Just a day after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris is already on the campaign trail. On Monday, Harris made her first public appearance since Biden endorsed her candidacy, and walked out to Beyoncé’s “Freedom.”
Beyoncé’s reps reportedly gave the vice president permission to use song during her presidential campaign, a source told CNN, hours before Harris took the stage.
“What kind of country do we want to live in: A country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law?” asked Harris during her speech at her Wilmington-based campaign headquarters. “Or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?”
Before her address, Harris was introduced by her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, as Harris walked towards the podium while the Lemonade track played. During her 20-minute speech, the vice president lauded Biden, and emphasized that “our fight for the future is also a fight for freedom.”
Kamala Harris walking out to “Freedom” by Beyoncé at campaign headquarters. pic.twitter.com/3VeoGZgts2
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 22, 2024
“Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” Harris said. “Because when our middle class is strong, America is strong. We know that’s not the future Donald Trump is fighting for.”
Harris took a jab at Trump’s criminal record, comparing his slew of criminal charges to her roles as Attorney General of California and courtroom prosecutor before becoming a senator.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds: Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own game,” Harris said. “So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type. And in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his.”
“Donald Trump was found liable by a jury for committing sexual abuse,” she continued. “As Attorney General of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges and put it out of business. Donald Trump ran a for-profit college, Trump University, that was forced to $25 million to the students it scammed.”
Harris explained that this year’s election was split between “two different visions,” describing Trump’s candidacy as wanting to “take our country backward” to a time when Americans didn’t have “full freedoms and rights.”
“We believe in a future where every person has an opportunity. Not just to get by, but to get ahead,” Harris declared, before sharing her commitment to gun safety and the fight for reproductive freedoms. “When Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as President of the United States, I will sign it into law,” Harris promised.
She ended her speech by saying, “God Bless the United States of America and Joe Biden.” As she walked off stage, the Beyoncé track played again.
The vice president received an endorsement from the icon’s mother on Sunday. In an Instagram post, Tina Knowles wrote, “New, Youthful, Sharp , , energy !!!! You asked for it and our President Biden did what was best for the country ! Putting personal Ego , power and fame aside.” Knowles added, “Go Vice President Kamala Harris for President. Let’s Go.”
The speech from Harris comes just a day after Biden announced that he would no longer be seeking re-election, and after he officially endorsed Harris’ presidential run. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden wrote on social media. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.”
