Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris urged a crowd of supporters at a packed stadium in Clarkston Thursday night to vote early to bank their ballots in Georgia’s closely contested presidential election. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder
A star-studded lineup of performers supported Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a Georgia campaign rally on Thursday, including former President Barack Obama and superstar rocker Bruce Springsteen.
More than 20,000 people attended the get-out-the-vote rally in Clarkston’s James R. Hallford Stadium as the push to support the Democratic presidential ticket continued less than two weeks before the Nov. 5 Election Day, with more than 2 million voters voting early. Georgians have been turning out in record numbers during an early voting period that runs through Nov. 1.
Harris and Trump have both campaigned in Georgia several times in recent weeks as they court voters in what is expected to be a closely contested presidential election on Nov. 5. On Wednesday, Trump made two stops in Georgia, including a faith-based town hall in Zebulon and a rally at Gas South Arena in Duluth, where his guest list included Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and country singer Jason Aldean.
Guest speakers at the Harris rally Thursday sounded a similar refrain to describe Donald Trump as an unfit president. Trump was frequently criticized for helping put conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices on the court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
The lineup of celebrity guests at Thursday’s rally opened with movie star Samuel L. Jackson and filmmaker Spike Lee, who both spoke about the need for Black men to support Harris.
Fans chanted “Bruce” loudly as Springsteen took the stage for a three-song set that began with “The Promised Land” followed by “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Dancing in the Dark.”
In between songs, Springsteen expressed his support for the Democratic ticket of Harris for president and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for vice president, and his dislike of Trump and the former president’s running mate J.D. Vance.
“She’s running to be the 47th president of the United States,” Springsteen said. “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.”
Harris stressed the importance of Georgia voters showing their support for her campaign as time runs short before Election Day.
“We are fighting for the future,” Harris said. “We here understand we have an opportunity before us to turn the page on the fear and divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of Donald Trump we have the opportunity to turn the page and chart a new way and a joyful way forward, a way that taps into the ambitions, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people.”
Obama was introduced by longtime Georgia resident and filmmaker Tyler Perry. Perry spoke of how his upbringing was closer to the American Dream than that of Donald Trump, who was born into wealth.
Perry described his journey from living in cars and cheap motels as a young Black adult to turning the once-Confederate army base at Fort McPherson into a multimillion-dollar film and television studio.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, at the James R Hallford Stadium on October 24, 2024 in Clarkston. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Obama criticized Trump’s incessant ramblings at rallies, he referred to him as a “goofy” and mentally unstable person who would pose a danger to the country if given another term as president. Obama said Harris lacks the ego of Trump.
“(Harris) is a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice, who need a champion,” Obama said. “Kamala wasn’t born into privilege. She was raised in a middle class family. She worked at McDonald’s when she was in college to pay her expenses. She didn’t pretend to work at McDonald’s when it was closed for a photo op.”
Obama said Harris has plans to make Americans’ lives better, including taking on corporations for price gouging and helping more families become homeowners. She will continue to support critical health care policies like the Affordable Care Act, lower cost prescription drugs and women’s reproductive rights, he said.
“She’s going to limit out of pocket health care costs,” Obama said. “She’s going to give a tax cut to 100 million middle class families and working Americans.
“And if Congress passes a bill to restore the reproductive freedom that women had for nearly 50 years, the freedom that Donald Trump bragged about taking away, Kamala will sign it into law,” Obama said.
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