WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris has Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Former President Donald Trump has Kid Rock, Waka Flocka Flame and Hulk Hogan.
As the 2024 campaign whirls into its final week, Democrats are noticeably leaning on their star power advantage, calling on a diverse range of celebrities to endorse Harris, invigorate audiences and, they hope, spur people to the ballot box.
Democrats have long enjoyed a celebrity advantage and used it to close out presidential campaigns when attention and energy are critical.
That upper hand has grown during Trump’s rise, a period that saw scores of celebrities, even apolitical stars, break their silence and speak out against the Republican leader. The advantage often means raucous, fiery events in the closing days of a race, but it’s no guarantee of victory as the stars come out this year for Harris.
Weeks before the election, Harris got an assist Oct. 20 from music legend Stevie Wonder in Jonesboro, Georgia, who rallied churchgoers with a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Days later in Atlanta, Harris and former President Barack Obama headlined a rally that featured a performance by Springsteen and speeches from famed filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
The campaign followed that up a day later with a rally in Texas featuring a performance by Willie Nelson and a speech from Beyoncé.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has also benefited from the celebrity push. Singer-songwriter James Taylor performed at events with the governor in North Carolina earlier in October. And Walz, along with Harris, spoke at an event Monday in Michigan that included a five-song set from singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.
Audrey Hudson, a University of Michigan nursing student who voted for the first time days before the rally, described her attendance as “doing a civic duty combined with seeing an artist I love.”
“I’m here to support Kamala and Walz as well but Maggie Rogers, I have loved her music since I was in middle school. She’s had a huge impact on me,” said Hudson, who added that she thinks artists like Rogers are more relatable to young voters and can impact how they vote.
Ann Arbor resident Rachel Lieberman, 29, shared that the rally in her hometown was her third Harris event and that Rogers was a “cherry on top” she believes will help drive the youth vote.
“I think it’s all part of getting the younger generations mobilized to vote,” Lieberman said.
Harris and Democrats aren’t just leaning on performances at events either. After Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian who spoke at Trump’s rally Sunday at Madison Square Garden, called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage,” the Democrat’s campaign received public support from rapper Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, three of the best-known Puerto Rican celebrities. The three have more than 300 million followers combined on various social media platforms.
Trump lost the support of Puerto Rican singer Nicky Jam, who had endorsed him in September.
Many of the events are part of Harris’ “When We Vote We Win” concert series that aims to spur supporters to vote early in key battlegrounds. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor of Harris’ home state of California, announced Wednesday that he’s voting for Harris. She’s likely to have more high-profile endorsers in the coming days.
When she campaigns Wednesday in Wisconsin, her rally in Madison will feature performances from Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons, Remi Wolf and The National’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner. On Thursday, her rally in Arizona was set to have Los Tigres del Norte, a famed norteño band from Sinaloa, Mexico. And Friday, Harris will headline a rally in Las Vegas featuring Maná, a pop rock band from Guadalajara, Mexico, and a speech from Lopez.
Rapper Cardi B will speak at Harris’ rally Friday in Milwaukee.
The 2020 campaign was a celebrity outlier. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, large campaign events were uncommon, especially on the Democratic side. Celebrities appeared in social media videos for then-former Vice President Joe Biden, who went on to defeat Trump.
Trump does enjoy the support of celebrities with a deep appeal to his core base of voters, like singer Lee Greenwood, television personality Dr. Phil McGraw and former football stars Brett Favre, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Country singer Jason Aldean recently spoke at a Trump rally in Georgia, and Nick Bosa, a star defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, recently jumped into a teammate’s post-game interview to show a MAGA hat.
On Wednesday, Trump thanked Favre for endorsing him at a rally in Green Bay, the Wisconsin city where he led the Packers.
But Trump largely doesn’t have an answer for Harris’ celebrity-infused events. Trump, whose career turned him into a celebrity, often provides the star power at his events. And when a celebrity like Hinchcliffe makes headlines at a Trump event, it can cause problems for the Republican campaign.
The focus on celebrity events is typified by raucous events in arenas and often leaves Democrats upbeat and hopeful about their chances. But the strategy can also paint over issues: When crowds are juiced by celebrities and musical performances, problems with a candidate’s message or hold on an important base of voters can be obscured, a trend highlighted by then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss.
The final week of Clinton’s campaign eight years ago was a veritable red carpet of musical icons and celebrities.
Her final rally as a candidate, a feverish event in North Carolina, was headlined by Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga. Her final event with Obama culminated in a performance by Springsteen on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
She capped her campaign in Ohio with a performance from Jay-Z and Beyoncé in Cleveland. And just days earlier, she filled Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami with an eye-popping performance by Lopez.
Days later, Clinton lost North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, and then-businessman Trump was elected president.