Hollywood seems to be rallying along Kamala Harris. Following the music superstar Taylor Swiftt, the wealthiest African-American TV anchor Oprah Winfrey, the Latina superstar Jennifer Lopez, the actress phenomenon Meryl Streep along with Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller and the comedian Chris Rock back Harris, as it shows.
Eva Metis Koutoumanou
On Thursday, Oprah Winfrey welcomed Kamala Harris to a star-studded event where the famous American TV host once again demonstrated her ability to mobilize both stars and social media as well as ordinary American citizens.
Oprah welcomed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to an event reminiscent of talk shows, a genre that made Winfrey famous and which she knows how to handle as much as anyone.
The event, titled "Unite for America," took place in Michigan and was livestreamed from both Winfrey and Harris' accounts on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or Twitch.
Oprah had called for the intervention of many famous music and film stars, from Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, to Ben Stiller and comedian Chris Rock.
The well-known host, a staunch supporter of the Democrats, had also appeared at their Chicago convention in August, where Harris officially accepted the nomination to be the party's nominee in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The Democratic nominee began the conversation with Winfrey by portraying her campaign as a movement for unity.
Harris called on Americans to show unity "in the face of powerful forces that will try to divide us and point fingers at each other," an indirect reference to her rival Donald Trump.
"This movement aims to remind us that what we have in common is more than our differences," he said.
Kamala Harris comfortably answered a series of questions posed by Oprah Winfrey on issues such as immigration, the cost of living and abortion.
In an emotional moment, Harris hugged a 15-year-old girl, Natalie Griffith, who was seriously injured on Sept. 4 when a 14-year-old student opened fire at her school near Atlanta, killing four people.
The Democratic nominee said she owns a gun herself, as does the party's vice-presidential nominee, Tim Walsh.
"If someone breaks into my house, I'll shoot them," Harris said, adding, laughing: "I probably shouldn't have said that. My team will sort it out later."
The vice president told Winfrey she supported the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms.
Harris had referred to the gun in her possession as early as 2019 when she was a senator and again during the debate with Trump in an effort to appeal to more conservative voters.
In a zoom speech, Meryl Streep said she was concerned that Trump would refuse to acknowledge his election defeat, as he did in 2020.
"I wonder if we're ready for Jan. 7," she said, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters in order to block the certification of Joe Biden's victory.
Watch an excerpt of the event
