Harris joins forces with Usher on campaign trail in Georgia

Vice President Harris was joined by singer Usher on the campaign trail in Atlanta on Saturday as she continued her swing across the battleground states nearly two weeks out from Election Day. 

Usher, who spent part of his childhood in Atlanta, spoke to the crowd prior to Harris taking the stage and encouraged the audience to vote early.

“It’s just 17 days away from a very important election,” the singer said. “And we have the opportunity to choose a new generation of leadership for our country.” 

At one point a fan yelled “We love you, Usher,” to which the singer replied, “I love you more, but I love Kamala Harris even more.” 

Usher was the second artist to join Harris on the trail on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Harris was joined by singer Lizzo in Detroit. 

Polls show Trump narrowly leading in Georgia, which President Biden flipped in 2020. According to The Hill/Decisions Desk HQ’s polling average, Trump leads Harris 48.8 percent to 47.2 percent.

Harris continued her campaign’s strategy of attacking Trump’s physical fitness for office, painting a picture of a fatigued former president. 

“Now he is ducking debates and dodging interviews because of exhaustion,” she said, noting that Trump often rambles and “cannot finish a thought.” 

Harris slammed former President Trump on a number of issues at the rally, including abortion. There is currently a six week ban on the procedure in the state, which Harris referred to as a “Trump abortion ban.”

The vice president specifically brought up the death of Amber Thurman, a 28-year-old woman who died from an infection following a rare complication from taking medication abortion. According to Pro-Publica, Thurman waited 20 hours in an Atlanta-area hospital after seeking medical care due to an incomplete abortion before doctors tried to give her a needed treatment.

Harris showed a clip of Trump at a Fox News town hall aimed at women voters earlier this week in which he was asked about Thurman’s family doing a press call as part of a “prebuttal” to Trump’s town hall on the network. 

“That’s nice. We’ll get better ratings, I promise,” Trump said. 

Harris called the comment “cruel.” 

“A grieving family sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation. Where is the compassion?” Harris said. “He belittles their sorrow, making it about himself and his television ratings. It is cruel.” 

Harris encouraged the crowd to vote early and invoked former President Jimmy Carter voting for her early just weeks after his 100th birthday. 

“If Jimmy Carter can vote early, you can too,” Harris said. 

As of Friday, over 1 million votes were cast in Georgia, accounting for 14 percent of active voters in the state. 

During a press conference earlier in the day in Detroit, Mich., Harris said she was encouraged by early voting numbers out of Georgia and North Carolina. Harris was asked about Republicans also taking part in early voting and whether she was concerned. 

"I don’t yet have enough data to tell you who’s voting for who and or how they’re leaning, but I think it’s great that people are turning out and voting and being active,” Harris told reporters. 

Trump was also on the campaign trail on Saturday, holding a rally outside of Pittsburgh in Latrobe, Pa.