A
star-studded virtual event hosted by Oprah Winfrey Thursday night to build
enthusiasm for Kamala Harris' campaign was marked by teary moments and
celebrity endorsements, drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers across social
media.
Winfrey
hosted the "Unite for America" event with activist group Win with
Black Women, that aimed to
register people to vote and bolster Harris in states such
as Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan that are set to decide the Nov. 5
election.
Shanette
Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year old Georgia woman
who died in
August 2022 after a hospital treatment delay related to the
state's restrictive abortion laws, told the audience: "You're looking at a
mother that is broken, the worst pain ever that a mother, that a parent can
ever feel."
Harris
responded: "I'm just so sad. And the courage that you all have shown is
extraordinary." Many in the studio audience of about 400 were in tears.
Natalie
Griffith, a 15-year-old student from Apalachee High School in Georgia who was
shot twice while in math class two weeks ago, sat with her parents in the front
row.
“What are we
doing?” asked Natalie’s mother, Marilda Griffith. “We have a job, that job is
to protect our children. We have to stop it," she said, as she and some in
the audience, virtual and in-person, cried.
Harris and
Democrats have promised to restore national abortion rights impacted by a 2022
Supreme Court decision and pass a ban on assault weapons often used in mass
shootings.
Celebrities
including comedians Chris Rock and Ben Stiller along with actors Julia Roberts,
Meryl Streep and Bryan Cranston joined the event and offered their reasons for
backing Harris or peppered her with questions.
"I want
to bring my daughters to the White House to meet this Black woman
president," Rock said.
Winfrey
noted Harris' swift transformation after President Joe Biden stepped out of the
race in late July, lauding Harris for "stepping into her power."
"You
know we each have those moments in our lives when its time to step up,"
Harris said. Before Biden was forced out, Harris' strength as a presidential
candidate was questioned by
some Democrats in Washington, including Biden. But she has
revived Democrats' chances, bringing in new fundraising and enthusiasm.
Harris had
an unguarded moment, when Winfrey said she was unaware that Harris was a gun
owner until her debate with Republican opponent Donald Trump.
“If somebody
breaks in my house, they’re getting shot,” Harris said. "Probably should
not have said that," she added.
Harris
campaign advisers say nearly 200,000 people signed up to watch the livestream,
and its YouTube audience was nearly 100,000 by the end. Instagram, Facebook,
Tiktok and Twitch accounts for both Winfrey and Harris also showed the event.
Dozens of
grassroots groups including Latinas for Harris, White Dudes for Harris and Win
With Black Men that held virtual organizing and fundraising calls in the days
after Harris became the Democratic nominee and Thursday marked the first time
they all joined in one event.
In a recent
Reuters poll, Harris led Trump 47% to 42%.
Harris was
ahead in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada
and North Carolina, while Trump had greater support in Georgia, according to
polling averages from aggregator FiveThirtyEight. They are tied in Arizona.
“And while
we have this extraordinary growing enthusiasm that the Vice President and
Governor Walz are seeing everywhere, we are still in a margin of error race.
It's tied. It's tied right here in Michigan. It's tied in all the battleground
states," campaign chief Jen O’Malley Dillon told the crowd.
Earlier
Wednesday, pro-Palestinian grassroots organization the Uncommitted National
Movement which has a large presence in Michigan, announced it
was not endorsing Harris, even as the group said it also opposes
Trump and does not encourage votes for third-party candidates.