Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen rally for Kamala Harris, urge Philadelphians to vote; racist Trump rally remarks draw criticism

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.”

Viktor Skovhauge is a Denmark citizen, but he’s here in the U.S. with a youth group to learn about the U.S. election process, part of that was attending Monday night’s rally where he wore a Harris sticker fastened to his shirt.

What Skovhauge has seen since arriving Sunday evening is “what you don’t get in the papers” in Denmark.

“I find it interesting that when you’re talking to Republicans, they’re like really mad. But when you’re talking to Democrats as well, they’re really mad too. Not mad.., But like angry at what the situation is and everything,” Skovhauge said.

Seeing former President Barack Obama stump for Kamala Harris boosted the spirits of some attendees at the Liacouras Center.

Elkins Park resident Sabrina Lee, 65, started the evening feeling cautiously optimistic. She said she wants to believe the race isn't as close as the polls suggest in Pennsylvania.

“I can't understand the people who are for Trump no matter what comes out of his mouth, the lies he tells, or the cruel statements he makes about his opponent,” she said.

The parade of celebrities and Democratic political heavyweights continues.

As President Barack Obama wrapped his remarks in Philadelphia, the Harris-Walz campaign said former First Lady Michelle Obama would be back in the area on Saturday.

Michelle Obama stumped for Harris in Kalamazoo this weekend where she urged men to support Harris.

Former President Barack Obama wrapped his address at the Liacouras Center with remarks on "real strength," which he said former President Donald Trump has failed to embody.

"Real strength is about helping people who need it, and standing up for those who can't always stand up for themselves," Obama said. "That is what we should want in our daughters and our sons, and that is what I want to see in the next President of the United States."

Harris, Obama added, will possess those qualities in her presidency. But, he said, voters cannot just "hope for the best" on Election Day.

Former President Barack Obama made the case for Vice President Kamala Harris at the Liacouras Center, saying she "doesn't have concepts of a plan, she's got actual plans," referring to a now-infamous line from her debate with former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia last month.

Trump, Obama said, did not solve issues such as immigration while he was in office because he lacked a "real plan" to do so, and allowed hot-button issues to languish in order to use them as talking points during the election.

"We do not need a president who will make problems worse just to make his politics better," Obama said. "We need a president who actually cares about solving problems, not exploiting problems."

Bruce Springsteen came on stage following an impassioned intro from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who cited lyrics from the Boss’ 2012 song “We Take Care Of Our Own,” linking the Boss’ line about “lookin’ for the map that takes me home” to Pennsylvania’s key role in the Nov. 5 election.

Springsteen’s three-song set started off with two spirit-raising hits well-suited to the political occasion, each a statement of concern for the state of the union as the song’s narrator asserts his insistence that America can be a place whose shared values are still worth believing in.

The challenge of that one-two punch of “Promised Land,” one of his benchmark, fist-punching anthems, and “Land of Hope And Dreams,” a gospel-shaped call for all misfits and outcasts, winners and losers to climb aboard a train of inclusion, is that he’s performing them without his trusted compadre in the E Street Band.

President Barack Obama in Philly spoke directly to voters who credit former president Donald Trump with a strong economy during his presidency.

Obama said Trump, who polls stronger on the economy than Vice President Kamala Harris, inherited an economy that Obama had worked to build back up.

“I had spent the previous eight years cleaning up the mess Republicans had left,” Obama said.

Former President Barack Obama addressed former President Donald Trump's controversial Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden, saying that the event's warm-up speakers were "trotting out and peddling the most racist, sexist, bigoted stereotypes."

Obama in particular called out comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's comments in which he referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."

"These are fellow citizens he's talking about," Obama said. "Here in Philadelphia, they are your neighbors. They are your friends. They are your co-workers. Their kids go to school with your kids."

In a speech to 300 supporters at a shooting range outside Allentown, Donald Trump Jr. spoke about the upcoming election in existential terms, casting Vice President Kamala Harris as a “radical liberal” and his father as a figure who “embodies the American spirit.”

During a swing through the Lehigh Valley just a day before former President Donald Trump is scheduled to rally in Allentown, Trump Jr. delivered a free-wheeling speech over about 25 minutes, during which he blasted institutions and officials, and said Trump would usher in economic prosperity.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were the most frequent targets. Trump Jr. described Harris as the “daughter of a Marxist professor” and suggested Walz is not masculine, saying “I don’t think anyone’s been intimidated by his masculinity, ever.”

Former President Barack Obama began his appearance at the Liacouras Center by encouraging attendees to get their mail ballots sent in or vote early by the end of tomorrow if they plan to vote before Election Day.

"Do not dilly or dally — get out there," Obama said. "You do not want to be that person who forgot."

Obama added that he was "preaching to the proverbial choir" at the rally, noting that those in attendance had likely already taken his advice. But, he said, those who voted still had a job to do in encouraging their friends and family to vote also.

The theme of the night was confidence, camaraderie and musical motivation. But the undercurrent was a race in Pennsylvania that remains a dead heat with just a week to go.

And soaking in the soothing vocals of John Legend and the acoustic stylings of Bruce Springsteen were some anxious supporters.

“If I'm gonna be totally honest, I am a little worried,” said Ryan McCloud, a 42-year-old government worker who recently moved from Georgia to Philadelphia, where he will vote for Harris. “I don't think it should be close. It worries me that we're split down the middle. It should be a guarantee and that it’s not — ooph,” he sighed.

After playing his 1978 track "The Promised Land" to open his appearance at the Liacouras Center, Bruce Springsteen told the audience he was in Philadelphia not only to support Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, but to oppose former President Donald Trump's run for office.

Springsteen, who formally endorsed Harris earlier this month, said that the vice president is "running to be the 47th president of the United States," while Trump is "running to be an American tyrant."

"I understand folks having different opinions about things, but this election is about a group of folks who want to fundamentally undermine our American way of life," Springsteen said. "Donald Trump does not understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American."

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker introduced John Legend, who was stumping in Philly for the second-straight day after attending church services with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) on Sunday.

Backed by a three-piece band and three back-up singers, Legend got right into the classic socially conscious soul music canon with Sam Cooke’s Civil Rights “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

The echo-y Liacouras Center is no one’s idea of of an ideal acoustic listening room, but backed by booming drums, Legend had no trouble communicating with his grainy, gospel schooled vocals, though he did sound like all his stumping might have left him with a minor head cold.

Amid a performance break at the Liacouras Center, musical artist John Legend encouraged attendees to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, saying that the contrast between her and former President Donald Trump "could not be clearer."

"Seven million folks decisively fired Donald Trump from his job," Legend said, referring to the 2020 presidential election. "If you had the good sense to fire someone who was obviously so terrible at their job, so toxic, so destructive, Philadelphia, there's not way — no way in hell — you would rehire that person."

Harris, he added, is "clearly a better option."

A giant inflatable orange cat named Mr. Rigs, installed by the group Pennsylvania Together, encouraged people to look at Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal that would tax long-term capital gains for those earning a million dollars a year or more at 28%.

Dwayne Heisler took to Montgomery Avenue with a megaphone, a roll of stickers, and a sign with a QR code in hopes of educating people about Pennsylvania Together’s views on taxing the ultra wealthy and large corporations.

Monday’s event was the perfect opportunity to spread Pennsylvania Together’s message, Heisler said.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s “One Philly” message has gotten some suburban love on the trail.

In consecutive speeches at events for Vice President Kamala Harris Sunday and Monday Parker has encouraged Philly to turn out and given an added shout out to the suburbs saying together they will show the force of the Southeast.

A lot of attention has been on Philadelphia turnout which has lagged in its share relative to blue-ing suburban counties but Parker makes a point to join the region at events that draw from it.

Maureen and Kelly Connors, sister-in-laws from the Philly suburbs, see Monday’s hybrid rally-concert as the anti-rally to former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday.

“If you look at last night’s event with Trump, they report on the size of his crowd, they report on what was going on, and it has an impact. And so for tonight, I wanted to come because anything you do to push forward the Harris campaign, I want to be part of,” said Maureen Connors, 68.

The pair, who were attending the event with Maureen’s brother, Brian Connors, were adamant that Monday's event needed to be about getting people to the polls rather than persuading voters to their side.

The racist comments made at former President Donald Trump’s rally inside Madison Square Garden on Sunday were top of mind for some Latino voters who came out to the Liacouras Center to support Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign.

South Philly resident Jennifer Castro, 40, is Puerto Rican and described feeling very “disappointed in hearing that type of rhetoric and those comments” from Trump surrogates.

Castro said she and her husband Greg Labier, 39, wanted to show their support for Harris, the candidate who wanted to lift everyone up.

The Republican Party urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to block a ruling from Pennsylvania’s highest court that allows voters whose mail ballots have been rejected for procedural errors to still vote in-person on Election Day.

The Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania GOP said the decision last week by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ignores the plain language of state laws governing voting by mail and could affect which presidential candidate is named the winner in the key battleground state.

“This case is of paramount public importance, potentially affecting tens of thousands of votes in a state which many anticipate could be decisive in control of the U.S. Senate or even the 2024 Presidential election,” the parties wrote in their filing to the Supreme Court. “Whether that crucial election will be conducted under the rules set by the General Assembly or under the whims of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is an important constitutional question meriting this court’s immediate attention.”

Inside the arena a DJ blasted LMFAO and Whitney Houston as people danced and waved blue “Pennsylvanians for Harris Walz” signs.

A huge “When We Vote We Win” banner was hanging from the risers.

The 10,000-seat arena was mostly full, floor to stands with some empty seats in the upper bowl as people continued to file in.

The current state of the presidential race in Pennsylvania and nationwide is a game of small margins so any effort — including Monday night’s event for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign with former President Barakc Obama and Bruce Springsteen at Temple — has the potential to move the needle in one way or another, said Michael Hagen, 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,” Hagen said. “I suspect they're more intent on mobilization at this point in the campaign and at this location than they are in trying to persuade people to come over to their side. But, I think some people will be enthused. I think both of these people, both of these speakers, are capable of lighting a fire under people and a big crowd can have that effect as well.”

The Harris campaign has particularly focused on the North Philadelphia area in recent weeks, including the vice president’s swing through the city on Sunday. And on Monday, Obama and Springsteen will hold their hybrid concert-rally at the North Philly basketball arena. But Hagen has assessed the Harris team’s outreach to North Philly voters as “solid, but unremarkable” and Temple students’ enthusiasm appears to be “quite a mixed bag.”

President Barack Obama’s speech at the Liacouras Center Monday evening serves as an important throwback for Temple students who grew up during and were inspired by his presidency.

“We were all very young, and so he took up a big chunk of our lives as our president,” said Lourdes Cardamone, president of Temple Democrats. “So he's just a very impactful and empowering speaker, especially among young people, very much embodies the future that we were promised. We got to grow up with the first Black president of the United States, and that was amazing and empowering.”

And the Boss’ appearance is enough to get parents and family members of Temple students to come to campus, she said.

The blocks surrounding the Liacouras Center on Temple University's campus have been buzzing since early morning, ahead of a rally featuring former president Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, and John Legend.

A long line already wrapped around the facility by 4 p.m. and various vendors had tables full of Harris-Walz pins, hats, and t-shirts ready to go.

The vendors also had Trump merchandise tucked away in bags, but one seller said no one had asked for it.

Congressional representatives from New York City on Monday condemned a standup comedian's racist joke about Puerto Rico made at former President Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally, with one saying that it is likely to cost Trump Pennsylvania's critical Electoral College votes.

"Basically, he said goodbye to Pennsylvania,” Rep. Nydia Velázquez said, according to the New York Times.

Velázquez was joined by fellow Democratic Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Dan Goldman, and Tom Suozzi at an event in East Harlem. Often referred to as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio, the neighborhood is among New York City's largest Latino communities, and is home to a substantial population of Puerto Ricans.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Shapiro, 51, will make his late-night debut as he cements himself as a top Democratic surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris, after he was passed over to be her running mate earlier this year.

Several other rising stars in the Democratic Party have appeared on the late-night show in recent months — such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — though with different hosts.

Vice President Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s Sunday rally, where several speakers made crude and racist remarks, “more of the same, and maybe more vivid than usual.”

“He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself, and on dividing our country,” Harris told reporters at Join Base Andrews Monday, ahead of a trip to Michigan. “Thats’s why people are exhausted with him.”

“If he were elected, on day one he’s going to be sitting in the Oval Office working on his enemies list,” Harris added “On day one, if I’m elected president United States, which I fully intend to be, I will be working on behalf of the American people on my to-do list.”

More than a dozen Latino community leaders gathered in Fairhill Monday to condemn racist comments levied against Puerto Ricans at former President Donald Trump’s Sunday rally.

The dominant message: “Our frustration and our anger should be turning into voting,” said Reading Mayor Eddie Morán, who is Puerto Rican. He was flanked by Philadelphia City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, State Rep. Danilo Burgos, and representatives from several community organizations.

Organized by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, the last-minute convening was a response to racist comments comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made about Puerto Rico — and Latinos more broadly — to the fluff the crowd at Trump’s rally inside Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

On Sunday, former President Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden where some speakers casually tossed out racist insults, including one comedian who referred to Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage.”

The remarks and others made ahead of Trump’s speech have drawn widespread criticism, including from several Republicans running for reelection. Latin superstar Bad Bunny endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after the comments went viral.

In a Monday morning interview on WILK Newsradio in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the comments made Trump and surrogates look like “pathetic, weak bullies."

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Monday sued to halt Elon Musk’s $1 million daily giveaway to voters in battleground states including Pennsylvania, calling it an illegal lottery that skirts state requirements and violates consumer protection laws.

The suit, filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, is the first legal action challenging the controversial sweepstakes launched earlier this month by Musk’s America PAC. It comes a week after the U.S. Justice Department similarly warned the tech billionaire that the giveaway violates federal laws banning inducements to voters.

But Musk, so far, has ignored that warning and continued his pledge to dole out awards to registered voters in seven battleground states every day until Election Day. His PAC has given away more than $9 million — nearly half of it to Pennsylvania voters.

Bad Bunny threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday by sharing a video of the Democratic presidential nominee shortly after a comedian at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” angering artists and some Hispanic Republicans.

Bad Bunny, whose official name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the most famous artists of the moment. His backing could be a boost for the Harris campaign as it tries to bolster its support with Latino voters, among whom Trump has been working to gain ground.

The video Bad Bunny shared with his 45 million Instagram followers shows Harris saying “there’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico.” A representative of the artist confirmed that Bad Bunny is supporting Harris.

John Legend, the singer and songwriter with roots in Philadelphia, will join Bruce Springsteen and former President Barack Obama at a get-out-the-vote concert in Philadelphia Monday.

Legend, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, is one of a dozen celebrities and high-profile politicians who have campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia over the last week. Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro were in the city for an event Saturday. Harris herself campaigned across the city Sunday.

Monday night’s event at the Liacouras Center on Temple University’s campus is part of a concert series the Harris campaign has launched in cities across the country.

If you were hoping to cast your ballot by mail in Pennsylvania, you'll need to take action by the end of the day Tuesday.

The deadline to apply for a mail ballot from your county election office is 5 p.m. Tuesday. All Pennsylvania voters can apply to vote by mail – you can find information on how to apply here.

The mail ballot application can be accessed here and you can find your local board of elections’ office addresses and contact information here.

With just over a week left until Election Day, former President Barack Obama and music superstar Bruce Springsteen are holding a concert and rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia Monday.

Obama and the Boss hope to help convince Philly voters to cast their ballots for Harris on Nov. 5, even as polls show a tight race in Pennsylvania against former President Donald Trump.

Harris won’t be attending the event — after spending all day Sunday campaigning across Philadelphia, the vice president is holding a rally in Michigan with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and singer Maggie Rogers.

As Kamala Harris started speaking to congregants at a Black Evangelical church in West Philadelphia, a woman in the balcony shouted: “You already won!”

The vice president’s response was immediate: “God expects us to help him,” she said, pointing upward. “We got work to do.”

How heavily Philadelphia turns out in the next nine days could be the key to whether Harris wins Pennsylvania. And on a sunny autumn Sunday, Harris stopped in Black and Latino neighborhoods from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., reinforcing the city’s importance in the presidential election.

Donald Trump hosted a rally featuring crude and racist insults at New York’s Madison Square Garden Sunday, turning what his campaign had dubbed as the event where he would deliver his closing message into an illustration of what turns off his critics.

With just over a week before Election Day, speakers labeled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris “the devil,” and said the woman vying to become the first woman and Black woman president had begun her career as a prostitute.

“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comic whose set also included lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and Black people, all key constituencies in the election just nine days away.

The woods behind Montgomery Presbyterian Church in Lansdale looked like a graveyard for fallen Kamala Harris signs. About 250 were lying among the dirt and overgrown grass, said Mike Holsonback, the volunteer with the Worcester PA Democrats who discovered them in mid-October.

About 150 signs were salvaged and returned to local Democratic committees. The rest were stuffed in three trash bags, Holsonback said, torn beyond repair.

“I was disgusted,” said Holsonback, 49. “It’s one thing to steal or vandalize somebody’s signs. It’s another to just throw them in the woods.”