Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama exhort Philly supporters to get out and vote for Kamala Harris
The star-powered rally at the Liacouras Center came a day after Harris campaigned in the city.
By now it would be understandable if you were under the impression that the people running for president and their backers think Pennsylvania is important to the outcome of the election.
And that was emphatically in evidence Monday night when a political megastar, former President Barack Obama, and musical superstars Bruce Springsteen and John Legend came to Temple University’s Liacouras Center in North Philly to energize a raucous arena crowd that would rival the attendance — and decibels — of an NCAA tournament game.
After Legend took the stage and started his set with a rendition of Sam Cooke’s soulful civil rights anthem, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Springsteen declared that former President Donald Trump was a “tyrant.”
The GOP presidential nominee “does not understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American,” Springsteen said before launching into his 25-year-old song “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
While the crowd had gathered with a sense of confidence and camaraderie at what was a massive campaign pep rally, the undercurrent was anxiety over a race in Pennsylvania for the state’s 19 precious electoral votes that polls showed was a dead heat entering the final week of the campaign.
“Whether this election is making you feel excited or scared or hopeful or frustrated or anything in between, do not sit back,” Obama told the audience, adding that voters should help friends, family, and coworkers get to the polls.
“If I’m gonna be totally honest, I am a little worried,” said Ryan McCloud, 42, a government worker who recently moved from Georgia to Philadelphia, where he said he would vote for Harris. “It worries me that we’re split down the middle.”
Harris and Trump continue to campaign frantically. Harris campaigned in another swing state, Michigan, on Monday. Trump, whose New York rally Sunday generated widespread criticism — Obama described it as “trotting out and peddling the most racist, sexist, bigoted stereotypes” — was in Georgia.
But Pennsylvania has been a focal point. So far, presidential candidates have made 109 visits to Pennsylvania, by The Inquirer’s count, with more to come. And the Philadelphia region has been a focal point within a focal point.
» READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, and Barack Obama team up on a spirit-raising rally for Harris
Monday’s event came two nights after actors Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Tessa Thompson, and Brian Tyree Henry joined a Harris rally on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and Harris herself spent Sunday campaigning in the city.
While it may appear that campaigning for Harris in Philadelphia, where Democrats hold a 7-1 registration advantage over Republicans, may be akin to preaching to the choir, Harris supporters evidently are intent on making sure the choir members leave the perch and vote. Philly’s turnout has lagged relative to that of its populous collar counties.
As she did Sunday, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker also encouraged voters from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties to cast their votes for Harris.
With wafer-thin margins separating the nominees in recent polls, Monday’s event could have some impact, said Michael Hagen, a political science professor at Temple University. “It doesn’t have to change the minds of a great many people, and it doesn’t have to mobilize a great many people,” he said.
In his remarks, Obama said that while polls show Trump faring better on the economy than Harris, Trump had inherited an economy rebuilt by the Obama administration.
“I had spent the previous eight years cleaning up the mess Republicans had left,” said Obama, referencing the administration of President George W. Bush.
The Obama appearance was a highlight of an event that began with a DJ pumping up the crowd by spinning songs by Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Steve Winwood.
Parker then took the stage to McFadden & Whitehead’s 1979 Philadelphia International Records hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” and shouting out: “John Legend so here! The Boss is here! President Barack Obama is here!”
Parker introduced Legend, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, who exhorted the crowd to vote for Harris, saying Trump was “so toxic, so destructive.”
Outside the basketball arena, crowds had begun gathering hours before the evening event. A long line already wrapped around the facility by 4 p.m. and vendors had tables full of campaign paraphernalia.
About 20 pro-Palestinian protesters critical of the stance on the Israel-Hamas war taken by the administration of President Joe Biden and Harris gathered outside the hall, chanting to the people in line, “You are willing to forgive a genocide” and “bloodthirsty.”
No incidents were reported.
Several get-out-the-vote efforts were also underway, with canvassers taking advantage of the foot traffic.
“It always comes down to Pennsylvania, so we’re just trying to get all of Pennsylvania just to go out and vote,” said Galaina Marsh, 26, who works with the Outreach Team, a nonpartisan voter-mobilization group.
Maureen and Kelly Connors, sisters-in-law from the Philly suburbs, said they saw the rally-concert as the anti-rally to Trump’s Madison Square Garden event on Sunday, during which one comedian referred to Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage.”
Those remarks and others made ahead of Trump’s speech have drawn condemnation, including from several Republicans running for reelection. Latin superstar Bad Bunny endorsed Harris after the comments went viral.
Maureen Connors, 68, said she attended Monday’s event “because anything you do to push forward the Harris campaign, I want to be part of.”
Monday marked the third time Springsteen has endorsed a Trump Democratic opponent. He backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 — making an election eve appearance on Independence Mall — and Joe Biden in 2020. Perhaps he has an attachment to those born to run.
And this will by no means be the last visit on behalf candidates with star power. The Harris campaign announced that Michelle Obama will be in Philly Saturday.
Staff writers Dan DeLuca, Anna Orso, Rob Tornoe, and Nick Vadala contributed to this article.