Photo: Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a wide-ranging interview during a rally that featured virtual appearances from several A-listers.
On Thursday (September 19), Harris and Winfrey teamed up for a live-streamed rally called "Unite for America" where the Democratic nominee discussed hot-button issues, celebrities made virtual cameos, and audience members shared emotional personal stories. Thursday's event was live-streamed from Michigan, a key battleground state in the 2024 election.
“There’s a real feeling of optimism and hope making a comeback … for this new day that is no longer on the horizon but is here. We’re living it,” Oprah told an in-person crowd of 400 and 200,000 virtual attendees.
Celebrities, including Tracee Ellis Ross, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock, and Ben Stiller, made virtual appearances from their living rooms in support of Harris for president.
“I wanna bring my daughters to the White House to meet this Black woman president,” Rock said. “I think she will make a great president and I’m ready to turn the page. All the hate and negativity, it’s gotta stop.”
During the rally, Harris addressed concerns about immigration, the cost of living, and reproductive rights.
The mother and sisters of Amber Nicole Thurman, who was recently reported as the first confirmed "preventable death" due to the abortion ban in Georgia, also attended Thursday's event. Thurman died in 2022, just weeks after Georgia's abortion restrictions went into effect, after doctors hesitated to give her medical care while she was experiencing complications from taking abortion pills.
“You’re looking at a mother who is broken,” Thurman’s mother said. “It’s the worst pain that a parent could ever feel. I want you all to know that Amber was not a statistic. She was loved by a strong family and we would have done whatever to get our baby the help that she needed. Women around the world need to know that this was preventable.”
Harris shared her condolences and noted that former President Donald Trump handpicked the Supreme Court justices who blocked federal abortion protections.
“They did as he intended,” Harris said.
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