Kamala Harris sat down with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday, September 19, for a virtual rally tilted Oprah Town Hall, which included 400 in-person attendees and more than 200,000 others who tuned in, including celebrities like Tracee Ellis Ross, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller, and Chris Rock, who expressed their enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket. Among the enthusiastic celebrities, it was great to see Streep, the ultimate screen legend, get flustered in front of Harris as she greeted her.
“Hello, President Harris,” the Only Murders in the Building star said before covering her mouth, saying, “Oops!”
“Forty-seven days,” Harris reminded Streep, containing her laugh.
The 2024 US presidential election, which will see Harris-Walz battle for the Capitol Hill seat against Trump and Vance, is scheduled for November 5.
Among other celebrities to interact with the current VP was comedian Chris Rock, who expressed that he couldn’t wait to take his daughters to the White House to meet “this Black woman president.” Rock said he believes Harris will make a “great president” while emphasizing his reasons for endorsing her, i.e., “All the hate and negativity” has got to stop.
Besides engaging with the stars supporting her and her running mate, Harris discussed a wide array of issues with Oprah, including female reproductive rights and gun violence.
The family of Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who lost her life after failing to receive medical care in 2022 when she swallowed abortion pills just weeks after Georgia implemented the abortion ban, was present in the crowd. A recent report, cited by The Guardian, deemed her the first “preventable” death confirmed as a result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The still-grieving mother told Harris at the event that her daughter was reduced to a statistic when she was loved by a strong family who would have done anything in their power to get their beloved the help she needed.
Harris expressed her condolences to the family on Thursday and emphasized that, during his previous term, Trump appointed the three Supreme Court justices intending to ban abortion nationwide.
Regarding the Second Amendment, Harris emphasized her support, revealing she herself is a gun owner. “If someone breaks into my house, they’re getting shot,” she said before biting her tongue and adding, “I probably should not have said that. My staff will deal with that later.”
When asked by Oprah about her thoughts on learning of Biden’s withdrawal from the election and his endorsement of her as the Democratic presidential candidate, Harris admitted she “felt a sense of responsibility” following his decision because there’s a lot at stake for America in the coming days.
Despite the election looking more favorable for Harris-Walz than Trump-Vance to the naked eye, according to a recent poll from The New York Times, the race to the presidential seat remains intense, with both candidates polling at 47%.
