The Stars Come Out for Harris in Georgia

Barack Obama, Tyler Perry, Bruce Springsteen among those to bash Trump at Thursday rally
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 25, 2024 7:21 AM CDT
The Stars Come Out for Harris in Georgia
Bruce Springsteen performs before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at James R. Hallford Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga.   (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Bruce Springsteen entertained the crowd, then former President Obama fired it up Thursday at a star-studded rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, marking the first time Harris and Obama's paths have crossed on the campaign trail. "This is a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice, who need a champion," Obama said of Harris at the event targeting Black voters, which brought the James R. Hallford Stadium to its 15,000-seat capacity, per the Guardian. The Harris campaign said 23,000 attended, per the Washington Post. Obama sought to contrast Harris with Trump, saying, "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."

Speaking before Obama, film director Tyler Perry said Harris understands the US is like a quilt, in which "we are all shapes, sizes, and colors, but we are one." Trump, on the other hand, "wants America to be a sheet," he said, per Rolling Stone. He criticized the Republican candidate for his lack of support for Black Americans, referencing his call to execute the wrongfully convicted Central Park Five, the 1973 lawsuit alleging racial discrimination at Trump housing developments, and Trump's pushing of lies about the birthplace and presidential eligibility of Obama. "What I realized is that in this Donald Trump America, there is no dream that looks like me," he said. Earlier in the night, actor Samuel L. Jackson vowed "we are not going back," while director Spike Lee disparaged "Agent Orange," per Al Jazeera.

Springsteen said Trump is "running to be an American tyrant," and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock said he expected Trump would be denied votes from most Black men. "After all, we know who Donald Trump is," he said. "We are not confused." Harris, who took the stage after Obama, said Trump "has become more confused, more unstable and more angry," per the Post. If elected, he will have "no guardrails" and "will claim unchecked and extreme power." Of the Oval Office in three months, she said, "It's either Donald Trump in there stewing, stewing over his enemies list, or me, working for you, checking off my to do list." More stars are on the way. Beyonce will join Harris at a rally in Houston on Friday, while former First Lady Michelle Obama will appear alongside her in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Saturday. (More Kamala Harris 2024 stories.)

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