Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign in Atlanta, Georgia. | Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Call it a crude comparison, but President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and last month’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee bring to mind Beyoncé’s left-field self-titled album drop in 2013. There was a surprise. There was a fever of excitement, a sort of coronation and a whole lot of discussion. Overnight, Harris went from hypothetical number two dismissed by his fellow Dems to the party’s great new hope — with a good shot at the White House.
The past three weeks have been a honeymoon period for the growing campaign: With donations coming in, Harris has eclipsed his rivals. earned media, And memes abound and — even though they toe the line — haven’t quite crossed into cringe territory yet. It’s a momentum that Harris and Democrats want to see beyond the potential peak of all this good press: when he accepts the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention next week.
His momentum is also driven, in part, by bypassing the press and eschewing other traditional forms of media. In that short time, we’ve come to know Harris as a pop culture fixture, but we still don’t get a good sense of the ways in which his management style and policies are similar and different from the current commander in chief.
At the time of this publication, there are no policy platforms on his website. And his packed rallies offer feel-good Democratic talking points, and he talks broadly about his values and goals, but offers few details and no real plan to make things happen. What is his plan for a ceasefire in Gaza? Why no tax on tips? Does he plan to sign an executive order on abortion rights, or try to work with Congress on the issue?
In the busy early days of his campaign, Harris is acting like a mirror: He’s reflecting the desires of those who will vote for him, to see what a wide range of voters — some with conflicting opinions — want to see in him. It’s a strategy that works and the best example of where it can get you is the woman behind Harris’s promotional song: Beyoncé.
What Beyonce Teaches Us About Effective PR
In many ways, the comparison between presidential candidate Kamala Harris and multihyphenate musical icon Beyoncé may seem like apples and oranges. One woman is a civil servant, the other holds the record for winning the most awards from the Recording Academy. But if the 21st-century political landscape has taught us anything, it’s that for better or worse, politics often works like the celebrity world. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if people are talking about their favorite fandom or their favorite candidate.
For a long time, Beyoncé has been notoriously tight-lipped with the press, instead avoiding them to interact directly with her fans through album releases and limited social media. He gives a traditional television interview with a journalist and has an elusive relationship with it Press One of many examples of the decline in celebrity profile, once considered an A-lister staple. Now, Harris is using the same strategy.
It’s probably no coincidence that the Harris campaign asked for permission to use the song “Freedom,” a track that was featured on Beyoncé. lemonade, Arguably his magnum opus. It is the singer’s most issue-oriented album and has been read by many as a kind of manifesto (esp the right) who operate outside the Beyhive’s watchful eye may not be as dialed in as his references b’day A decade ago, and for much of the public LemonadeIts release was a thematic turning point. Gone is the optimistic pop princess who rejected political questions. Beyonce was black now. And not just in a cool way. In reality, in the political sense. even Saturday Night Live Receive notice of transfer.
in the music video for “structure,” the album’s lead single, features a young boy dancing in front of a line of police officers with his hood up, raising his hands in defiance. Law enforcement follows, and then the camera pans to a wall that reads “Stop Killing Us.” The video closes with Beyoncé on top of a police car, submerged in water as if being baptized. The video was revealed in a post-Trayvon Martin-Mike Brown world: For the first time, those not born with anxiety had to reckon with their experience when pulled over for a traffic stop. This was the previous day Black square on InstagramBack when chanting that Black Lives Matter could get you fired instead of promoted to the C-suite. In a country where ethnic consciousness has awakened from deep slumber, The messaging of the video seems clear.
Public life means mistakes are inevitable. Certain statements can be a poison pill.
Yet, just as Beyoncé was hitting audiences with a sharp message, she was also saying a lot less than it might seem. on Lemonade And the following albums, pointed to Beyoncé’s work feminist (a term for black feminists coined by Alice Walker) who came before her, did not directly say what she believed. This technique gives the audience enough to project their desires (and frustrations) onto him, but rarely confirms or denies that thought is correct.
One of the other similarities between Beyoncé and Kamala Harris is a little more obvious: They’re both black women. And to the dismay of those who don’t engage with race as a social construct and those who do, it’s an identity that comes with a lot to navigate. A common phrase a black child will hear over and over as they grow into adulthood is “You have to be twice as good to get half the distance.” There is no room for error.
Public life means mistakes are inevitable. Certain statements can be a poison pill; When they know exactly what you believe, people respond, for better and for worse. By keeping quiet, Beyoncé has managed to avoid (mostly) the accusations that come with being a black woman with a platform and something to say: too angry, too loud, too much. When you’re taught that you have to be twice as good to get half the distance, you learn that quietness and the respect people give it can push you 50 percent across the finish line.
It makes silence a shrewd choice for a pop star in an age of oversharing and social media apologies; An old Hollywood move that still lands in a time when talking puts you in the zeitgeist and controversy. It’s more complicated for a potential president.
Why this tactic is unacceptable in politics – no matter what Trump does
Harris, by the nature of his work, can’t avoid the media entirely — but, of late, it’s not for lack of trying. Occasional and quick post-event bashing aside, she has yet to hold a press conference or sit down with a reporter for an interview since she became the predictable nominee. It is very clear that Harris wants to speak directly to voters through the press.
There is one key difference: though the public may beg for it, a critically acclaimed entertainer in no way owes us his stance on hot-button issues. A politician, especially one who wants to occupy the most powerful office in the land, should explain to the public why he wants that power and what he wants to do with it. And the public is better (or, at least, better informed) when that candidate has to defend vision in the face of media scrutiny.
Under normal circumstances, such directed non-specificity will only work for an entertainer. Past Democratic primaries have forced candidates to be specific about their policy plans, as they try to convince voters that they are the best choice to carry the party’s banner. And in crowded fields, candidates willingly subject themselves to media interviews in hopes of attracting voters’ attention.
A politician should explain to the people why he wants that power and what he wants to do with it
This proved problematic for Harris during his first presidential campaign. We saw him try to toe this line in 2019 during his ill-fated presidential campaign. Over and over again, she was asked her stance on policing, and each time she was surprisingly annoyed, a funhouse mirror version of the woman we saw go viral for her tough questions at Senate hearings. He told us his views have evolved since he became California’s top cop, but wouldn’t tell us how or why or even when.
But this is no ordinary election: Harris has had to be avoided altogether at first.
As the traditional primary campaign builds excitement and enthusiasm to an incredible height, it may be appealing to Harris, like the “Freedom” singer, to leave the vibes alone and let the stans handle things — as they’re called. KhaiveAfter all. Like Beyoncé, she’s aware that critics are waiting. And yes, there is no finer point than some “he’s a DEI candidate” between these pundits and X users. But as a politician with real power over the laws that govern our lives, those proverbial haters are far from the only Americans he has to answer to. (It’s worth noting, Harris doesn’t allude to race and identity as often as Beyoncé—or even Barack Obama—this isn’t 2008 after all; it’s less likely we need A race speech(Despite Trump’s efforts to bring the online diaspora war to real life.) Harris needs to be prepared to tell people what he thinks and listen to what we have to say in return.
Perhaps that’s a standard that feels unfair when you look at who Harris is up against. It seems former President Donald Trump’s agenda has no meat on the bones. When pressed about Project 2025 — the Heritage Foundation-affiliated plan for the second Trump administration that was put together by people with close, close ties to the former president — Trump was notably evasive: He said he supports some parts of the plan and opposes others, but I won’t say anything. Trump’s refusal to be clear about his own policies, and his penchant for lying about his accomplishments when he discusses his record, have made him so difficult to pin down that many have given up. They no longer want to expend energy on what will likely become a mess of an interview and a waste of a news cycle.
Yes, expecting to be “twice as good” is generally unfair, and such rhetoric can be paralyzing if taken to extremes. But Trump’s incivility is so extreme that asking Harris to do better is still not asking much. Certainly people hold Harris to a higher standard. If anyone is truly twice as good, it should be the President of the United States.
Harris’s instability is not due to a lack of ability. He is a former prosecutor. He went to the nation’s top HBCU, a place that has since its inception produced politicians and activists and tastes across the political spectrum (and where did your writer go). He is more than capable of making a case to the American people. Now the question is: will he?
