Two songs symbolize the race between Harris and Trump

“This is a man’s, man’s, man’s world” is probably James Brown’s most iconic song, and I don’t think Donald Trump understands it at all. Trump performed to Brown’s song at the Republican National Conventiona move that ceaselessly tarnished that song for me, but that’s a separate conversation. That moment crystallized that this song is the one which’s most emblematic of who Trump is. It’s as old as he’s (it was released in 1966) and it seems as hyper-chauvinistic as Trump is. But I feel Trump listened to a part of the song, not all of it.

Trump is the epitome of toxic masculinity, but to his cult… I mean, to his followers, he’s the epitome of masculinity. They love how he exudes strength and toughness and a really traditional sort of masculinity that’s harking back to good old tough guys like Clint Eastwood. They create pictures of this fat man looking like Rambo because that is how they see him. “It’s A Man’s Man’s World” seems to suit into that dynamic. In the verses, Brown sings about the things that men have created—”Man made cars to get us across the road. Man made the train to carry a heavy load.”

But the chorus undermines the verses and gives the song the balance and complexity it needs—“It’s a man’s world / But it wouldn’t be anything / Nothing without a woman or a girl.” That key a part of the song could also be there because the song was written partially or in whole by Brown’s then-girlfriend, singer-songwriter Betty Jean Newsome who needed to sue Brown to get better royalties owed to her.

The real purpose of this song is just not to glorify men. The message is that yes, it’s a male-dominated world, but that world requires women and girls and every little thing they convey to the table—femininity, love, beauty, care, every little thing. The point is that this male-dominated world can be nothing—the word Brown emphasizes the most—without women. It’s a logo of Trump and how he really doesn’t hearken to others. He heard the first line—“It’s a man’s world”—and thought, “This is a song for me,” not realizing that one beat later, Brown completely undermines that message. It’s like he listened to the blueprint of the joke and ignored the punch line.

Elections

Contrast this with the song that the majority symbolizes Vice President Kamala Harris: Beyoncé’s “Freedom”.” This is the song he goes to his rallies to. This is an anthem dedicated to black women. It’s about determination—the endurance and persistence needed to attain true freedom—and also about self-determination, as in the ability to interrupt your personal chains. It’s an inspiring fight song. The chorus ends with the words, “I’ll keep running, because a winner never quits.”

“Freedom” represents the more political Beyoncé that got here later in the yr, but though it references the BLM movement, it’s an inclusive song. Everyone wants freedom. Everyone deserves to be told that they will break their very own chains. The song makes Harris seem each powerful (based on the song’s huge sound and its sense of struggle and marching) and in contact with what people actually need. And I consider she deeply understands what the song is basically about.

Harris comes with a contemporary liberation song that symbolizes who she is — a contemporary candidate who desires to rise to the top. Trump, who led the overthrow motion comes with an old song about how men rule the world. You can tell so much about them through their songs.