Shortly before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage on the “Rocky Steps” of the Philadelphia Art Museum at her final rally before Election Day, billionaire Oprah Winfrey declared her fear a Donald Trump presidency could curtail Americans’ right to vote.
Winfrey was introduced by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff around 11 PM ET on Monday, and brought to the dais with her 10 first-time voters who have or will be casting a ballot for Harris, including MLS Philadelphia Union forward Eddy Davis III.
Winfrey recounted hiking on a recent Sunday and meeting a woman who said she would “sit this [election] out.”
“So I said, ‘sit this one out’. We don’t get to sit this one out. — If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again.”
“And let me be very clear, if you do not make sure that the people in your life can get to the polls, that is a mistake.”
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Oprah Winfrey speaks on stage during Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
Winfrey added that supporting Harris is a vote to protect and defend the Constitution.
She also quoted from former President John F. Kennedy’s “ask not what you can do for your country” address, adding “what you can do for every young woman who has died because she was not eligible to receive the emergency medical care she desperately needed because of the abortion ban – and what you can do for yourself and what you can do for everyone and everything you cherish, is vote.”
Winfrey was followed by musician Will.i.am. The performer, whose real name is William Adams Jr., performed a song with the refrain “Yes, She Can,” in support of Harris.
In her address, Harris said her campaign has shown “who America is,” and that “we are all in this together.”
“Philadelphia; are you ready to do this?” she asked, adding the city was where “democracy was forged,” and nodded to the 1976 Sylvester Stallone classic in saying the location of the rally was a “tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory.”
Harris called Tuesday the “most consequential election of our lifetimes, and the momentum is on our side.”
Our campaign has tapped into the ambitions and the aspirations and the dreams of the American people. We are optimistic, and we are excited about what we can do together. And we know it is time for a new generation of leadership in America. And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America.”
Harris went on to pledge that she will be a president who knows the “true measure of a leader is not based on who you beat down but who you lift up.”
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“It is my pledge to you that if you give me a chance to fight on your behalf as president, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way… Instead of stewing over an enemies list, I will spend every day on your behalf working on my to-do list full of priorities to improve your lives.”
Chants of “we are not going back” soon erupted.
She added that she will listen to people who disagree with her and that they will have a “seat at the table” as is custom for “strong leaders.”
“I pledge to put country above party and self and to be a president for all Americans,” she said. “We are the promise of America.”
Harris also credited Republicans who may or may not have ever voted for a Democrat in the past but endorsed her in this cycle. Such figures have included former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., former Pence aide Olivia Troye, former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci, former Melania Trump aide Stephanie Grisham, former G.W. Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Reagan-era FBI Director William Webster.
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“Tonight, we finish as we started with optimism, with energy, with joy, knowing that ‘we the people’ have the power to shape our future and that we can confront any challenge we face when we do it together,” Harris said, later adding, “When we fight, we win.”
Other speakers at the rally included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro – widely considered the runner-up to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the vice presidential sweeps. Shapiro also noted Philadelphia’s prominence in the founding of America, adding, “we are not going back to a king.”
In an apparent response to a comic at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally making a crack about Puerto Rico being an “island of garbage,” two Puerto Rican musicians took the stage Monday night.
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Rapper Fat Joe said, “I heard they needed a Puerto Rican in Philly, and I was so happy to be here” and slammed Trump’s comments about the immigration crisis at his first campaign launch:
“Seeing Donald Trump come down that escalator and call my Mexican brothers and sisters rapists and drug dealers, he obviously didn’t know the contributions of Mexican-Americans to this country,” the Bronx-born Joe, né Joseph Antonio Cartagena, said.
San Juan-born Ricky Martin later took the stage and performed his 1999 hit “Livin’ La Vida Loca” before also endorsing Harris.