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 came 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.
After Obama introduced the Democratic presidential nominee in front of a crowd of over 20,000 people packed into a local football stadium, Harris pointed to her longtime friendship with the former president and said “your friendship and your faith in me and in our campaign means the world.”
But it wasn’t just political rock stars that teamed up with Harris.
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, whom Harris called an “American icon” and who has been supporting Democratic presidential candidates for two decades, performed three songs at Friday evening’s rally.
“Kamala Harris. She’s running to be the 47th President of the United States. Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant. He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American,” Springsteen argued.
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Also speaking at the vice president’s rally in suburban Atlanta were actor, filmmaker and playwright Tyler Perry, film director, producer, screenwriter and actor Spike Lee, and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
While Harris was 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 singer, a longtime supporter of Trump, sat with the former president at the Republican National Convention in July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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.”
