Kamala Harris and Oprah hold star-studded Michigan election rally as Trump blames Jewish voters
Detroit, Michigan - Kamala Harris held a star-studded rally hosted by talk show legend Oprah Winfrey on Thursday in a bid to bedazzle voters, as rival Donald Trump criticized Jewish Americans for not voting for him.
Hollywood stars including Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, and Ben Stiller beamed in remotely to lavish praise via screens on the Democratic vice president.
Sitting on a chat-show style stage, Winfrey started by asking Harris about what seemed a sudden burst in confidence – "a veil or something dropped" – after she replaced President Joe Biden as nominee.
"We each have those moments in our lives when you have to step up," the 59-year-old Harris replied at the livestreamed "Unite for America" event.
The pair hugged as Harris arrived on stage at the rally in Michigan, one of the seven crucial battleground states that will decide the knife-edge November 5 election.
Harris urged Americans to unite against the "powerful forces that would try to divide us," represented by Republican former president Trump.
The Democrat then talked through her key campaign points, ranging from abortion to economy and immigration and gun control, as audience members told stories about their experiences.
Former prosecutor Harris also made a pitch to gun owners, a key part of the electorate in a country with more firearms than people, even as she called for an end to high-powered assault weapons used in a string of school shootings.
"I'm a gun owner too, if somebody breaks in my house they're getting shot," Harris said with a laugh, before adding: "I probably shouldn't have said that... my staff will deal with that later."
TV superstar Winfrey, who also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, said as she introduced Harris that she felt "hope and joy rising."
Groups including "Swifties for Harris" (made up of fans of Harris-backing pop star Taylor Swift) and "Cat Ladies for Kamala" (women mocking comments by Trump's running mate J.D. Vance on childless people) tuned in remotely.
Donald Trump says Jewish Americans who don't vote for him "should have their head examined"
The presidential election is effectively neck-and-neck as Harris and Trump try to eke out every vote with 47 days left until polling day.
Harris got a boost from a New York Times/Siena poll showing her marginally ahead in Pennsylvania, perhaps the most crucial of all the swing states, but the survey also put her and Trump level nationwide.
Her glitzy event contrasted with the darker tone taken by Trump at an antisemitism event in the capital, Washington.
Trump spent much of time repeating his grievance over the fact that Jewish voters in the US have historically leaned towards the Democrats.
"If I don't win this election... in my opinion the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss," Trump said.
Accusing Harris of failing to back Israel after the October 7 attacks, Trump said that "more than any other people on Earth, Israel, I believe, has to defeat her."
Trump added that "any Jewish person that votes for her... should have their head examined."
Kamala Harris' continued support for Israel may cost her in the election
Israel's brutal assault on Gaza may be a decisive issue in the election.
The "Uncommitted" movement, which opposes the Biden-Harris administration's military and political support for Israel, said on Thursday it would not be backing Harris in the election.
The administration's continued arming of Israel also threatens Harris' narrow margins in Michigan, where there is a large Arab-American community.
Recent polling data released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations pits Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein, who is Jewish, ahead of Harris among Muslim voters in several critical swing states – including Michigan, where 40% of surveyed voters said they would cast ballots for Stein as compared to just 12% for Harris.
Meanwhile, Harris' running mate Tim Walz on Thursday met with the families of Israeli Americans held hostage by Hamas since the attack. He said after the meeting that Biden and Harris would "continue doing everything possible to bring them home."
Trump and Harris are also battling for support from labor unions.
The powerful Teamsters union on Wednesday declined to endorse a presidential candidate, in a blow for Harris as it had a quarter century tradition of endorsing Democrats.
But Harris' campaign said that local Teamsters branches representing one million people had since said they endorsed her.
Cover photo: REUTERS