Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama lit up the stage in a celebrity-packed event in the swing state of Georgia as Harris embarks on the final stretch of the campaign.
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen performed “The Promised Land,” “Land of Hope and Dreams,” and “Dancing in the Dark.”
Other celebrities who showed up to stump for Harris included the actor Samuel L. Jackson, director Spike Lee, filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry, and DJ Mix Master David.
“Music is a very effective shorthand for making connections with perspective voters and certain constituencies without having to say certain things,” Loren Kajikawa, music program chairman of the music program at The George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design told Newsweek via phone on Tuesday. “You can tap into certain attitudes and feelings embedded in the music. It can be a way of saying ‘I am like you, because we share this music together.’ It can also be a way of sharing presidential identity.”
Trump and Harris both have eclectic musical selections on the trail and such selections reflect how they have appeal to varied constituencies, Kajikawa said.
The Harris campaign’s other musical guests have included Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, Usher, Lil Jon, Maren Morris, Quavo, Lance Bass, and Stevie Wonder.
She has been endorsed by Taylor Swift, Cher, John Legend, Stevie Nicks, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Moby, Lil Nas X, Katy Perry, Kesha, Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, and Cardi B.
Musicians supporting Trump include Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Kanye West, Sexyy Red, Anuel AA, Justin Quiles, Azealia Banks, Billy Ray Cyrus, DaBaby, Waka Flocka, Lil Pump, M.I.A., Kodak Black, according to Billboard Magazine.
Beyoncé will join Vice President Kamala Harris in the singer’s hometown of Houston on Friday. Though she hasn’t officially endorsed a presidential candidate, she did allow Harris to use her song “Freedom” as a campaign anthem.
“Beyonce is a smart choice, connects her to another strong Black woman with a large fan base,” Kajikawa previously told Newsweek, adding that Freedom is a shrewd selection. “It’s liked by millennial and Gen Z fan base who she needs to show up.”
Harris used Thursday’s rally in Georgia to highlight her central theme of embracing “joy” and opposing Trump, who she says embraces “fear.”
Indeed, her rally stood in sharp contrast to Trump’s rally in Arizona earlier in the day, during which he painted a dismal picture of illegal immigration and what he refers to as “migrant crime.”
“We’re like a garbage can for the world,” he said, and later added: “The United States now is an occupied country. But it will soon be an occupied country no longer. November 5 will be called liberation day in America.”
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