Katy Perry takes to stage for Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives supporters a thumbs up after speaking at a rally, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Credit: AP / Wilfredo Lee
PHILADELPHIA — Democrat Hillary Clinton shared the stage with pop singer Katy Perry on Saturday night as part of her campaign’s final push to rally supporters in key battleground states with the help of her celebrity supporters.
“More than 37 1⁄2 million people in our country have already voted,” Clinton told the crowd of thousands gathered at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. “Now why are they out there voting? Because I believe they are standing up for a hopeful inclusive vision of America. I’m asking you to stand up for that same vision when you come out to vote on November 8.”
Perry, a longtime Clinton supporter, whose song “Roar” is routinely played at Clinton’s campaign rallies, performed in front of a backdrop that read, “Love Trumps Hate.”
“What are you going to do on November 8?” Perry yelled to the crowd, who shouted back “Vote!”
U.S. Sen Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and actress Debra Messing were among the other high-profile campaign surrogates who introduced Clinton to the stage.
“This is a party with a purpose — we have three days left,” Booker said.
The concert came a day after Clinton joined pop singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay Z at a Cleveland campaign rally that drew 10,000 people, and follows a two-week blitz of free campaign concerts in swing states including Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, where polls show Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are running neck-and-neck.
Jennifer Lopez, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend, Marc Anthony, Stevie Wonder and Cher are among the entertainers who have hit the campaign trail for Clinton in the past two weeks. Her campaign announced on Saturday she would join singer James Taylor for a campaign concert in New Hampshire on Sunday.
Clinton, who kicked off her day of campaigning in South Florida, touted the celebrity support when speaking to rain-drenched supporters at an outdoor rally held at C.B. Smith Park in the Miami suburb of Pembroke Pines.
“When a famous entertainer says ‘hey I want to support you and help get out the vote’ that is such a gift,” Clinton said, adding that her “favorite part” of the Cleveland concert was the “pantsuits” worn by Beyoncé and her backup dancers.
Trump took aim at Clinton’s celebrity endorsements, telling an audience at a Hershey, Pennsylvania campaign rally on Friday: “I didn’t have to bring J-Lo or Jay Z. I’m here all by myself. Just me. No guitar. No piano. No nothing.”
The former secretary of state’s appearance in the Sunshine State, where polls show her leading Trump by a narrow 1.2 point average, was cut short by the heavy downpour.
Clinton wrapped up her remarks in less than 10 minutes, calling her supporters a “hearty bunch” for standing in the rain to hear her speak.
“I don’t think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump,” Clinton said. “I want to be the president for everybody, everybody who agrees with me, people who don’t agree with me, people who vote for me, people who don’t vote for me.”
On Saturday, Clinton also held a phone conference call with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and young campaign workers and volunteers, aimed at shoring up last-minute support among millennial generation voters.
“I really believe you will decide this election,” Clinton told those on the line. “I’m hoping you make sure you tell everyone you know to come out and vote.”
Sanders, whose failed White House bid was largely propelled by young voters, described the election as one “of enormous consequence” that would alter “which direction your lives are going to take.”
He cast Trump as a divisive figure, saying the real estate mogul has made “the cornerstone of his campaign trying to divide us up.”
“In our country, as all of you know, we have struggled for hundreds of years with racism, sexism … discrimination of all forms … we need a president that will bring us together,” Sanders said.
Clinton’s appearance in Philadelphia comes as state polls show her leading Trump by 2.4 percentage points, according to the poll-tracking website Real Clear Politics.
Mordale English, a 60-year-old Clinton supporter, who brought her grandson, a Katy Perry fan, to the event said she was not concerned by the narrow polling margin.
“She has shown she is qualified,” English said of Clinton. “It’s time to have a lady in the White House, and I think she is the one to do it.”
Kriss Ball, an 18-year-old who identifies as transgender, said the prospect of a Trump presidency was “terrifying.”
“He’s scary for me,” said Ball, a first-time voter who drove six hours from Youngstown, Ohio, for the event. “I’m afraid for my own safety if he gets elected because of all the division he breeds.”
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
