John Jefferson
CLARKSTON, GA. — Vice President Harris teamed up on the campaign trail for the first time Friday evening with arguably the most popular Democratic Party politician: former President Obama.
While Obama has been stumping in the key swing states the past couple weeks on behalf of the vice president, he joined her on the stage as they aimed to energize supporters in the crucial southeastern battleground of Georgia to cast their ballots in early voting.
The event comes with just 12 days to go until Election Day in Harris’ margin-of-error battle with former President Trump in the race to succeed President Biden in the White House.
“I’m honored to have the support of former President Obama,” the Democrat presidential nominee told reporters as she headed to Atlanta. “He’s been on the campaign trail and has been really wonderful and extraordinary in terms of the time and effort that he’s putting into our campaign.”
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But it’s not just political rock stars that are teaming up with Harris.
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, who has been supporting Democrat presidential candidates for two decades, will perform at Friday evening’s rally.
Harris called Springsteen “an American icon.”
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Also making appearances at the vice president’s rally in suburban Atlanta are actor, filmmaker and playwright Tyler Perry, film director, producer, screenwriter and actor Spike Lee, and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
While Harris is in Georgia, legendary musician James Taylor was scheduled to perform at a rally in neighboring North Carolina – another key battleground – headlined by Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Taylor was scheduled to perform at the DNC but was bumped due to timing issues.
Last weekend, Harris rallied supporters at a get-out-the-vote event in Atlanta with pop singer and star Usher. Hours earlier at a campaign event in Detroit on the city’s first day of early voting, the vice president teamed up with Motor City native rapper Lizzo.
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Another Detroit-born star, rapper, songwriter and music producer Eminem, joined Obama at a Tuesday rally in the battleground state’s largest city to get-out-the-vote for Harris.
And the vice president will reportedly be joined at a rally in Houston on Friday by Beyoncé, who is considered a cultural icon. Beyoncé’s hit song “Freedom” has been adopted by the vice president as her campaign trail anthem.
While she hasn’t joined Harris at a campaign event, singer and songwriting superstar Taylor Swift endorsed the vice president last month on the evening of the only debate between Harris and Trump.
Asked about the star power at her events, Harris said on Thursday, “I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have and also the enthusiasm that a lot of people are bringing to the campaign and feel about our campaign.”
While he can’t match the surrogate star power that Harris enjoys, Trump has also attracted some well-known celebrities at his events.
The latest, country singer Jason Aldean, took the stage at Trump’s rally on Wednesday evening in Duluth, Georgia.
The former president also enjoys the backing of other celebrities, including Telsa founder and multibillionaire Elon Musk, hip-hop star, rapper and fashion designer Kanye West, singer Kid Rock, actors Jon Voight and Kelsey Grammar, former NFL star quarterback Brett Favre, former Indy racer Danica Patrick, and celebrity chef Paula Deen.
While celebrity endorsements can grab plenty of media attention and add excitement to campaign rallies, it’s questionable how much they move the needle in terms of bringing a new wave of support to a candidate.
Veteran Republican strategist David Kochel noted that using celebrities has “been a big part of the playbook for a long time,” especially with Democrat presidential candidates.
But he argued that they rarely “move people” or “move the message.”
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