By ZEKE MILLER, COLLEEN LONG and MEG KINNARD
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Beyoncé is predicted to seem Friday in her hometown of Houston at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, in accordance with three folks accustomed to the matter.
Harris’ presidential marketing campaign has taken on Beyonce’s 2016 observe “Freedom” as its anthem, and the singer’s deliberate look brings a high-level of star energy to what has turn into a key theme of the Democratic nominee’s bid: freedom.
Harris will head to the reliably Republican state simply 10 days earlier than Election Day in an effort to refocus her marketing campaign in opposition to former President Donald Trump on reproductive care, which Democrats see as a make-or-break difficulty this 12 months.
The three folks weren’t licensed to publicly talk about the matter and spoke on situation of anonymity. The Harris marketing campaign didn’t instantly remark.
Beyoncé‘s look was anticipated to attract much more consideration to the occasion — and to Harris’ closing message.
Harris’ Houston journey is about to characteristic ladies who’ve been affected by Texas’ restrictive abortion legal guidelines, which took impact after the Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. She has campaigned in different states with restrictive abortion legal guidelines, together with Georgia, among the many seven most intently contested states.
Harris has centered her marketing campaign round the concept that Trump is a risk to American freedoms, from reproductive and LGBTQ rights to the liberty to be secure from gun violence.
Beyonce gave Harris permission early in her marketing campaign to make use of “Freedom,” a soulful observe from her 2016 landmark album “Lemonade,” in her debut advert. Harris has used its thumping refrain as a walk-out song at rallies ever since.
Beyoncé’s alignment with Harris isn’t the primary time that the Grammy winner has aligned with a Democratic politician. Barack Obama and his spouse, Michelle, danced as Beyoncé carried out at a presidential inaugural ball in 2009.
In 2013, she sang the national anthem at Obama’s second inauguration. Three years later, she and her husband Jay-Z carried out at a pre-election concert for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Cleveland.
“Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being on the point of historical past — once more,” Beyoncé mentioned on the time. “However we’ve to vote.”
A January ballot by Ipsos for the anti-polarization nonprofit With Honor discovered that 64% of Democrats had a good view of Beyonce in contrast with simply 32% of Republicans. General, Individuals have been extra more likely to have a good opinion than an unfavorable one, 48% to 33%.
Hypothesis over whether or not the celebrity would seem at this summer season’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago reached a fever pitch on the gathering’s remaining evening, with on-line rumors swirling after movie star information website TMZ posted a narrative that mentioned: “Beyoncé is in Chicago, and on the point of come out for Kamala Harris on the ultimate evening of the Democratic conference.” The location attributed it to “a number of sources within the know,” none of them named.
About an hour after Harris ended her speech, TMZ updated its story to say, “To cite the good Beyoncé: We gotta lay our playing cards down, down, down … we received this one unsuitable.” Ultimately, Harris took the stage to star’s track, however that was its solely look.
Final 12 months, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour in Maryland after getting tickets from Beyonce herself. “Thanks for a enjoyable date evening, @Beyonce,” Harris wrote on Instagram.
Lengthy and Kinnard reported from Washington. Related Press author Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. Kinnard could be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
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