Television personality and entrepreneur Nick Cannon has publicly expressed support for President Donald Trump while making controversial historical claims about American political parties during the March 27 episode of his program Big Drive.
During a conversation with guest Amber Rose, Cannon, 45, referenced the historical origins of the Democratic and Republican parties, stating that the Democrats were "the party of the KKK" and that Republicans "are the party that freed the slaves." These statements refer to the parties' positions during the Civil War era, when President Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party pursued the abolition of slavery.
Political historians note that the ideological positions of both major parties underwent significant transformations over the subsequent century. By the 1960s, several prominent segregationist politicians, including Senator Strom Thurmond, shifted their allegiances from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party during a period of political realignment.
The discussion emerged as Rose, 42, explained her political evolution from what she described as a "liberal" Democrat to a Republican who endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Rose asserted that "Democrats do not care about Black people" and argued that Republicans demonstrate greater concern for communities of color, calling this "the misconception."
Cannon responded by distancing himself from partisan affiliation, invoking civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois, who famously stated, "There is no such thing as two parties. It is just one evil party with two different names." Du Bois was a prominent sociologist and activist who championed equal rights for Black Americans from the late 1800s until his death in 1963, one year before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
Despite his professed non-partisan stance, Cannon explicitly declared his support for the current administration. "I f*** with Trump," he stated during the interview, praising the president for "cleaning house" and "doing what he said he was going to do." Cannon specifically commended Trump's executive action to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."
The timing of these remarks carries particular significance given recent controversies surrounding the Trump administration. In February, Trump faced widespread criticism for sharing an AI-generated video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes during Black History Month. The president refused to apologize for the incident, telling reporters he "did not make a mistake" during a briefing aboard Air Force One. The White House subsequently attributed the post to a staffer who "erroneously" shared the content and removed it from social media platforms.
Former President Obama, 64, addressed the controversy in an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, characterizing it as emblematic of "the clown show that is happening in social media and on television." Obama observed that many Americans "find this behavior deeply troubling," noting that "there does not seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office."
The exact filming date of the Big Drive episode remains unclear. Cannon's comments represent the latest instance of celebrity figures publicly aligning themselves with or against current political leadership, reflecting broader national debates about party allegiance, racial politics, and presidential conduct.