Obama, Springsteen back Harris, warning of “brutally serious” consequences if Trump wins

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris pokes fun at former President Barack Obama during a campaign rally at James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston, Ga., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

(AP) — Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama on Thursday lent their star power to Kamala Harris’ presidential bid; The vice president implored Georgia voters to consider the “brutally serious” consequences if Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House. .

Harris asked voters to imagine who will be sitting in the Oval Office just three months from now and to consider the new president’s priorities.

“Either Donald Trump is out there busy making his enemies list, or I’m working for you and checking off my to-do list,” he said. “You have the authority to make this decision.”

The presence of Springsteen, whose career has spanned five decades, and former President Obama, who remains one of the biggest names in Democratic politics, shows how Harris relied on some of the most notable figures in the party to help deliver her closing message and deliver harsh criticism of her opponent.

Obama, who received a rousing reception from the rally crowd in a packed high school football stadium outside Atlanta, told the audience: “I understand why people want to shake things up, but I can’t understand why anyone thinks Donald Trump is going to shake things up in a way that’s good for you.”

Harris repeated this message in her speech and warned that “the consequences of her becoming president again are extremely serious.”

The lengthy rally ran well behind schedule and appeared to take its toll on attendees. While the vast majority of seats remained full, hundreds of people left the event early as Harris spoke after hours of programming.

Other speakers wasted no time attacking Trump.

Obama argued that his successor was always “trying to sell you something”, caring only about his “ego, his money, his status” and regularly giving long speeches that were “just word salad”.

“We don’t need a four-year wannabe king, a wannabe dictator,” Obama said, before pitching Harris as “job ready.”

After arguing that Trump was only focused on himself, Obama added: “If you choose Kamala Harris… she will focus on you.”

Springsteen also focused on Trump.

After his performance of “The Promised Land,” a ballad from his 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” Springsteen told audiences in Georgia that he supports Harris because he wants “a president who respects the Constitution.”

“There is only one candidate in this election who values ​​these principles, Kamala Harris. Candidate to become the 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump is poised to become an American tyrant,” Springsteen added, before performing “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Dancing in the Dark.”

Trump’s campaign called Harris’ use of Obama and Springsteen a “desperate, last-ditch effort to save his spiraling campaign.”

“Celebrity reliance is nothing new for the party of Hollywood elites — and as voters realize the depth of Kamala’s incompetence and radicalism, Kamala needs more attention,” the campaign said in a statement.

Harris’s rally in Clarkston, a suburb east of Atlanta, reflected the suburb’s reputation as “the most diverse square mile in America.” The community has received waves of immigrants and refugees, and in 2020, 40% of its population was foreign-born.

The DJ who catered to the crowd before the event began addressed not only graduates of historically Black colleges and universities, but West Indians as well. Among those waiting in the snake-like queue to enter were people of Asian descent and women wearing headscarves.

Most respondents said they had pushed relatives and neighbors to the polls to vote for Harris, either through formal volunteer efforts or on their own. “I decided to volunteer because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut,” said Beverly Payne, who lives in Cumming, a Republican stronghold north of Atlanta.

Payne said he was still trying to convince his mother, but she switched her vote from Georgia to Harris. “My 85-year-old father switched to the Democratic Party for the first time in his life,” he said.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson, director Spike Lee, and actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry also spoke at the start of the event.

Lee declared, “No matter what shenanigans, tricks and tricks there are, we won’t be back.”

Harris’ celebrity engagements will continue Friday when she travels to Texas with Beyoncé for a Houston rally, according to three people familiar with the matter. The singer is from Houston, and her 2016 song “Freedom” became Harris’ campaign anthem.

While the Friday rally was in a red state where even the most optimistic Democrat knew the vice president was unlikely to turn blue in November, Thursday’s event in Georgia underscores the state’s pivotal place in the likely path to defeat Trump.

Democrats, led by then-former Vice President Joe Biden and Harris, won Georgia in 2020, becoming the first Democratic presidential campaign to win the Southern state since Bill Clinton in 1992. Harris’ campaign is hopeful she can keep the state blue in 2024.

Polls of likely voters in Georgia NYT/Siena with Fox News to Atlanta Magazine-Constitution It shows a tight race between Trump and Harris.

Thursday’s event is the first of the campaign’s “When We Vote, We Win” concert series aimed at encouraging Harris supporters to vote before Election Day.

Harris isn’t the only member leaning on star power in the final days of the Democratic campaign. His running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, held events in North Carolina on Thursday with singer-songwriter James Taylor.

Democrats are known to rely on high-profile surrogates in the final days of presidential races.

Springsteen has long been a supporter of Democratic presidential campaigns. The artist supported Obama in 2008 and 2012, even backing the presidential candidate in the contentious 2008 Democratic primary. In 2016, she supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by performing at a rally in Philadelphia on the eve of Election Day, and in 2020, she supported Biden. The New Jersey artist supported Harris earlier this month, calling Trump “the most dangerous presidential candidate in my world.” for life.”

Beyoncé also supported Clinton in 2016, performing at an event in Cleveland with her husband and rapper Jay Z just days before Election Day that year. And Taylor became a fixture at Democratic events and fundraisers.

But Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016 serves as a warning to Democrats that, despite the considerable star power behind her, the energy provided by famous artists like Springsteen and Beyoncé is often not enough to win elections.

Harris’ campaign advisers, however, see events like those in Georgia and Texas as key moments to galvanize voter enthusiasm and garner votes before Election Day.

Accordingly Associated Press countWhile 2 million 25 thousand 645 people voted early in person in Georgia, an additional 134 thousand 336 votes were cast by mail in the 2024 general elections.