Source: The Washington Post / Getty
One of Beyoncé’s hits is now the backdrop for Vice President Kamala Harris’ first presidential campaign video.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid to become president in November has taken off briskly. And her first campaign video features one of Beyoncé’s greatest hits to capture the energy of the moment. The ad, entitled “We Choose Freedom,” has the R&B superstar’s song “Freedom” from her 2016 album, Lemonade, in the background. It begins with a voiceover narration from Harris: “There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos. Of fear. Of hate.” Images of the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, are shown on the screen along with his vice presidential pick, JD Vance. “But us. We choose something different. We choose freedom.”
“The freedom not just to get by, but get ahead. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to make decisions about your own body. We choose a future where no child lives in poverty. Where we all can afford health care, where no one is above the law.” After a montage of moments where Harris is shown speaking to crowds and greeting the public as she speaks about those positions, the video then shows Trump’s infamous mug shot taken concerning his election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia. “Where no one is above the law,” she says before continuing: “We believe in the promise of America and we are ready to fight for it, because when we fight, we win.”
The campaign team for Harris got the green light to use the song as it was noted that she used it during her first arrival at the team’s headquarters on Monday (July 23), after being endorsed by President Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee after he dropped out of the race on Sunday (July 22). The singer is known for having strict guidelines about the clearance and usage of her music, but a source reported to CNN that “quick approval” was given just hours before that campaign headquarters visit.
Beyoncé has historically supported Democratic nominees for president, and while she hasn’t officially commented on Harris’ run, her mother, Tina Knowles, declared her support in an Instagram post on Sunday evening. “Thank you, President Biden for your service and your leadership. Go Vice President Kamala Harris for President. Let’s Go,” she wrote in the caption of the photo of herself with Harris in the post.