Vice President Kamala Harris is leaning on Beyoncé for her presidential campaign.
Harris made a memorable entrance during her first official visit to her campaign headquarters on Monday evening, walking out to the empowering sounds of Beyoncé’s song, “Freedom.”
The track is off Beyoncé’s 2016 album, Lemonade, and features the powerful lyric, “Imma keep running cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.” The GRAMMY-nominated song became an anthem for Black Lives Matter marches following the death of George Floyd — who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest in 2020.
A source close to Harris informed CNN that the VP’s team secured approval from Beyoncé’s representatives to use the song throughout her presidential campaign.
Adding to the momentum, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris on Sunday, shortly after President Joe Biden announced that he was bowing out of the presidential race and endorsing Harris as the democratic nominee. Knowles shared a photo of herself with Harris on Instagram and praised Biden’s leadership while expressing her support for Harris. “New, Youthful, Sharp energy!!!!” she wrote. “Putting personal Ego, power, and fame aside. That is the definition of a great leader. Thank you, President Biden, for your service and your leadership. Go Vice President Kamala Harris for President. Let’s Go.”
Beyoncé has a notable history of supporting democratic candidates. In 2013, she performed the national anthem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. And in 2016, Beyoncé and her husband, JAY-Z, headlined a pre-election concert for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland, Ohio, where her backup dancers wore blue pantsuits as a tribute to the woman aiming to become the first female president.
“I want my daughter to grow up seeing a woman lead our country and knowing that her possibilities are limitless,” Beyoncé said at the time. “And that’s why I am with her.”
While Clinton ultimately lost out to Donald Trump, who is running this year as the republican presidential nominee, Beyoncé went on to endorse the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020, using her Instagram platform to encourage her followers to vote.
Harris said Sunday that she intends to “earn and win” the democratic presidential nomination after Biden endorsed her as the democratic presidential nominee.
“I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
Harris also praised the president for his career in public service and said his “remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many presidents who have served two terms in office.”
“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else,” she added.
Harris served as a California senator before she was elected vice president, becoming the first woman, the first Black American and first South Asian American to hold the role.
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