US Vice President Kamala Harris has released her first campaign video, saying she will run for president less than a week after US President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and his Vice President announced she was running for the nomination.
The ad wraps up a week in which Harris broke funding records and quickly secured the support of enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee in an election that is just over 100 days away.
The video released Friday morning opens with footage of Harris’ smiling face behind a podium, the word “Kamala,” the word “Harris” and an American flag. The soundtrack is Beyoncé’s song Freedom, to which Harris began and ended her first appearance before campaign staff after gaining momentum lightning fast on her way to the presidential nomination. The song features Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar.
She wrote on her official social media account X:
“I’m Kamala Harris, and I’m running for President of the United States.”
The ad has a great deal of optimism. Harris does not talk about his work as a prosecutor. Voters are shown at rallies, at home, at work or at the doctor’s office. A close-up shows a woman in a lab coat with the word “Obstetrics” embroidered on it, a reference to Harris’ strong stance on abortion rights. Almost everyone in the advert is smiling or laughing. They hold posters that read Kamala and wave the New Progress pride flag.
