Beyoncé Endorses Kamala Harris at Massive Houston Rally: 'I'm Here as a Mother'

10/26/2024 01:21 AM

With just 11 days to go until the hotly contested U.S. presidential election, Beyoncé made a powerful appearance at the largest Harris-Walz rally yet — in her hometown of Houston.

After music legend Willie Nelson, 91, warmed up the crowd of approximately 30,000, Queen Bey's friend and Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland, wearing a boxy, outsized, men's-style suit, introduced her.

The 43-year-old strolled onto the stage in a tailored black jacket with broad shoulders and a short skirt, speaking for more than four minutes.

"H-Town!" she said as she began her remarks. "We are so happy to be standing here on this stage as proud, country, Texas women, supporting and celebrating the one and only Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman who's been pushing for what this country really needs right now — unity."

Commenting on the "positivity, community, humanity" in the space, the icon — who did not sing — noted, "I'm not here as a celebrity. I'm not here as a politician. I'm here as a mother. A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in."

Referencing reproductive freedom and human rights, she also talked about what older women must be feeling as the U.S. could be about to elect a woman to the presidency for the first time.

The singer went on to implore the crowd to pitch in and vote. "We need you," she stated. "Your freedom is your God-given right. Your human right!"

That a Democratic candidate would spent part of one of the final days before the November 5 vote in red Texas has had political observers speculating whether the state might be in play. Regardless, the state has a neck-and-neck Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Colin Allred, his Democratic rival, and is one of many states with abortion-rights issues in the mix.

In conclusion, Beyoncé said, "We must vote... It's time to sing a new song. A song that began 248 years ago. The old notes of downfall, discord, despair no longer resonate. Our generations of loved ones before us are whispering a prophecy, a quest, a calling, an anthem... It's time for America to sing a new song... Are y'all ready to add your voice to the new American song? Because I am!"

She introduced VP Harris as the next president of the United States, and Harris appeared, waving to the crowd and warmly embracing Rowland and then Beyoncé.

At the same time, former President Donald Trump had wrapped a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan before flying to Michigan for a late-night rally in the usually blue state that he won in 2016.