By DAN MERICA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris has Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Donald Trump has Child Rock, Waka Flocka Flame and Hulk Hogan.
Because the 2024 marketing campaign whirls into its last week, Democrats are noticeably leaning on their star energy benefit, calling on a various vary of celebrities to endorse Harris, invigorate audiences and, they hope, spur folks to the poll field.
Democrats have lengthy loved a celeb benefit and used it to shut out presidential campaigns when consideration and power are important. That higher hand has grown throughout Trump’s rise, a interval that noticed scores of celebrities, even apolitical stars, break their silence and converse out towards the Republican chief. The benefit typically means raucous, fiery occasions within the closing days of a race, however historical past — specifically Hillary Clinton’s 2016 marketing campaign — highlights how the power at these occasions can typically paper over broader points with a candidate.
Weeks earlier than the election on Oct. 20, Harris bought an help from music legend Stevie Marvel in Jonesboro, Georgia, who rallied churchgoers with a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Days later in Atlanta, Harris and former President Barack Obama headlined a rally that featured a efficiency by Springsteen and speeches from famed filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson. The marketing campaign adopted that up a day later with a rally in Texas that includes a efficiency by Willie Nelson and a speech from Beyoncé.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ working mate, has additionally benefited from the movie star push. Singer-songwriter James Taylor carried out at occasions with the governor in North Carolina earlier within the month. And Walz, together with Harris, spoke at an occasion in Michigan on Monday that included a five-song set from singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.
“I come for Harris,” mentioned Ashley Oberheide, a neighborhood resident who attended the out of doors Harris rally held in Ann Arbor’s Burns Park. “I love that musical acts are getting behind her, but I am always here for Harris.” She known as Rogers an “added bonus.”
Audrey Hudson, a College of Michigan nursing scholar who voted for the primary time days earlier than the rally, described her attendance as “doing a civic duty combined with seeing an artist I love.”
“I’m here to support Kamala and Walz as well but Maggie Rogers, I have loved her music since I was in middle school. She’s had a huge impact on me,” mentioned Hudson, who added that she thinks artists like Rogers are extra relatable to younger voters and might impression how they vote.
Ann Arbor resident Rachel Lieberman, 29, shared that the rally in her hometown was her third Harris occasion and that Rogers was a “cherry on top” she believes will assist drive out the youth vote.
“I think it’s all part of getting the younger generations mobilized to vote,” Lieberman mentioned.
Harris and Democrats aren’t simply leaning on performances at occasions, both. After Tony Hinchcliffe, a comic who spoke at Trump’s rally at Madison Sq. Backyard on Sunday, known as Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean,” the Democrat’s marketing campaign acquired public help from rapper Unhealthy Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and artist Ricky Martin, three of one of the best recognized Puerto Rican celebrities. The three have over 300 million followers mixed on totally different social media platforms.
US comic Tony Hinchcliffe speaks throughout a marketing campaign rally for former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York on October 27, 2024. (Photograph by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photograph by ANGELA WEISS/AFP through Getty Photographs)
Lots of the occasions are a part of Harris’ “When We Vote We Win” live performance sequence that goals to spur supporters to vote early in key battlegrounds. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor of Harris’ dwelling state of California, introduced on social media on Wednesday that he’s voting for Harris. She is anticipated to have extra high-profile endorsers within the coming days.
Harris traveled to Wisconsin on Wednesday for a rally with a protracted checklist of musical star energy, together with Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons, Remi Wolf and The Nationwide’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner.
“See you at the polls,” Abrams mentioned after her set.
On Thursday, her rally in Arizona may have Los Tigres del Norte, a famed norteño band initially from Sinaloa, Mexico. And eventually, on Friday, Harris will headline a rally in Las Vegas that includes Maná, a Mexican pop rock band initially from Guadalajara, Mexico, and a speech from Lopez.
The 2020 marketing campaign was a celeb outlier. Due to the continued coronavirus pandemic, giant marketing campaign occasions have been unusual, particularly on the Democratic facet. Celebrities appeared in social media movies for then-former Vice President Joe Biden, who went on to defeat Trump.
Trump does benefit from the help of celebrities with a deep attraction to his core base of voters, like singer Lee Greenwood, tv persona Dr. Phil McGraw, and former soccer stars like Brett Favre, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Nation singer Jason Aldean just lately spoke at a Trump rally in Georgia and Nick Bosa, a star defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, just lately jumped right into a teammate’s post-game interview to point out a MAGA hat.
Trump thanked Favre for endorsing him throughout a Wednesday rally in Inexperienced Bay, the Wisconsin metropolis the place he led the Packers to a Tremendous Bowl victory. “Thank you, Brett. What a great honor. What a great champion,” Trump mentioned. The previous president later joked that he’s “a little upset because I think he got bigger applause than me, and I’m not happy.”
However the Republican candidate largely doesn’t have a solution for Harris’ celebrity-infused occasions. Trump, whose profession has turned him into a celeb, typically offers the star energy at his occasions. And when a celeb like Hinchcliffe makes headlines at a Trump occasion, it may trigger issues for the Republican marketing campaign.
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The give attention to movie star occasions is typified by raucous occasions in arenas and infrequently leaves Democrats upbeat and hopeful about their probabilities. However the technique can even paint over points: When crowds are juiced by celebrities and musical performances, issues with a candidate’s message or maintain on an vital base of voters may be obscured, a development that was highlighted by former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 run.
The ultimate week of Clinton’s marketing campaign eight years in the past was a veritable pink carpet of musical icons and celebrities. Her last rally as a candidate, a feverish occasion in North Carolina, was headlined by Jon Bon Jovi and Woman Gaga. Her last occasion with former President Barack Obama culminated in a efficiency by Springsteen on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. She capped her marketing campaign in Ohio with a efficiency from Jay-Z and Beyoncé in Cleveland. And simply days earlier she stuffed Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami, Florida with an eye-popping efficiency by Lopez.
“We just heard Jennifer perform ‘Let’s Get Loud.’ Well, I say, ‘Let’s Get Loud’ at the voting booth. You can vote early. Don’t wait another day to vote, ” Clinton exclaimed.
The Clinton marketing campaign left every respective battleground state invigorated that the power they felt on the occasion might carry them to victory.
Days later, Clinton misplaced North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, and then-businessman Trump was elected president.
Related Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Mike Householder in Ann Arbor, Michigan, contributed to this report. Related Press author Jonathan J. Cooper in Inexperienced Bay, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
