For one of her final rallies of the 2024 election in the all-important battleground state of Georgia, Vice President Kamala Harris brought in some heavy hitters as she formulates her closing message to the American people.
To help her make her case to the crowd of 23,000 just outside of Atlanta, Harris turned to former President Barack Obama, a popular figure among Democrats, as well as Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen, Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee, film and television mogul Tyler Perry and iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Harris urged voters in Georgia — the state that flipped to Democrats four years ago for the first time since 1992 and then changed control of the U.S. Senate by sending two Democrats to Washington — to use their voices in the upcoming election, warning of “brutally serious” consequences should former President Donald Trump win another term in the Oval Office.
“Someone who says we should terminate the Constitution of the United States of America should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America,” Harris said. “Never again.”
She also directly appealed to young voters, a group could prove integral to her success in November.
“There is an overwhelming call for a fresh start, for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic and excited about what we can do together,” Harris said. "There is a yearning for a president of the United States who will see you, who gets you and who will fight for you.”
Obama told the crowd that he acknowledged why some people may want change — he was, after all, the president who ran with that word as a slogan in 2008 — but disagreed that Trump was the candidate who would bring that about.
“I get why people are looking to shake things up,” he said. “But what I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump would shake things up in ways that are good for you.”
The event comes as early voting is already well underway in Georgia, with residents hitting record-breaking numbers. More than 2.25 million Georgians have already voted early in person, according to top election official Gabriel Sterling, with nearly 135,000 mail ballots submitted.
Other speakers, including Springsteen, took their shots at Trump as well. The rock icon, who serenaded the crowd with acoustic cuts of his hit songs “The Promised Land,” “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Dancing in the Dark,” said that he’s supporting Harris because he wants someone in the Oval Office who “reveres the constitution.”
“There is only one candidate in this election who holds those principles dear, Kamala Harris,” Springsteen said. “She’s running to be the 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant.”
Thursday’s event was the first in the Harris campaign’s “When We Vote We Win” concert series aiming to drive voter turnout.
Perry, who purchased 330 acres of former military base Fort McPherson in Atlanta to establish his eponymous production studios in Atlanta, referenced the fact that it used to house Confederate military encampments.
“You want to hear some thing about the American dream? Fort McPherson was once a Confederate army base,” he said. “Now that land is owned by me.”
Perry said that he “really admired” Trump from seeing his success on the classic documentary series “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”
“Young Black men admired him because his name was in rap lyrics,” he said, adding: “But then I started to do my research.”
“I watched him from the Central Park Five to Project 2025,” Perry continued. “What I realized is in this Donald Trump America, there is no dream that looks like me. We want a president who believes the American dream is for everyone. That president is Kamala Harris.”
Jackson, one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors, managed to fit one of his lines from “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” into his brief remarks — “This party’s over,” he said, echoing a line from his Mace Windu character — while praising the fact that he and the vice president share a favorite swear word in common: “That’s the kind of president I can stand behind.”
“Our power is how we win! We are not going back!” Jackson said to the crowd, echoing one of Harris’ favorite campaign slogan. “You damn right! That’s what I’m talking about!”
Lee, an Atlanta native, echoed the same sentiment: “No matter what kind of shenanigans, skullduggery and subterfuge, the okie-doke, we’re not going back.”
Other speakers included Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.