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Home » FULL TRANSCRIPT: Kamala Harris’ Unite for America Rally With Oprah Winfrey

FULL TRANSCRIPT: Kamala Harris’ Unite for America Rally With Oprah Winfrey

Read here the full transcript of Vice President Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey’s townhall conversation at a “Unite for America” event in Farmington Hills, Michigan. This event took place on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

OPRAH WINFREY: Very special event, UNITE FOR AMERICA! And that’s exactly what we’re doing live tonight, uniting from Farmington Hills in Oakland County, Michigan. We have 400 people in our audience and thousands more. Hello, all of you on screen!

Thousands more joining us on screen. And I am here because I care deeply about the future of our country. And I know that all of you do, too. You care about the future of our country.

We just saw on this tape this grassroots, people-powered movement behind Kamala Harris has unleashed a unifying force unlike anything we’ve seen in politics in a very long time. And I know lots of people are feeling it because it actually is hope and joy rising. And there’s been a… Can you feel it? You can feel it. You can feel it. You can feel it. You can feel it.

There’s been so much talk about that word joy. And I think it’s such a good thing because it means that there is a real feeling of optimism and hope making that comeback, as Michelle Obama said, for this new day that’s no longer on the horizon. The new day is actually here. We’re in it. We’re living it.

The Origin of the Event

So let me tell you how this event began. I was on the phone with Jotaka Eaddy, founder of Win with Black Women. We’re going to be talking to her a little later on. And we were talking about all the groups inspired by Win with Black Women who had 47,000 women on one call three hours after Kamala Harris announced that she was going to be running. Three hours afterwards, 47,000 women were on the phone. And Jotaka and I were talking, wouldn’t it be great if we brought all the groups together because that phone call inspired all the other groups.

And so we said, wouldn’t it be great if we brought all the groups together at one time? And that’s why we’re here. So we have the Cat Ladies for Kamala here, Rural Americans for Harris, Caregivers for Kamala, Train Lovers for Harris-Waltz. I didn’t know there were train lovers.

Chefs for Kamala, love that group. Republicans for Harris, love that group even more. We’ve got Swifties, where are you, Swifties for Kamala. And in addition to thousands of you all who I am just meeting here tonight on screen, I see some faces I recognize.

Celebrity Guests

There’s Bryan Cranston. Hey, Bryan. Hey, hello, hello, hello. Where are you? Bryan Cranston. I hear Chris Rock is in the house. Chris, where are you? Chris Rock is in the house. Ben Stiller, Jennifer Lopez, Tracee Ellis Ross. Jennifer Lopez, where are you, Jennifer? Tracee Ellis Ross, where are you? Tracee Ellis, where are you on the screen?

Julia Roberts, where are you? And Miss Meryl Streep is in the house. So glad to have all of you familiar faces and those of you who are not yet familiar to all of us.

Bryan Cranston’s Thoughts

OPRAH WINFREY: Okay, Bryan, so happy to have you here tonight. Bryan Cranston, what do you want to say? Why did you want to join us here tonight?

BRYAN CRANSTON: I’m just smiling from ear to ear, Oprah. I have never felt this much joy and optimism in a campaign in a long time. So I’m just so appreciative of Kamala to be able to bring back that sense of optimism and to squash the cynicism and the vitriol and the rancor that just seems to be floating all around Washington. And I hope that we’re going to ride this wave into Washington. I’m here. I’m here to support. I can’t be happier than this candidate. I think she’s going to be a terrific president.

OPRAH WINFREY: Thank you, Bryan Cranston. Thanks, Bryan.

Chris Rock’s Perspective

OPRAH WINFREY: Thank you so much for joining us all the way from London, Chris Rock. So it’s the middle of the night there. You’re the one who told me. Remember, Chris and I ran into each other this summer. And Chris, no matter where you meet him, he’s funny. He goes, there’s going to be weeping in the streets. Are we ready for the weeping in the streets when Kamala Harris becomes president of the United States? Weeping in the streets. What do you want to say, Chris?

CHRIS ROCK: I’ve always been a fan of Kamala. Even back when she was running for… I remember writing her a check when she was like the district attorney for something. Maybe it was to get out of a parking ticket or something. I’ve been writing a check for a long time. And I just want to bring my daughters to the White House to meet this black woman president. That’s the reason. I think she would make a great president. And I’m ready to turn the page, man. All the negativity. It’s got to stop.

OPRAH WINFREY: Yeah, we’re so sick of the negativity. Thank you so much, Chris, for being up this early in the morning in London. Thank you.

Ben Stiller’s Contribution

OPRAH WINFREY: Ben Stiller, I heard you were on the comics for Kamala. And so I want to know where all the comics… Kamala. They were and I didn’t outdo anyone. All the comics.

BEN STILLER: But it was… it was really… I mean, it was great, though, because everybody is so energized. And I mean, I got to go to the convention and see and see her speech, which was just incredible. And feeling that energy, you know, feeling kind of going from a stop Trump mode into a go Kamala mode. The people starting to really hear what it’s about. And, you know, I have a 22-year-old daughter, 19-year-old son is going to be voting in his first election.