Vice President Kamala Harris, the now-presumptive Democratic nominee, strutted out to “Freedom” by Beyoncé on Monday in her first address to her new campaign team/the former Biden-Harris campaign team since Biden stepped aside and endorsed her.
Plus, according to CNN, Beyoncé’s team even gave Harris’ campaign permission to use the track.
Earlier in Monday’s event, after her husband and second gentleman Doug Emhoff warmed up the crowd, Harris addressed the Delaware-based team.
She directly addressed her opponent, Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. The former California attorney general told the Delaware-based staff, “I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”
Her words echoed an advertisement released as part of her 2019 Democratic primary campaign that’s gone viral in recent days, adding to the growing meme culture around her. In it, Harris is framed as the “anti-Trump” candidate.
“She prosecuted sex offenders. He is one,” the ad states, drawing a number of other contrasts between the pair.
Harris told the campaign staff, “Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards, to a time before many of our fellow American had full freedoms and rights. But we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.”
Earlier in the event, after second gentleman Doug Emhoff introduced her, Harris addressed President Biden. He was listening remotely as he recovers from COVID-19. The vice president gushed over working closely with him and how the two have become like family.
“It’s mutual,” Biden responded. “I’m watching you, kid. I love you.”
President Biden to VP Harris: “I’m watching you, kid. I’m watching you. I love you”
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 22, 2024
pic.twitter.com/q61AUBAi7L
Harris announced that Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chair, has accepted the vice president’s invitation to run her campaign. Harris said that their campaign message and Dillon’s motto will remain the same: “One team, one fight.”
The staff stayed committed to Biden throughout his turbulent campaign, but that apparatus is now set up to work for Harris, with the staff largely maintaining their positions.
The vice president echoed similar sentiments to those from previous public addresses, saying Biden has accomplished more in one term than many presidents have in two.
Harris addressed the future she hopes to deliver as president, stating that building up the United States’ middle class will be a “defining goal” of her presidency. She also reiterated that she plans to earn the party’s nomination and win the presidency.
“We are going to win this election,” Emhoff said. “We are on the right side of every single issue.”
The vice president led a call and response from her campaign to conclude her own speech, leading them in a round of “When we fight, we win.”
