Journalist And Loyalist Democrat Roland Martin Is Angry Pelosi And Biden Won’t Take Him Seriously, Grant Interviews To Black-Owned Media Photo: Roland Martin is seen at the Business of Entertainment with John Singleton during the 2017 American Black Film Festival at New World Center on June 17, 2017, in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP)/In this March 12, 2020, file photo Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)/House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Veteran journalist Roland Martin has long been vocal in his support of Democrats and has helped push some into office but the host of the Roland Martin Unfiltered podcast is feeling a bit betrayed by DNC bigwigs.
Martin took to social media to complain that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to appear on his show despite repeated requests. It’s a slight to all Black media, according to Martin.
“So I caught Nancy Pelosi on CNN…It seems her staff can easily find time for her to appear on mainstream TV networks, but have NO time for Back-owned media. I have been requesting for more than a year for her to appear on ##RolandMartinUnfiltered,” Martin wrote on June 14 in a since-deleted Facebook post.
The Congressional Black Caucus even tried unsuccessfully to reach out to Pelosi on Martin’s behalf, according to the post. Pelosi blamed the oversight on her staff but the CBC intervention didn’t help Martin land an interview with either Pelosi or President Joe Biden. Martin said Biden is also avoiding him and the Black press. “Still nothing,” Martin noted.
ADOS co-founder Yvette Carnell @BreakingBrown tweeted that Martin shouldn’t expect anything more from the Democrats. “So Roland campaigned for Democrats nationwide, but their leader won’t even grant him *ONE* interview? Sadly, this is Black politics in 2021. The ADOS Advocacy Foundation exists as the only solution to this dysfunction.”
But Antonio Moore @tonetalks, co-founder of ADOS, wasn’t moved by Martin’s complaints. “Roland had all those people he listed on and got no commitment and held nearly nothing to the fire. He uses the Black media cloak to elevate his own media property not to elevate Black political needs,” he tweeted.
Martin was suspended from CNN in 2012 as a political analyst over tweets deemed offensive against LGBTQ. Critics said the tweets appeared to call for violence against gay people. Martin apologized. In 2016, Martin allegedly leaked questions on a CNN town hall he was moderating to former DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile, who then leaked them to Hillary Clinton.
Martin has complained about the DNC’s lack of respect, not only for Black media but Black voters as well. In 2017 during an appearance on MSNBC, the then-News One host called for the Democratic Party to stop treating Black people as “side pieces.”
“Black people are tired of being the side piece for the Democratic Party and tired of being political sharecroppers. If Democrats want to win they have to drive turnout,” he said.
A Twitter user suggested why Democrats won’t talk to Martin: “Because they don’t respect him. I believe he is banned but he keeps trying to earn his way back into the fold to get access to corporate dollars” @msjustice2 tweeted.
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