election 2024
From Charli XCX’s momentum-shifting “Kamala is brat” post to Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’s “Freedom” serving as her official campaign song, music was integral to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 bid for the U.S. presidency.
On Election Day (Nov. 5), Vice President Harris returned to her beloved alma mater, Howard University, to observe the election results and spend the historic night at the place where she first ran for office. Though former President Donald Trump would ultimately win the election, Harris still chose to concede and end her campaign with dignity and grace on her undergraduate campus.
To soundtrack both Election Night and the hours leading up to the VP’s concession speech, the Harris campaign selected DJ Chubb E. Swag (born Terrell D. Williams) – another Cali-bred Howard student who has played gigs ranging from Nipsey Hussle tours to the wedding of Vanessa Bell Calloway’s daughter. “I used to be Nipsey Hussle‘s tour DJ years ago, back in 2012 and part of 2013,” he tells Billboard. “We did some important work together and I did one of his last shows before he transitioned into the Crenshaw situation.”
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Though his DJ career has brought him to stages around the world, very few gigs can compare to preparing the stage for a sitting Vice President – let alone in the context of one of the most mind-boggling election cycles in U.S. history. Tasked with keeping hope alive during Election Night and curating the mood for a concession speech sure to break the hearts of millions of listeners, DJ Chubb E. Swag turned to the healing power of Black music to tell his own story and Vice President Harris formally ended her campaign. From The Isley Brothers’ “Shout” and Chaka Khan’s “What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me” to Beyoncé’s “America Has a Problem” and Lamar’s “Alright,” DJ Chubb E. Swagg curated a setlist brimming with hope and resistance in the face of complete and utter despair.
In an illuminating conversation with Billboard, DJ Chubb E. Swagg details how he rose to the occasion of emceeing Election Night and the following day, the legacy of Howard DJs and breaking “Swag Surfin” on the storied campus.
What’s your history with Howard?
I went to Howard University from 2008 until around 2013. 2012 was when I started going on tour with Nipsey, after which I had ceased to go to school for a second. I came back for a little when I was done [with the tour] to try and finish, but business started moving so quickly that it was more advantageous for me to start worrying about that instead. In addition, I started building a little DJ family there and teaching kids how to DJ for free. We got a nice little legacy and history of DJs from Howard University, especially over the last 15 years.
When did you find out who won the election? When were you confirmed to DJ these events?
People had an idea of [the loss], as the event was going along, but we knew before we left. I was confirmed that morning to do the event, or the day before honestly. We had been in conversation for a second, but it wasn’t a guaranteed thing. I asked as soon as I found out [about where Vice President Harris would be spending election night]. It had to go through a couple of channels. I got lucky because I was invited to the Vice President’s mansion earlier this year for a celebration of HBCU leaders, and we got a picture together. I’m not gonna say we were on a first-name basis, but she had a nice reference for me just in case somebody asked her about [potential DJs].
The day before the Election, one of the higher-ups got in contact with me and said, “Hey, we heard you’ve been chosen to DJ the event. Can you come set up the day before because they have to do several different sweeps?”
In addition, there was also a completely different watch party that was supposed to be happening at the same time in the gymnasium and they sent all those kids to the yard. The DJ from the gymnasium, DJ K.Dimes, came up to me during the Election Night event and told me that they shut down the stadium. [The Harris team] wanted everybody to get the experience. As soon as he told me that, I made sure he got to get a picture and play a song or two; now he was part of history as well. We try to lift as we climb.
I got confirmed to DJ before her concession speech at 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday. They said they enjoyed my energy and what was going on at the rally, and they wanted me back for the next day. Before they even got any words out, I told them, “Instead of trying to force dancing on this day, can we keep things a little more mellow and can we look to tell more of a story?” They were okay with it, and I had to send in a playlist the day before.
I put about 150 extra songs on the playlist. I sent over nearly 500 songs in total — you’re potentially playing for a seven-hour period. As a DJ, there is no “travel light,” you gotta pack everything.
How much did the decision of the election influence the kind of set you created going into the concession speech yesterday?
We had an idea that things were not right when they started playing the CNN video and she was already down like 80 points. There were seeds of doubt being sown at that moment. People were still hopeful and resolute because they knew what happened in 2020 with a lot of states [going] blue later on, but it really felt like an uphill battle.
I wanted to go in and tell a story about perseverance with the music. I wanted to tell a story about making a way out of no way. My Election Night set was a little more energetic due to the circumstances, and the following day had to be a bit more mellow. I still got some energetic records in there, but it was definitely different.
How did you understand your role and responsibility as the literal master of ceremonies preparing the crowd for an emotional and historic concession speech?
Have you ever buried a relative? It’s honor and it’s duty, but at the same time, it’s extreme sadness, heartbreak, gut-wrenching, all the superlatives you hear in the movies.
I have so much respect for Kamala [Harris], because she said, “Win or lose, I’m going down with the gang. I’m coming back home. Win or lose, I’m talking to my people and I’m talking to them at the place where everything first started.” I more than empathize with that. I wanted to make sure her transition, whether it was in or out, was met with nothing but love.
This Howard thing… people talk about it abstractly, but it’s real. She and I are both Howard students from California. We had to come from a long way to get where we are. We’re doubly connected. Outside of the exposure, I wanted to be there to make sure my sister was good. I wanted to make sure she was okay. She fought her life out for the last 100 or so days for us. When everybody else was telling her what to do and when she was doing everything in her power to make something shake, nobody had her back. So, I had to make sure we had her back.
On X, you wrote, “We use music to tell a story. Glad I could include mine.” What were the parts of your specific story that you were plugging into the setlist?
One of the first songs I got off that day was “Changes” by 2Pac, and one of the verses starts off with “I see no changes, all I see is racist faces/ Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races.” I started off preaching. Then, I played Chaka Khan’s “What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me?” and Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go for That.” A lot of those are self-explanatory, like, personally, I’m not going for no Trump presidency. You gotta ask Trump what he’s gonna do for me! And that can go both ways because what are we gonna do for Kamala now that the chips are down?
I actually wanted to play The Isley Brothers’ “Shout” the day prior, but it was too old for the crowd. We had a really young crowd on Election Night. There were a lot of older people there, but the young folks showed up for Kamala in droves. I played Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama,” because they call her “Momala” or “Big Mala” sometimes, so I wanted to make sure she was comforted. You could hear it in her voice – not saying that she couldn’t handle that moment, but if you could be anywhere in the world other than this specific place right now, I’m sure you’d want to be there.
I added a few extra songs that I played that weren’t on the approved list. I remember one of the DJs that I brought up was trying to play Soulja Boy and I was like, “Ay, turn that s—t off!” [Laughs.] I love you to death, but if the [artist] ever said anything stupid in public, we gon have to drain the swamp on that one! No Soulja, no Chris Brown… Bobby Brown didn’t even make it through testing.
Who made that call?
I don’t make those decisions. I don’t have that type of power. I spent seven or eight hours on the initial list making sure it was curated perfectly without any abusers, fascists, etc. When [her team] sent the list back, they only took off one name and it was Bobby Brown. I was able to play Chaka Khan and even Janet Jackson if I wanted to – I didn’t because [Jackson] had said something kinda goofy about Kamala.
What did you see on the crowd’s faces from your vantage point?
It was like a third homecoming. The energy out there was electric. It was even more hilarious with the random rally-goers and people who had never been around HBCU folks or Black people because they were like “What the hell is going on?! Why are they playing this song?”
There were even staff members asking me, “Can you play a dancing song?” And I’ll tell them, “This is the dancing song! This very slow Tamia song is the dancing song.” Women of all ages are moving to this one, and they will not get tired; they’ll do the song for nine minutes if they need to.
I played so much s—t on Election Night. We went around the world. I was playing calypso, soca, go-go, East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, Dirty South – I did a lot of Afrobeats on both days. For the concession speech, I played Asake’s “Organize,” and I thought it was really important for the movement moving forward. In order for us to do what we need to do, we need to get organized quickly.
On Election Night, people came in excited, and they got their hearts broken. Before the concession speech, people came in with their hearts already broken. You could see it on their faces. It was like trying to lift somebody out of despair, and they don’t wanna leave that [emotional] space just yet.
I almost felt like I lost the election, like I let y’all down. I was in the middle of it. When s—t really started getting bad — after 11:30 p.m., around midnight — they was asking me to play hype, dance, rally stuff. I was like, “As much as I can do that, I don’t think it’s gonna do what you think it’s gonna do right now.” Having to tell the truth is really more difficult than people give it credit for being. Don’t nobody wanna hear that s—t! They don’t wanna swag surf right now.
Speaking of, you’re also the DJ who broke “Swag Surfin” at Howard, right?
I am! And I was upset because they did a whole ESPN thing on this s—t and they got somebody on there who was on a whole different radio station at the time and damn near 50-60 years old – n—a, you wasn’t playing no “Swag Surf!”
We had to bring that record up from the South. N—as didn’t even put that shit in a promo email at first! Students were the n—as that put us on to it at first. I guess they went back for vacation and when they came back [Fast Life Yungstaz’s] “Swag Surf” was a big thing – and I wanted to make sure I was on top of it. I was breaking all the s—t. Everybody wanted to go more mainstream, and I was really trying to break that underground.
If I remember correctly, Obama was already president, and his brother-in-law, Michelle’s brother, is the head coach at Morgan State University. They devised this plan where Morgan ended up playing Howard every year at Howard, and Obama started coming to campus once a year just for a basketball game. I DJ’d the very first game that he came to; I played Jeezy and Jay-Z‘s “My President Is Black” and “Swag Surfin.” He gave me the head nod from about 1000 feet away.
I had hands in all that s—t, I was at Howard during what we call the “Golden Era” of those HBCU anthems. There were some songs I broke at Howard and some songs that I was the first to play in general. Like “Country S—t” by Big K.R.I.T. — we was beating down his DJ’s email because we wanted to play it, and it wasn’t in any record pool. He emailed us the studio version and the clean version, and I was one of the first people to ever play that record. Dom Kennedy wasn’t even trying to get on the radio, and he sent me a clean version of “1997.” That Howard legacy runs deep!
Azealia Banks has changed her mind about the presidential election. The mercurial MC best known for her frequent beefs with fellow celebs announced on Monday (Nov. 4) that she is now endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris over her previous commander-in-chief pick, Donald Trump.
Though the endorsement included a reference to the sitting Vice President as “stupid and incoherent” — as well as calling Harris’ VP pick, Gov. Tim Walz “trash” — Banks said she’s bailing on convicted felon Trump in large part because of her fears that the three-time presidential nominee will make good on his vow to give equally mercurial SpaceX/Tesla CEO Elon Musk a place in his potential second administration.
“I really think keeping Elon Musk away from any type of political power in the USA is tantamount to any issue on the table here. You have to be a complete idiot to think that dirtbag cares about anyone or anything other than himself,” Banks, 33, tweeted about Musk, who has become one of Trump’s biggest financial supporters and stumpers over the past month.
“He’s already been given way too much tax payer money – Allowing him to ascend to any position of political authority is very f–king dangerous,” wrote Banks in an attack on Musk featuring a string of provocative claims. “One does not become the richest man in the world because of honesty and good character lol, you must be an expert liar, thief and cheater to become that.” The tweet also included incendiary, unverified statements about Musk’s alleged business practices as well as his parenting and treatment of singer Grimes, who has two children with the tech billionaire; at press time a spokesperson for Musk had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on Banks’ claims.
In 2016, Banks endorsed Trump and congratulated him following the former reality TV star’s win over former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton in that year’s election, offering to perform at his inauguration. While she was seemingly not invited to play that event, Trump was feted with sets from Toby Keith, Three Doors Down, Lee Greenwood, Jackie Evancho, DJ Ravidrums, the Piano Guys and a speech from actor Jon Voight. Last year, Banks said she would be supporting Trump again because she thought he was “f–king funny.”
NBC reported that Musk’s financial and stump support of Trump could be result in lucrative business wins for the world’s richest man, noting that the billionaire has turned X into “a pro-Trump echo chamber” over the past few months in the apparent expectation that Trump will offer up more tax breaks for the richest Americans and provide more government contracts for SpaceX. Musk has reportedly donated nearly $120 million to convicted the twice impeached former President’s third White House bid. Though he is not expected to have an official seat in a Trump cabinet owing to his many foreign business interests and government contracts, there are report that Musk could have an unofficial role as the “secretary of cost-cutting.”
Banks concluded her Harris endorsement tweet — one of dozens she posted on Monday in which she weighed in on everything from her distaste for iPhones and owning property in South Florida to a plea for Harris to “incentivize” men who don’t want to have children to get vasectomies — by explaining her latest swipe at Musk.
“I will be Voting For Kamala Harris tomorrow because Elon Musk (a f–king overrated Ketamine addict) belongs no where near American Politics. The End,” she wrote. Musk has spoken openly in the past about his use of prescription Ketamine, an anesthetic that has gained interest from doctors and researchers for its potential to treat depression and anxiety. In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Musk denied overusing Ketamine, saying, “if you use too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done. I have a lot of work, I’m typically putting in 16-hour days … so I don’t really have a situation where I can be not mentally acute for an extended period of time.”
The rapper — who has released just one full-length album to date, 2014’s Broke With Expensive Taste, along with a handful of EPs and mixtapes — referred to an overnight stay at Musk’s home in 2018 as being akin to “a real life episode of ‘Get Out‘”; she later apologized for those remarks.
Banks’ 11th hour support for Harris comes after a galaxy of A-listers have lined up behind the VP, including: Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX and many more.
Dick Van Dyke reached back 60 years on Monday (Nov. 4) to a time when the United States was riven by racial animus and division to remind voters that such emotions are not, and should not, be the norm. The 98-year-old Hollywood legend and Mary Poppins star posted a black-and-white video on his socials endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris a day before voters took to the polls to weigh in on the neck-and-neck race between the sitting Democrat Vice President and former command-in-chief Donald Trump.
“Fifty years ago – May 31, 1964 — I was on the podium with Dr. Martin Luther King” he said of the Religious Witness for Human Dignity event held by the late civil rights leader in front of 60,000 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “I was there to read a message written by Rod Serling, the guy who wrote The Twilight Zone. I got it out the other day, and I think it means as much today, if not more, than it did then. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to read it,” Van Dyke said.
The beloved actor and singer then read a selection from Serling’s note, which was entitled “A Most Non-Political Speech,” reprising his recitation at the King event more than half a century ago. “Hatred is not the norm. Prejudice is not the norm. Suspicion, dislike, jealousy, scapegoating, none of those are the transcendent facet of the human personality. They’re diseases,” Van Dyke said. “They are the cancers of the soul. They are the infectious and contagious viruses that have been breeding humanity for years. And because they have been and because they are, is it necessary that they shall be? I think not.”
With the trademark sparkle in his eye and warmth in his voice, Van Dyke continued. “If there’s one voice left to say ‘welcome’ to a stranger, if there’s one hand outstretched to say ‘enter and share,’ if there’s one mind remaining to think a thought of warmth and friendship, then there’s a future in which we’ll find more than one hand, more than one voice and more than one mind dedicated to the cause of man’s equality. Wishful? Hopeful? Unassured? Problematical and not to be guaranteed, that’s all true.”
He added, “But again, on this spring evening of 1964, a little of man’s awareness has shown itself. A little of his essential decency, his basic goodness, his preeminent dignity, has been made a matter of record. There will be moments of violence and expressions of hatred and an ugly re-echo of intolerance, but these are the clinging vestiges of a decayed past, not the harbingers of the better, cleaner future.”
The powerful message from Van Dyke came as both Trump and Harris were delivering their final messages to supporters on Monday night (Nov. 4), both in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania. Harris was joined in Philadelphia by a galaxy of A-list stars — including Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and The Roots — during an address where she once again vowed to fight for the future of all Americans.
“We love our country. And when you love something, you fight for it,” Harris said in an address just before midnight. “I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism, of our expression of our love for our country, to then fight for its ideals and to fight to realize the promise of America… America is ready for a fresh start, ready for a new way forward, where see our fellow Americans not as an enemy, but as a neighbor.”
Also speaking in Pennsylvania, Trump — who would be the oldest person ever elected president at 78 — stuck to his foreboding, grievance-filled stump speech, vowing to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an effort at the mass deportation of illegal migrants he has promised on day one of his potential second administration. He also once again referred to Harris as a “radical left Marxist” and promised to “get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our schools” in the closing argument of a campaign in which he has questioned Harris’ racial identity and sought to lure Latino voters to his side despite recently featuring a comedian at his New York rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Referring to the U.S. as an “occupied country” on Monday, Trump also again falsely claimed that “a lot of bad things” happened in the 2020 election he lost to President Biden.
In his recitation, Van Dyke — who did not mention either candidate, but did encourage his fans to vote and included hashtags for Harris — added a most poignant bit from Serling. “To those who tell us that the inequality of the human animal is the necessary evil, we must respond by simply saying that first, it is evil, but not necessary. We prove it, sitting here tonight, in 1964. We prove it by affirming our faith. We prove it by having faith in our affirmations,” he said.
The reading ended with a quote from 19th century abolitionist and U.S. House Rep. Horace Mann, “‘Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.’ I’d like to paraphrase that tonight. ‘Let us be ashamed to live without that victory,’” Van Dyke said, lamenting that “a lot” has happened since then, but perhaps not as much as MLK dreamed of. “But it’s a start,” Van Dyke smiled.
Van Dyke joins a long roster of major stars who’ve supported Harris’ campaign, a list that includes: Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, LeBron James, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Charli XCX, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many more.
Pollsters have repeatedly claimed that Trump and Harris are in a neck-and-neck race, with most predicting that results will likely not be finalized when voting ends on Tuesday night (Nov. 5). If you are not sure where your polling place is, click here to find out.
Watch Van Dyke read Serling’s message below.
As part of his closing argument to voters on Monday (Nov. 4), former President Donald Trump took yet another shot at Beyoncé for the R&B superstar’s support of rival Kamala Harris. While the current Vice President was headlining a star-studded event in Philadelphia with the likes of Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and hometown heroes the Roots, Trump once again hit out at a recent appearance by Queen Bey at a Harris rally in the singer’s hometown of Houston.
“Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs, and there were no songs,” Trump, 78, claimed about the Oct. 25 event where the 32-time Grammy winner appeared with her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to urge Texans to support the Harris/Walz ticket on election day (Nov. 5). “There was no happiness. It’s just like, ‘give me my check. I want to get out of here,’” Trump claimed about Beyoncé’s appearance.
At the rally last month, the singer joyfully voiced her backing for Harris, saying, “We are so happy to be standing here on this stage as proud, country, Texas women supporting and celebrating the one and only Vice President Kamala Harris. A woman who’s been pushing for what this country really needs right now: unity. It’s impossible not to feel the energy in this room, the positivity, the community, the humanity. We are at the precipice of an incredible shift. The brink of history.”
She added, “I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares, deeply, about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided. Our past, our present, our future merge to meet us here.”
In addition to boosting Harris in Houston, Beyoncé gave the campaign direct approval to use her 2016 song “Freedom” as its campaign song. Bey’s camp later sent a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign for featuring “Freedom” in a social media campaign video from a spokesperson; that video was later taken down in the latest example of a musician asking Trump to stop using their music for his campaign.
On Monday in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, Trump also brushed off the lack of star power at his recent events in comparison to the many A-list actors and musicians who’ve lined up behind the Vice President, adding, “Just to bring it back into seriousness, we don’t need a star because we have policy.” His event was warmed up by former Democrat U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly — whom Trump insulted with a crude, sexist remark about menstruation after she moderated a 2015 presidential debate — and the son of late baseball legend Robert Clemente Jr.
Though he has repeatedly said celebrity support doesn’t matter, Trump’s campaign has welcomed endorsements by country singers Jason Aldean and Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as Amber Rose, former reality star Savannah Chrisley, Caitlyn Jenner, Kid Rock, Dr. Phil, Elon Musk, Azealia Banks, Kanye West, Joe Rogan and Lil Pump.
He has seemed particularly peeved by Beyoncé’s support for Harris, whose campaign has rolled up a galaxy of A-list supporters over the past few months, including Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX and many more.
A week after Beyoncé’s Houston speech, Trump took to the stage in Green Bay, WI dressed as a garbage man, where he again stressed that he didn’t need help from celebrities. “Four nights ago they got Beyoncé… uhhhh Beyoncé,” he said, pausing while audience appeared to boo the singer. “They got Beyoncé,” he repeated. “We don’t need Beyoncé, we don’t need anybody… all you got is me, and I don’t have a guitar.”
The Harris campaign never announced that Beyoncé was expected to sing in Houston and at the Green Bay event, though Trump added, “Ladies and gentlemen, they said Beyoncé’s coming to sing and she came but she didn’t sing. And then Kamala came on as Beyoncé was leaving without singing even one song and they booed the hell out of both of them”; there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that the 30,000-plus Harris supporters booed Beyoncé’s appearance.
According to pollsters, Trump and Harris are in a neck-and-neck race, with most predicting that results may not be finalized as soon as voting ends on Tuesday night. If you are not sure where your polling place is, click here to find out.
Watch Trump’s comments about Beyoncé in Pittsburgh below.
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The 2024 presidential race comes to an end on Tuesday (Nov. 5), nearly four months after Vice President Kamala Harris stepped onto the campaign trail against former President Donald Trump.
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This year’s race to the White House featured just one presidential debate, multiple campaign rallies and a myriad of celebrity endorsements from Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and other music stars.
Whether you’re hosting an election watch party, or attending one, you can expect wall-to-wall coverage across cable news, local channels and social media. If you’re planning to watch the election results live, we’ve collected a list of the easiest ways to watch and stream the 2024 presidential election live without cable.
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Election Night: How to Watch Coverage Live Without Cable
Election night is like the Super Bowl for cable news. As such, coverage of the presidential race will broadcast on majors news outlets including MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, CBS, NBC, Fox News, C-SPAN and PBS News.
You can stream cable channels live on DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV.
Want to watch for free? DirecTV and Fubo offer free trials for up to a week. Streaming plans start at $59.99 for Fubo and $87 for DirecTV Stream.
Most channels including NBC News, CNN and CBS News, plans to broadcast election coverage live and stream it across their respective, on-demand platforms (Peacock, Paramount+, Max, etc).
For example, CNN’s coverage will include election editions of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper 360, CNN NewsNight: State of the Race with Abby Phillip and Laura Coates Live airing live on the cable channel and streaming on Max. CNN’s election coverage starts at 5 p.m. ET on Monday.
ABC will air and stream election coverage across ABC, Disney+ and Hulu. Fox News’ election coverage will broadcast on Fox News and stream on Fox New Digital.
NBC’s election coverage will stream live on Peacock where users can access election Multiview featuring three live streams of NBC News coverage and analysis starting at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Coverage ends at approximately 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
CBS News will air and stream election night coverage on CBS, Paramount+ and CBS News 24/7. Primetime coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Election night will be anchored by Norah O’Donnell live from CBS News’ election headquarters in New York City. Margaret Brennan, John Dickerson, Gayle King, Cecilia Vega, Robert Costa and Ed O’Keefe will join O’Donnell.
Coverage will likely be available to stream on Philo as well. Streaming plans start at $28/month. Click here to launch your free trial.
Want to stream the election internationally? Expats, global trotters and anyone else attempting to watch from outside of the U.S. can access streaming platforms, channels and more with ExpressVPN.
How to Watch Election Coverage on Prime Video
Prime Video will also stream live coverage of the 2024 election hosted by Brian Williams. Election Night: Live with Brain Williams starts at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on Prime Video.
Access to Prime Video comes included with your Prime membership. Not a member? Launch your free trial here.
Speaking of tech, if you need a new TV for election night and beyond, there are plenty of affordable options such as the onn. 40-inch Class FHD (1080P) LED Roku Smart TV ($118), or Vizio’s Classic 50-inch 4K UHD TV currently on sale for $298.
Need a drink to get you through election night? Total Wine, Amazon Fresh and Walmart offer delivery and in-store pickup for wine, beer, wine, liquor and non-alcoholic beverages.
Neil Young has made it clear he’s no fan of Donald Trump. The “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World” guitar hero has threatened to sue twice impeached convicted felon Trump before for playing his songs at campaign rallies, and over the weekend Young made it clear that he does not want to give the former President a second chance in Washington.
“Kamala Harris — She is an honest forthright truth teller who is experienced in the White House, free from ambiguity or evasiveness, who goes straight to the point,” wrote Young on his Archives site on Friday about the sitting Vice President, who is less than a month away from possibly becoming the nation’s first female President.
“Clear headed, young enough to hold the office for a couple of bright future terms, Kamala Harris is a good person who is unafraid to take on criminals and uphold the law of the USA. She’s my candidate for the future of this country,” he continued.
Toronto-born Young, 78 — who became a naturalized American citizen in 2020 — has been very vocal about his disdain for Trump, who continues to peddle the false narrative that he won the 2020 election over President Joe Biden, while over the weekend hurling his latest insult at his opponent when he referred to former Senator and California Attorney General Harris as “retarded.”
“Kamala Harris will take on the billionaire class and make them pay their fair share of taxes,” Young concluded. “She will not owe them favors. She is a kind, considerate American. Cast your vote for a beautiful future for your family. Kamala Harris for President.”
After years of threatening to sue Trump for using his music at campaign rallies without permission, as well as penning a scathing open letter to the former reality TV star in which he referred to Trump as “a disgrace to my country,” Young’s endorsement is a double-down on his August decision to let Harris’ VP pic, Gov. Tim Walz, officially use his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” during campaign events.
Young joins a growing list of A-list stars who’ve stepped up to support Harris since she unexpectedly jumped into the race in July when President Biden agreed to not seek a second term. Among the artists proudly supporting Harris are: Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, P!nk, Bon Iver, Bruce Springsteen, Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande and many more.
Janet Jackson questioned Kamala Harris’ race in an interview published by The Guardian on Saturday (Sept. 21).
The interview touched upon the singer’s Together Again Tour, how she’s recorded “a lot of music that’s just sitting on the shelf,” and being a parent. It also shifted to the topic of the upcoming U.S. election, with the reporter noting Americans could elect their first Black, female president: democratic nominee Harris.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” Jackson chimed in. “She’s not Black — that’s what I heard, that she’s Indian.”
Added Jackson, “Her father’s white, that’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
She didn’t elaborate on where she’d heard this information, which is false.
Harris is both Black and Indian. Her father, Donald J. Harris, came to the U.S. from Jamaica. Her mother, the late Shyamala Gopalan, came to the U.S. from India. They both moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California, Berkeley, which is where they met in 1962.
The Guardian approached the topic again with Jackson, asking if she thinks America is ready for a president who is a woman of color.
“I don’t know,” Jackson said. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really truthfully don’t know. I think either way it goes is going to be mayhem.”
The singer’s quotes about Harris trended on social media, where many fans expressed disappointment in one of their idols repeating misinformation.
“You had the chance to stand with a Black woman loud and proud and you didn’t. This is hard for a lifelong fan,” says a top comment on Jackson’s most recent Instagram post, which was taken over with reactions to what Jackson said about Harris.
On X, formerly Twitter, a post read, “Janet Jackson is one of the most influential people in music history. It was simply irresponsible of her to repeat something she ‘heard’ regarding the very thing that they use against Kamala! Her own race. We are less than 50 days away from the election. We gotta talk smarter!”
Over the summer, Donald Trump brought up Harris’ racial identity at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where he claimed, “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
At the Sept. 10 presidential debate, Trump said, “All I can say is I read where she was not Black … And then I read that she was Black, and that’s OK. Either one was OK with me. That’s up to her.”
Harris later responded, “Honestly, I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president, who has consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people.”
Jackson, according to the reporter behind the The Guardian article, was not feeling well on the day of the interview. She had a cold.
The Taylor Swift effect has taken hold of politics. After announcing her endorsement of Kamala Harris for president after the Tuesday (Sept. 10) presidential debate, Swift then shared a link to Vote.gov in an Instagram story. A spokesperson for the U.S. General Services Commission, an independent U.S. government agency that supports various other federal agencies, […]
With the U.S. Presidential election now just 69 days away, the electronic music community is more forcefully entering the conversation with a new initiative from Rave The Vote and Headcount.
As part of a new initiative, a lineup’s worth of dance artists will help provide a free bundle of music to people who check their voter registration status via the non-partisan voter registration organization Head Count.
Participants will receive the downloadable bundle by checking their voter registration status via this link and opting in to text reminders about voting. Participants will receive the treasure trove of dance music in late September.
The batch of tracks and mixes includes work by artists including Tokimonsta, Carl Craig, Seth Troxler, Ardalan, Walker & Royce, Rochelle Jordan, Mary Droppinz, Life On Planets, Baby Weight, DJ E-Clyps and Hercules & Love Affair.
Trending on Billboard
“Dance music in America is bigger than ever, it’s crucial that our community gets out and votes, and ensures its voice is heard,” Rave the Vote organizers say in a statement. “There is a lot at stake in this election, and we need dance music fans to show up and vote for values that are synonymous with our culture; peace, love, unity and respect.”
“Partnering with Rave the Vote is a fantastic opportunity to connect the vibrant energy of dance music with the power of voting,” adds Lucille Wenegieme, Executive Director of HeadCount. “We’re thrilled to join forces in this effort to engage fans and inspire them to make their voices heard at the polls. Music and democracy go hand in hand, and with the support of these incredible artists, we’re confident that we’ll see a strong turnout and a real impact in this year’s elections.”
Launched in 2020, Rave the Vote is a collaborative project headed by Infamous PR. Since 2004, HeadCount has registered over 1.2 million voters through work with artists including Harry Styles, Lizzo, Dead & Company, Billie Eilish and more.
Donald Trump‘s campaign is asserting its right to use Foo Fighters‘ “My Hero” at events despite the band’s public denunciation of the campaign’s prior use of the track. “We have a license to play the song,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in an email to The Hill. Additionally, he tweeted at the band, using puns of the […]