ANALYSIS — Democrats love celebrities. But there’s no certainty star power will propel Vice President Kamala Harris to the presidency.
The party has trotted out actors, musical stars and athletes for years trying to fire up its base and attract swing voters. Perhaps right on cue, with less than two weeks until Election Day, Harris is running this familiar play.
The Democratic nominee already has netted the coveted endorsement of global music mega-star Taylor Swift — a Pennsylvania native — and 15-time Grammy winning rapper Eminem campaigned with former President Barack Obama earlier this week in Detroit, aiming to fire up Michigan Democrats in that key battleground state.
Speaking of the 44th president, he campaigned alongside Harris for the first time since she became the party’s nominee on Thursday night in Georgia, a recent swing state that polls show again should come down to the wire. According to prognosticators like Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales and Cook Political Report, the same could be said for all the battlegrounds.
Former President Donald Trump, again the GOP presidential nominee, on Wednesday said this about Obama during a Fox News Radio appearance: “Here’s the good news about Obama: Nobody listens to him.”
The Harris campaign intends to have Obama, and soon his wife and former first lady Michelle Obama, on the campaign trail a lot over the race’s final days. They’re betting the opposite is true of their party’s most popular figures.
‘The Boss’
Obama was not the lone celebrity with Harris in Atlanta at what was a star-studded rally as she tries to rekindle the campaign momentum she had over the summer.
Rock superstar Bruce Springsteen, filmmaker and New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee also were there, as was entertainer Tyler Perry. Springsteen also is slated to appear with Obama on Monday in Philadelphia, according to the Harris campaign.
“Hi, I’m Bruce Springsteen, and I am here today to support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for president and vice president of the United States,” said the artist known as “The Boss,” a guitar resting on his hip.
“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 added.
That tracks with Harris’ emerging closing argument, which includes a new line she : “The difference between us is that he’s going to have an enemy’s list. I’m going to have a to-do list to work on your concerns.”
‘Agent Orange’
The Atlanta-born Lee urged his home town to do its part to “stop the other guy,” mocking Trump’s skin tone by calling him “Agent Orange” — even though Democrats often express disgust when Trump devolves into name-calling.
Obama, his blue shirt sleeves rolled on his forearms in his signature campaign trail look, noted early voting has begun in Georgia and urged the crowd to take advantage. He also criticized Trump, saying “all he cares about is his ego, his money, his status.”
“Lately, some of the people who know Donald Trump best have been saying in no uncertain terms that he should not be president again. The other day, [retired Marine Corps] Gen. John Kelly, Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, said that Trump told him he wanted his generals to be like Hitler’s generals,” he added. “I want to explain that in politics, a good rule of thumb is, don’t say you want to do anything like Hitler.”
Trump jabbed at Kelly on X with a Thursday post: “Even though I shouldn’t be wasting my time with him, I always feel it’s necessary to hit back in pursuit of THE TRUTH. John Kelly is a LOWLIFE, and a bad General, whose advice in the White House I no longer sought, and told him to MOVE ON!”
The Harris campaign has been pushing the Kelly claims as part of its closing argument, including him and retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley calling Trump a fascist. “Yes, I do. Yes, I do,” Harris said Wednesday night when asked if she agreed during the CNN town hall.
‘Insurance policy’
Democratic strategists said the party turning toward celebrities likely won’t sway undecided voters — but could help drive up turnout among their base.
“I am not sure how many votes celebrity-driven events like last night will add to the Democratic column in November. But they are a great way to generate energy and enthusiasm and the all-important social media clicks,” Jim Manley, a former senior aide to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in an email.
“What I am more interested in are the kinds of celebrities both candidates are using. Team Harris has ‘The Boss’ and [reportedly] Beyonce — and apparently one half of the hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse — while Trump has got right-wing provocateurs like Tucker Carlson,” he added. “Now in a reality-based world it should be a blowout for Team Harris, but Trump obviously thinks he can win while rolling in the gutter with these kinds of supporters.”
David Axelrod, Obama’s former chief campaign strategist, said rallies like Harris’ in Atlanta are a “useful exercise” for Democratic nominees.
“Well, look, I think at this point you’re trying to energize people who will come out and vote. And I think that‘s largely what the purpose of that rally was. And celebrities do well in attracting people, in attracting attention. There, delivering a get-out-the-vote message,” he told CNN. “She needs an insurance policy against a chip in the ‘blue wall,’ and I think Georgia … is a prime, prime possibility for her. I think that race is winnable and if you lose Michigan, which is 15 electoral votes, Georgia‘s 16. And then you‘re back in the game.”
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