky some ground rules for attending the debate, when she recounted a story of how once, while reporting from a White House briefing, her cellphone rang in front of the crowd of journalists and White House staffers. Unknown to Raddatz, her son had changed its ring tone to Chamillionaire’s hit about police harassment “Ridin’.” “I have never had my cellphone go off anywhere ever again,” she said, to big laughs from the crowd.

Chamillionaire, whom we like to imagine is a devoted fan of C-SPAN’s pre-debate coverage, later tweeted at Raddatz, saying: “Can’t lie. That just made my night. Appreciate it. @MarthaRaddatz Keep it gangsta.”

Given the universal acclaim for her skills at moderating productive discussion between bitter foes, maybe Raddatz can have a sideline in settling rap beefs?

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