The superstar Usher danced out onto the stage in Atlanta on Saturday to rally support for Kamala Harris and urge voters in the crucial battleground state to vote early for the vice president.
‘We have the opportunity to choose a new generation of leadership for our country,’ Usher said.
‘We’re here to support the next President of the United States: Kamala, Kamala Harris, ladies and gentlemen.’
The Grammy winner and recent Super Bowl halftime performer said he is supporting the vice president because ‘she fights for everyone’s rights, for freedom.’
‘It doesn’t matter where you’re from. She has a vision for our country that includes everyone,’ the 46-year-old went on, sticking with a positive message.
He called it a vision ‘that supports small business, invests in our health and our communities and gives everyone a chance to get ahead.’
Usher, clad in a white turtleneck and long dress coat despite the warm weather, warned Atlanta they have ‘work to do’ to get the campaign across the finish line.
‘We can made a difference in this election Georgia, but we got to be committed to do it,’ he said.
His remarks come as former President Donald Trump appears to have a slight edge in the swing state, and Democrats have concerns about Harris shoring up enough support among black men.
‘We’ve lived through some very unfortunate realities of our past. However, we must learn from those moments and understand that the voice that we have makes the difference for what we want to see,’ the Atlanta native said.
Usher made the stop fresh off his tour which has concert dates this week in Atlanta.
He said how people vote will affect the lives of their children, grandchildren and the ‘people who we love the most’ and urged people to vote for a future they want their loved ones to ‘thrive in.’
Harris spoke moments later after being introduced by an 18-year-old first time voter where she thanked ‘Err-sher – Usher’ with a laugh.
During her remarks, Harris blasted Trump claiming he is ducking interviews and another debate because of ‘exhaustion.’
She also accused him of rambling and said ‘he calls it the weave,’ but she calls it ‘nonsense.’
The vice president stuck mostly with her stump speech where she talks about her economic agenda, but she also slammed the ex-president over abortion rights. Her focus on issue received some of the biggest applause lines of the night from the crowd.
In an emotional moment at the rally, Harris played a video about of 28-year-old Amber Thurman of Georgia. Earlier this year, ProPublica reported Thurman’s death was likely preventable had she had access to abortion care in the state.
The video featured Thurman’s mother who blamed the overturning of Roe v Wade and Trump for her daughter’s death.
The vice president also played a clip of Trump at a recent Fox News town hall in Georgia responding to Thurman’s family criticizing his appearance in the state earlier this week. The former president joked about getting better ratings.
The crowd at Harris’ rally booed and hissed in response as the clip played.
‘A grieving family sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation, where is the compassion?’ Harris asked.
‘You know, part of what’s wrong with what’s been happening in this so-called Trump era is that there’s this backward notion that somehow the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of what we know which is that the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up,’ she said.
Harris said the clip showed the ex-president belittles sorrow and makes it about himself and television ratings.
‘It is cruel,’ she said.
Thurman’s family including her parents was in attendance Saturday evening as the vice president pledged to them that if Congress sends her a bill restoring the protections of Roe, she would sign it if elected.
Crowds of Harris supporters decked out in bedazzled Kamala t-shirts, Harris-Walz hats, and more, lined up outside the outdoor Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta for hours to enter the event.
The Harris campaign estimated there were 11,000 people in attendance.
Inside the amphitheater, a massive ‘Georgia Voters Early’ sign was on full display as two ‘Vote’ signs flanked either side of the stage.
The first day of early voting in Georgia crushed previous records. More than 310,000 people cast ballots on the first day of early in-person voting in the state on Tuesday.
In the first four days of early in-person voting, more than 1.2 million people cast ballots ahead of the November election.
On Saturday, voters in the state broke another record with the most ballots cast on a Saturday for a general election. By halfway through the afternoon, more than 102,000 people had cast ballots that day.
In the Atlanta suburbs, DailyMail.com observed a steady flow of people showing up throughout the day to cast their ballots. Voters praised a smooth process with organized staff and short wait times.
Harris’ rally in Atlanta was her first appearance in the state since early voting began on Tuesday. At her rally, she urged supporters to vote early and noted former President Jimmy Carter at 100 years old voted early for her in the election.
Polls show a razor-thin race nationally as well as in the state. The Real Clear Politics average has Donald Trump up just over one point in Georgia with just 17 days to go before Election Day.
President Biden won the state in 2020 by just over 11,000 votes. He was the first Democrat to win the state since President Bill Clinton in 1992.
Trump won Georgia in 2016 by more than 200,000 votes.
The Harris campaign needs to see strong turnout from voters in the cities as well as surrounding suburbs to repeat Democrats’ 2020 victory.
The Harris campaign is running the largest in-state operation of any Democratic presidential campaign ever this cycle in the state with over 200 staff and 32 coordinated offices.
It is not only focused on urban and suburban voters but trying to drive up support in rural counties.
Some 40,000 volunteers are on the ground helping since the vice president launched her campaign.
It’s also bringing out its campaign heavy hitters for the final stretch of the race.
Harris will be back in Atlanta on Thursday when she has her first in-person campaign event alongside President Obama, who has been holding solo campaign events for the vice president across battleground states in recent weeks.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, Harris was in Detroit where she spoke at Western International High School.
The singer Lizzo also made an appearance at the event as Democrats look to turn out voters in the battleground with early in-person voting starting a week from Saturday.
To mark the start of early in-person voting in Michigan, former First Lady Michelle Obama will be heading to the state for her first 2024 campaign event next Saturday alongside the vice president.