2024-10-24 17:06:00
(Philadelphia) Beyoncé is expected to appear Friday in her hometown of Houston, Texas, at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Posted at 1.06pm
Ms. Harris’s presidential campaign chose the song of 2016, Freedomby Beyoncé, as an anthem, and the singer’s expected appearance will forcefully underline the key theme of the Democratic candidate: freedom.
Kamala Harris will visit this Republican stronghold just 10 days before Election Day in an effort to refocus her campaign against former President Donald Trump on reproductive care, which Democrats see as a defining issue this year.
The three people were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ms. Harris’s campaign had no immediate comment.
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Beyoncé’s appearance is expected to draw even more attention to the event – and Kamala Harris’ message.
Ms. Harris will travel to Houston to meet with women affected by Texas’ restrictive abortion laws, which took effect after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. He has campaigned in other states with restrictive abortion laws, including Georgia, one of the seven most hotly contested states.
Kamala Harris centered her campaign on the idea that Donald Trump is a threat to American freedoms, from reproductive and LGBTQ rights to freedom from gun violence.
Beyoncé gave Ms. Harris permission early in her campaign to use Freedoma moving song taken from his historic 2016 album, Lemonade. Ms. Harris has since used its punchy refrain as a farewell song at rallies.
This isn’t the first time the Grammy winner has sided with a Democratic politician. Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama danced while Beyoncé sang at the presidential inauguration ball in 2009.
In 2013, he performed the national anthem at Obama’s second inauguration. Three years later, she and her husband, Jay-Z, performed at a pre-election concert for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Cleveland.
A January poll conducted by Ipsos for the nonprofit organization With Honor found that 64 percent of Democrats had a favorable opinion of Beyoncé, compared to just 32 percent of Republicans. Overall, Americans are more likely to have a favorable than unfavorable view, 48% versus 33%.
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