The unsurpassed sense of spectacle of American politician Kamala Harris reaches its apotheosis at the party conventions. For a succession of speeches to serve as a prime-time television broadcast requires rhythm, drama and dramatic effects. The surprise of Wednesday night was Oprah Winfrey, the television star, one of the most famous black women in the United States – if not the most famous of all – who gave an emotional speech. Another legend of the show, the musician Stevie Wonder, performed live. Both asked for the vote for Harris. Other artists appeared on stage, while there is speculation that on the last day the surprise will be BeyoncĂ©, whose song Freedom has become the Democratic candidate’s campaign anthem.
In order to reach new voters, the campaign has placed great emphasis on influential content creators with tens of millions of followers on social media. Some 200 of them have been granted access to the Chicago convention, and some have had their moment of glory at the lectern as they addressed the thousands of attendees. However, when it comes to truly reaching the masses, few people have the impact and influence of Oprah Winfrey, who for a quarter of a century has brought her hit show into American homes via television, broadcasting from Chicago.
In her first appearance at a political convention, Oprah Winfrey, 70, appealed to independent voters, who are not registered with either of the two major parties, like herself. They are the ones who can decide the presidential election on November 5. The support of the television star for Harris may have special weight among women, who make up the majority of the audience of the program that she broadcast from 1986 to 2011, and among the African-American population, groups in which the Democratic candidate hopes to achieve a decisive advantage.
Although she openly supported Barack Obama in 2008, Winfrey has tried to stay relatively out of partisan politics. On Wednesday, she made a surprise appearance after attending a rehearsal wearing a hat, sunglasses and a mask to conceal her identity. In a vibrant speech in which she showed off her communication skills, she openly called for a vote for Harris and attacked Donald Trump, although without mentioning him by name.
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“Freedom isn’t free. America is an ongoing project. It requires commitment. It requires being open to hard work and heartfelt work for democracy, and it requires standing up to life’s bullies from time to time,” she said in one of those references. “These are complicated times and they require adult conversations. Choices have to be made when voting. There’s a candidate who says if we go to the polls this time, we won’t have to do it again,” she said in a new reference to the Republican. “Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered independent who is proud to vote again and again and again, because I’m an American, and that’s what Americans do.”
“I call on all independents and all undecideds,” he continued. “Let us choose loyalty to the Constitution over loyalty to any individual, because that is what is best about America. And let us choose optimism over cynicism, because that is what is best about America. And let us choose inclusion over retribution. Let us choose common sense over meaninglessness, because that is what is best about America, and let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday. We will not back down,” he said in one of the Democratic campaign slogans. “We will not back down intimidated, we will not back down kicked. Let us choose truth, let us choose honor, and let us choose joy because that is what is best about America. But most of all, let us choose freedom. Why? Because that is what is best about America. We are all Americans, and together, let us choose Kamala Harris,” he concluded.
Duel of soundtracks
Earlier, the legendary Stevie Wonder, 74, had also called for the vote for the Democratic candidate, pointing out that this is an exceptional situation. “This is the time to remember, when you tell your children where you were and what you did,” he told the crowd. “We must choose courage over complacency. It is time to get up and go vote. We must choose joy over anger, kindness over recrimination and peace over war,” he continued. “We must keep going until we are truly a united people of the United States and then we will reach a higher level,” he added before giving way to his performance, a live rendition of Higher Ground, the hit album of 1973 Innervision.
Between the Republican and Democratic conventions, there is also a duel of soundtracks. In Chicago, the Atlanta rapper Lil Jon, the American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, Stevie Wonder and John Legend have already performed, the latter covering songs by Minnesota icon Prince alongside Sheila E. just before the speech by the governor of that state and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz. The Democratic menu, with rap, rhythm and blues, indie, country, rock and pop, is somewhat more varied than the Republican menu a month ago in Milwaukee, which was very focused on classic rock, with Lee Greenwood and his God Bless the USA as a star and rapper Kid Rock as a guest. The Republicans, however, had a live band throughout the convention that livened up the pauses and transitions with their versions. The Democrats, for their part, scored a point by giving each state a chance in the delegate vote with a song related to its territory, starting with the Sweet Home Alabama.
Pop star Pink will perform on the final night of the Democratic convention, but there has been speculation about a surprise appearance by BeyoncĂ©, which for now remains a completely unconfirmed rumor or a hope of delegates and guests. Harris’ campaign is using, with the star’s permission, her song Freedom as an unofficial anthem. Curiously, the Trump campaign used the same song in a video posted on social media on Wednesday, in this case without the singer’s permission, who has requested that it be stopped from being used, according to Rolling Stone. Trump also circulated AI-generated images falsely claiming support for Taylor Swift, who backed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 and has not yet commented on the election.

Amanda Gorman, who at 22 became the youngest poet to participate in a presidential inauguration in the history of the United States when she delivered The Hill We Climb (The Hill We Climb) On President Joe Biden’s inauguration day in 2021, he also read a new poem on Wednesday, This Sacred Scene (This sacred scene), at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The work is a paean to freedom, unity and the American dream. “We gather in this empty place because we believe in the American dream,” it begins. “We are one family, regardless of religion, class or color. For what defines a patriot is not only our love of freedom, but our love for one another,” reads another of its verses.
Another famous person who took to the stage was comedian Kenan Thompson, the oldest of Saturday Night Live. He was the one in charge of attacking Project 2025 on Tuesday, a set of political proposals for the next Republican president that Donald Trump himself has tried to distance himself from, despite the fact that its authors are connected to him. Thompson brought onto the stage the giant-sized version of the book containing that program and that has served as a target for Democrats every day. “Have you ever seen a document capable of killing a small animal and democracy at the same time? Here it is,” he said.
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