In an effort to unite voters and surge turnout for the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris and media mogul Oprah Winfrey hosted a virtual event in battleground Michigan on Sept. 19.
It has been 61 days since President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and anointed his VP; in that time, she has yet to hold a press conference.
Filmed from a studio in Farmington Hills and live-streamed online, their “Unite for America” featured personal stories related to the issues Harris champions, including abortion access and ending gun violence. She also fielded questions on immigration and the rising cost of living.
As Ms. Harris notches up a string of friendly encounters, the public is left wondering whether she has the capability to deal with anything more challenging.
And these concerns are beginning to reverberate beyond the electorate.
As Jacob Burg reports via The Epoch Times, the 90-minute event showcased more than 140 pro-Harris grassroots groups appearing virtually to appeal to undecided voters in key battleground states and throughout the country.
“Tonight is all about leaving this moment here and figuring out what it is you can do in your own home in your own community, in your own district to spread the word and spread the vote,” Winfrey told the audience.
Harris campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said her team sees the 2024 election as a “margin of error race” statistically.
Many national and swing state polls show that Harris and former President Donald Trump remain neck and neck, even as both candidates crawl toward marginal leads in key states.
“It’s tied right here in Michigan. It’s tied in all the battleground states. So it’s going to take all of us to build a pathway, many pathways, to 270 electoral votes. That’s what we’re focused on,” O'Malley Dillon said.
Tracey Ly, a regional organizing director for the Nevada Democratic Party, appeared by video and said the evening was about getting as many voters active as possible in what is still a razor-thin election.
By the end of the stream, more than 300,000 viewers were watching from home.
Attendees in studio included actors Bryan Cranston, Chris Rock, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, and Meryl Streep appearing via webcam.
Along with the grassroots organizations, the celebrities were stumping for Harris and urging any remaining undecided voters to support the vice president.
“I do know that I’m in a position to do something about it, so I felt a great responsibility and the incredible power of the people,” Harris said.
“We’re all leaders in this. This is so much bigger than me. It’s about who we are as Americans, and it’s about making clear what we stand for,” Harris added.
Harris answered questions on immigration and the rising cost of living.
When asked how she would solve the country’s illegal immigration crisis, Harris blamed Trump for telling congressional Republicans to vote against the failed bipartisan border bill and reiterated her intention to pursue the legislation if elected.
While discussing her stance on guns, Harris pushed for gun control laws and confirmed that she supports the Second Amendment.
Winfrey said she was surprised when Harris revealed during the ABC debate with Trump that she owned a gun.
“If somebody breaks in my house, they’re getting shot,” Harris joked in response.
“I probably should not have said that; my staff will deal with that later.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also appeared and underscored the state’s critical battleground status in the race for the Electoral College.
“I think we’ve got to do the hard work. In 2016, we were short 11,000 votes. That’s two votes per precinct, which tells you that a conversation you have with a loved one or a neighbor or a fellow parishioner, whomever in your life you can talk to, we’ve got to do it,” the governor said.
But, as Mark Angelides reports for LibertyNation.com, each topic was an opportunity to emote and display compassion. It was televisual schmaltz of the highest order, failing to demonstrate depth or substance.
Despite the streaming audience numbers, Angelides does point out one fact that is likely worrying the Harris campaign team - the fraying support of the fourth estate.
It is no secret that Kamala Harris is the current darling of the legacy media establishment – as was Joe Biden until about ten minutes after his disastrous debate performance exposed said media as aiding and abetting in his cognitive decline coverup. And yet, what should have been the event of the election season, Oprah Winfrey, in conversation with the potential POTUS, received scant attention from those who relish such celebrity connections.
DC’s most prominent news outlet posted just a single story on its digital front page concerning the event – and this was way below the fold. The New York Times also posted only one story – again, well below the fold. CBS had one; ABC had none. In fact, the only major outlet that headlined the campaign showcase was CNN.
This is not to suggest that the Fourth Estate’s infatuation with whichever candidate has a “D” next to his or her name is over – far from it. But tensions are mounting. A former Los Angeles bureau chief for The Times, Todd Purdum, published a guest piece in his former paper lamenting Harris’ lack of substance in dealing directly with questions. He declared:
“Writing about politicians for decades has convinced me that direct, succinct answers and explanations from Ms. Harris would go a long way - perhaps longer than she realizes - toward persuading voters that they know enough about her and her plans.”
This was not a condemnation, however, but a plea for substance.
He continued, “[I]n a campaign in which Donald Trump fills our days with arrant nonsense and dominates the national discussion … the vice president can’t afford to stick only to rehearsed answers and stump speeches that might not persuade voters or shape what America is talking about.”
Watch the full lovefest below (we dare you!!!)
For decades, the Wolverine State has been part of the “blue wall” of northern states—along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania - that has leaned toward Democrats in presidential races. Trump broke the “blue wall” in 2016 and won Michigan by less than half a percent of the vote, but Biden clinched the state in 2020 with a margin of more than 2 percent.
Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have made repeat campaign stops in Michigan since the Republican National Convention in July, underscoring the state’s importance in winning the White House.
