Harris rallies with Beyoncé and Willie Nelson in Texas

In a star-studded evening before an electrified crowd of tens of thousands of supporters, Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday implored women and men to cast their ballots on Nov. 5 in defense of their freedoms and as a rejection to former President Donald Trump’s policies. 

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“Texas, what we’re experiencing here is a health care crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect of it,” Harris said. “We know freedom is not to be given. It is not to be bestowed. It is ours by right, and we are prepared to fight for it,” she added. “We must be loud. We must organize. We must mobilize. We must energize.” 

The largest event that Harris has held during her abbreviated run for president featured cameos from Houston native Beyoncè Knowles-Carter and Texas legend Willie Nelson. Beyoncé sent the stadium into a frenzy when she took the stage with Kelly Rowland, who was in the group Destiny's Child with her. 

The superstar, whose song “Freedom” has served as an anthem to Harris’ campaign, did not perform. She said she there not as an entertainer or a politician but as a mother. “Imagine our daughters growing up, seeing what’s possible, with no ceilings, no limitations,” she said, adding that she wanted a world where “my children and all of our children, we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.” 

“It’s time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a chorus of unity. They sing a song of dignity and opportunity. Are y’all ready to add your voice to the new American song?” she said to cheers before introducing Harris to the stage. With just 11 days left in the race and Democrats and Republicans competing to break through to voters, Harris’ team saw the Friday rally as a way to capture the attention of voters across the country.

 At the same time, the vice president used the event to underscore what she said is the serious choice for Americans at the ballot box, and that included sending former President Donald Trump a message for pushing through Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. Choosing the red state of Texas as the stage for the event was meant to highlight that it has some of the most stringent laws restricting abortion in the nation. 

The evening was partly somber, focusing heavily on the subject of reproductive rights and first-person stories about how restrictive laws nearly caused women’s deaths or had caused them. At one point taking the stage was a large group of doctors wearing white medical coats who said they were on the front lines of reproductive care.