Supporters cheer during a campaign rally with former US President Barack Obama supporting US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the James R Hallford Stadium in Clarkston, Georgia on October 24, 2024. (AFP)
HOUSTON – The US election takes a detour from the swing state circuit to reliably Republican Texas on Friday as Kamala Harris rallies with pop superstar Beyonce and Donald Trump sits down with the country’s biggest podcaster.
Texas is an unorthodox stop just days before November 5 Election Day, especially for Harris who is otherwise spending almost every hour available in the seven battleground states set to tip the overall vote.
But the Democratic team is gambling that its star-studded show — also featuring country legend Willie Nelson — will energize the campaign ahead of the final week and give Harris a huge stage to highlight Republican restrictions on abortion.
Beyonce’s backing for Harris comes on top of an endorsement from Taylor Swift and campaign appearances from artists including Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem and Usher.
The “Crazy in Love” singer will appear alongside Harris in Houston, while Trump will be in Austin, taping an interview with Joe Rogan, who hosts the United States’ most popular podcast.
The race is too close to call, according to polls. A New York Times/Siena College survey released Friday showed Trump and Harris tied at 48 percent each.
Harris’s shortened campaign started out on a joyful note over the summer but has taken a more somber turn as she makes her closing pitch, painting Trump as a fascist who cannot be trusted with power again.
Her latest ads focus on her opponent as “unhinged, unstable and unchecked” while Trump’s campaign has characterized Harris in its TV spots as dangerously “woke” and an extension of the unpopular Biden administration.
At his rallies, Trump has been laser-focused on immigration and he described the United States as a “garbage can for the world” while campaigning in Arizona on Thursday — the latest in a string of divisive comments on border security.
Harris is banking on the issue of abortion to help sell her message that Trump is a threat to Americans’ freedoms.
Viral moments
November’s presidential election will be the first held after a 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturned nationwide protection of abortion.
And in her campaign, Harris has repeatedly linked Trump — who took credit for the abortion ruling after reshaping the court — to shocking stories of women who have been denied vital reproductive health care.
Republican-led Texas prohibits all abortions except in rare cases.
Friday’s show will mark Beyonce’s first appearance with Harris, although the 32-time Grammy Award-winner has performed for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Harris got permission to use the singer’s hit “Freedom” as the anthem for her White House campaign.
Both election candidates have sought to broaden their support by sidestepping traditional media in favor of podcasts and YouTube shows consumed by uncommitted young voters who could make all the difference in a tight vote.
Trump will woo Rogan’s massive audience, seeking viral moments that tap into his everyman appeal similar to his recent photo-op at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” was the world’s most listened-to podcast on streaming giant Spotify in 2023, for the fourth year running. It has 17.5 million subscribers on YouTube, and the most popular episode has been viewed 61 million times.
The final night of the Republican National Convention — featuring Trump’s keynote speech — was televised by 14 networks and yet didn’t get close to half that figure, notching 25 million viewers.
Trump’s campaign said he would also deliver remarks to the press in Austin on border security and migrant crime before heading to a rally back in the swing states, in closely watched Michigan.