Harris, Obama push early voting in tight race

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris basked in the support of rock legend Bruce Springsteen, entertainer Tyler Perry and former president Barack Obama on Thursday at a rally that drew thousands in the battleground state of Georgia.

Seeking to excite supporters in a state that could help determine the winner of the 2024 election, the US vice president and her high-profile endorsers urged the crowd to take advantage of early voting, and to reject her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.

“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,” Harris said. “Please vote early.”

Obama, who has been campaigning in multiple swing states for Harris, made his case against Trump, arguing the former president thought about no one but himself.

He implied that Trump was acting like a doddering old man and, in a reference to Trump’s recent event at a McDonald’s, noted that Harris had actually worked at the fast food chain earlier in her life.

“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,” Obama said.

Ahead of Harris’ remarks, film director Spike Lee warned a packed crowd at the James R Hallford Stadium not to be “bamboozled” into voting for the Republican nominee.

Springsteen, who performed melancholy laments “The Promised Land” and “Land of Hope and Dreams”, warned Trump was running to be a tyrant.

“He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be American,” Springsteen said.

About 20,000 people attended the Georgia rally, Harris’ campaign said, which would make it her largest political rally yet, besting the 17,000 she drew in Greensboro, North Carolina, in early September.

As Harris spoke, a noticeable number of people who had been sitting for hours began to leave their seats and make their ways to the exits, leaving pockets of empty seats in what was once a packed house.

The rally represented the latest attempt by the Harris campaign to capitalize on the backing of movie and music stars to mobilize voters in the closing days of a tight election race.

She was due to appear with Beyonce in Houston yesterday.