John Legend has lengthy been outspoken about his political views and in the case of this November’s presidential marketing campaign, the singer mentioned there is just one candidate he can, and can, assist.
Talking to CBS Mornings, Legend informed co-host Tony Dokoupil that he’s absolutely behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who grew to become the official Democrat nominee on Tuesday evening (August 20) after a raucous, musical roll name on the Democratic Nationwide Conference in Chicago.
“I stay in California, so I’ve gotten to observe her run for election a number of occasions,” Legend mentioned of Harris, who earlier than she grew to become President Joe Biden’s VP in 2020 was additionally the Lawyer Common of California and a Senator from the state. “And seen how sensible and charismatic and empathetic and the way prepared she is for this, she’s ready herself for this function. She is eminently certified to be president. After which she additionally has the appropriate character traits I feel to be an awesome president, which implies she cares about folks’s lives, desires authorities to work for folks and enhance their lives.”
Legend — who will carry out Wednesday evening on the 2024 Democratic Nationwide Conference — joins an extended, and rising, checklist of musicians who’ve thrown in with the Harris marketing campaign for the reason that Vice President unexpectedly jumped into the race rather than Biden when the President stepped down a month in the past amid issues that the 81-year-old commander in chief was less than the duty. His endorsement is now added to a roster that features Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, Cardi B, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo, Patti LaBelle and Beyoncé, whose “Freedom” has been adopted because the official Harris marketing campaign theme music.
The singer informed CBS that he felt compelled to weigh in on the election due to the very important affect politics has on all of our lives as Americans. “All of us have a stake in what occurs on this nation. We pay taxes right here. Our youngsters are rising up right here, going to varsities right here. And I don’t wish to sit out,” mentioned the Ohio native who has lengthy been an advocate for jail reform and voting for progressive prosecutors. “I wish to ensure that my voice is heard, but in addition that I raise up different voices and ensure they’re heard too.”
A longtime critic of twice impeached former President Donald Trump, Legend threw chilly water on the notion that the Democratic occasion is one in all “coastal elites,” a tag typically placed on the occasion by their Republican rivals due to Dems’ sturdy assist in New York and California, in addition to the tendency for A-list music, film and leisure figures to throw in with the opposite facet. He famous that Republicans have gone all-in on a convicted felon whose story is the very definition of what former First Woman Michelle Obama known as “the affirmative motion of generational wealth” in her rousing DNC speech on Tuesday evening.
“They’re represented by a man who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, who was gifted an actual property firm, grew up in New York Metropolis and is just well-known as a result of he was on nationwide tv taking part in a businessman,” Legend mentioned of Trump, who’s working for President for a 3rd time alongside his decide for a second-in-command, Ohio Senator JD Vance. “So, you recognize, it doesn’t ring very true for them to accuse us of being the Hollywood elites. I’m from Springfield, Ohio. I grew up in a blue-collar household. I’d not even comprehend the sort of upbringing somebody like Donald Trump had.”
The underside line, Legend mentioned, is that Harris and her VP candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “care about folks such as you. They care about peculiar People they usually wish to make life higher for peculiar People. And their opponent cares about enriching himself and his different wealthy associates and the distinction may be very clear.”
Watch Legend’s full interview under.
