Obama calls Beyoncé a 'role model' for his daughters

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Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z have openly supported President Barack Obama since the beginning of his first term, and they continued the show of support by hosting an upscale fundraiser for the president last night at the rapper’s hip 40/40 nightclub in New York City.

“Beyoncé could not be a better role model for my girls,” Obama told the Manhattan audience. “She carries herself with such class and poise and has so much talent.”

“Michelle, Sasha and Malia are mad at me because they aren’t here,” he added jokingly.

While the first lady and her daughters could not attend the event, about 100 other people joined the hip-hop couple and Obama, the Huffington Post reported. Tickets to the exclusive event cost $40,000 a pop, which brought in about $4 million for the president’s re-election campaign.

Beyoncé sent out an invitation to the event via e-mail to Obama supporters earlier this month.

“Jay and I will be meeting up with President Obama for an evening in NYC sometime soon. And we want you to be there!” she wrote.

Obama showed appreciation to his hosts for the successful event.

“To Jay and B, thank you so much for your friendship,” he said.

“We both have daughters and our wives are more popular than we are,” he joked to Jay-Z. “So, you know, we’ve got a little bond there. It’s hard, but it’s OK.”

Beyoncé had kind words for Obama as well when she took the stage.

“I can’t tell you how proud we are to host tonight’s event with President Obama,” she told the crowd. “We believe in his vision.”

The A-list couple have a history of working together with the Obamas. It started when they performed a tribute concert in 2009, the night before Obama took the oath of office and when Beyoncé sang Etta James’ “At Last” during the inauguration celebration.

This July, Beyoncé praised Mrs. Obama in an online video, calling her “the ultimate example of a truly strong African-American woman.” She’s also helped Michelle with her “Let’s Move” health campaign.

President Obama made a video appearance at Jay-Z’s Made In America festival earlier this month.

The president made sure to also highlight the goals of his campaign during his speech last night. “We’ve made history in the past and we’re going to make history in the next seven weeks,” he said.

Follow Ugonna on Twitter at @ugonnaokpalaoka.