Kamala Harris Takes Us Back To 2016 With Her Campaign Song Choice For A Pointed Reason

In sharp contrast to, say, Ronald Reagan using Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” during his 1984 campaign against the singer’s will and with a flagrant disregard for the intent behind the song, Kamala Harris actually got permission from Beyoncé to use her 2016 track from Lemonade, “Freedom,” in her first official campaign video (and throughout the campaign in general). The unveiling of the ad came swiftly after Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not be continuing in this year’s presidential race. Its message (which threw plenty of shade at Trump without ever mentioning his name), paired with the use of the song, saw Harris hit the ground running with strong momentum in her bid for the White House. Well, that and a rapid endorsement from Charli XCX declaring, “Kamala IS brat.” While that might automatically get the gays gagging (no pun intended) even more for Harris, it is always Beyoncé that makes all the difference—especially when it comes to Black women supporting Black women (even if the naysayers claim that Harris isn’t “really” Black). Because the only thing lower in currency than white men these days is white women.

That said, Harris is pointedly taking us back to 2016 with use of this song, which was released as the fourth single from Lemonade in September, just two months before the election that came down to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The white woman with the apparently lower currency in this scenario (maybe because Trump reads as “orange” rather than white). Harris, whether intentionally or not, is, thus, harkening back to a key pop culture moment from ’16 (Lemonade was the album of that year—especially since Taylor Swift was “on break”), as though to remind voters, once again, what’s really at stake here. And that is: forking the nation over to a megalomaniacal dictator or the real-life version of Selina Meyer (skin color aside).

Harris was already gaining traction as a viable replacement candidate for Biden, particularly as the meme furor around her “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” soundbite continued to take on a life of its own this summer (which doesn’t say a lot for what it “requires” to be popular among the “next generation”). The Veep parallel only seemed to help her cause all the more. Indeed, Harris is turning out to be the most “pop culture-centric” candidate to date (she even hangs with drag queens and lets them know she’s in on “Padam Padam”). Beyoncé is the crowning jewel of her ability to lay that claim.

And, even though Harris could have chosen one of Beyoncé’s more recent songs from Cowboy Carter (including “Ya Ya,” which features the lyric, “My family live and died in America, hm/Good ol’ USA/Whole lotta red in that white and blue, huh/History can’t be erased, ooh/You lookin’ for a new America?/Are you tired, workin’ time and a half for half the pay?/Ya-ya/I just pray that we don’t crash, keep my Bible on the dash/We gotta keep the faith”), she opted for the more well-known, more musically accessible “Freedom.” Not just because it’s become the 2010s version of a 1960s-era civil rights anthem, but because it is part of the 2016 time capsule.

Almost ten years on, it seems unfathomable that the U.S. should still be in exactly the same place: pitting a female candidate against Donald Trump. Harris, in this subtle (or overt) way, appears to be driving home that point, reminding the American people that it is still possible to make the same mistake twice. That the few short months leading up to this year’s November election are critical in determining the trajectory of the country. A “last best chance” for real, if you will. As her ad phrases it, “In this election, we each face a question: what kind of country do we want to live in? There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate. But us? We choose something different. We choose freedom.” And at that moment, the booming sound of Beyoncé’s voice arrives, declaring, “Freedom, freedom/I can’t move/Freedom, cut me loose/Freedom, freedom/ Where are you?/‘Cause I need freedom too

Throughout the montage, Harris covers all the “Democrat gold” bases, from an Indian family sitting at a table together laughing to people waving rainbow flags. She then provides the lofty voiceover, “The freedom not just to get by, but get ahead [though we all know that’s not possible with capitalism]. The freedom to be safe from gun violence [right]. The freedom to make decisions about your own body [maybe]. We choose a future where no child lives in poverty [ha!]. Where we can all afford health care [an even bigger laugh]. Where no one is above the law [cue the image of Trump]. We believe in the promise of America and we’re ready to fight for it. Because when we fight, we win.” This sentiment about Americans having a fierce “can-do” attitude that extends to never backing down when it comes to achieving their goals is an old myth, but still, apparently, an effective one.

The ad then concludes with Bey’s lyrics, “I’ma keep runnin’ ‘cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.” It’s precisely that type of saying that gets believers in the American dream real wet, of course. This idea that everyone can get “a piece” if they work harder, sweat harder. Even though we live in a time when the notion of becoming rich is all about how “easy” it is (a.k.a. through virality), and that you don’t actually need any skills or talent at all.

Branded by Rolling Stone as “one of the most striking political statements of [Beyoncé’s] career,” “Freedom” was also used as an anthem during the George Floyd protests of 2020 (another election year). But it’s a song straight outta 2016, which, if all goes accordingly, should spark enough people’s memories to go in the opposite direction of how that election turned out. Not that anything about the electoral college setup has changed since then…