On the morning of the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention, buzz was already building about a big “surprise guest” rumored to top the previous night’s celebrity speakers and one name rose to the top in terms of who it could be — Beyoncé — as her song “Freedom,” off of her 2016 album, “Lemonade,” has become the anthem for Kamala Harris‘ campaign. But even though those rumors ended up being unfounded, it took nothing away from the joyful vibes building from the start of the convention on Monday, and the grand finale was, in actuality, exactly what it was intended to be all along, Harris herself.
As the clock ticked away on Thursday, a post to social media by White House Political Director Emmy Ruiz containing a bee emoji — thought to be a reference to “the beyhive,” Beyoncé’s fan club — added to the speculation surrounding a maybe/maybe not appearance by the singer, which picked up even more steam after TMZ ran a now known to be bunk “exclusive” that Beyoncé was spotted in Chicago and was a sure thing for the event. But as the night went on and Harris took the stage, the social media chatter turned to jokes about how it was all a ruse (not really) to keep people tuned in.
“The surprise guest was the friends we made along the way,” media columnist Justin Baragona riffed in one tweet.
“Good Evening, ‘DNC surprise Beyoncé’ was a 7 hour sociological study conducted by the Democratic Party. We are now complete with our study. Thank you for your attention,” Democratic strategist Joshua Rush said in another.
By the time The Hollywood Reporter ran a quote from a Beyoncé representative saying, “Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there. The report of a performance is untrue,” attendees and remote viewers of the convention were able to remove their glittery cowboy hats and focus on the intended purpose of the night. Maybe not the “Freedom” that everyone wanted, but a historical moment of “freedom” that carries a heavier weight and will last far longer than the length of a song — perhaps even four years, or eight.
“On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language a grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be President of United States,” Harris said in her opening remarks on Thursday night as the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major-party ticket.
Speaking about the experiences that helped shape her into the woman, politician, and presidential candidate that she is today, Harris, on several occasions, had to interrupt applause from the crowd to make sure she had time to fit in everything she wanted to share with viewers.
“To hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. This has been my life’s work,” she said, working in examples of how Trump stands for everything she strives to work against.
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“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails . . . Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens,” she said of her opponent, who was live-tweeting her speech all the way through.
“IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME?” Trump wrote to Truth Social early on in her address.
And just like the night wasn’t about Beyoncé, but about the hope for a better and more joyful America — no, it wasn’t about him either. Harris wasn’t talking about Trump, per se, she was talking about what to do about him.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious,” Harris said. And that was a serious point that was made clearer, in this instance, without a soundtrack.
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