Fund-raisers held by Hollywood stars over the next few weeks will be particularly helpful for Vice President Kamala Harris, who has limited time to headline big-money events.
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Robert De Niro was on a recent video call in support of Kamala Harris’s campaign, one among many such efforts by Hollywood celebrities.
Did you know that Hollywood is firmly behind Vice President Kamala Harris?
If you didn’t, it will be made obvious this month — as countless celebrities and pop-culture icons hold fund-raising events for the Democratic presidential nominee. Those surrogate events are particularly helpful in the final sprint for Ms. Harris, who has limited time to headline big-money events and needs to farm out those responsibilities to others who can draw a crowd.
Drawing a crowd is the specialty of actors like Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Robert De Niro, Molly Ringwald and Matt Damon, the producer Shonda Rhimes, the chef José Andrés and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton” — all of whom recently hosted or are scheduled to host events for the Harris ticket.
Mr. Tyler Ferguson, the actor from “Modern Family,” held a dance party last week in Brooklyn. Mr. De Niro and Ms. Rhimes joined the actors Leslie Odom Jr. and Tony Goldwyn for a reception on Sunday evening in New York. (Jim Himes, a congressman from Connecticut, joined the celebrity bash as a host.)
Ms. Ringwald is scheduled to join Debbie Harry of the band Blondie, Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and the artist Cindy Sherman on Thursday for a reception in New York. That same night, Mr. Andrés and some other celebrity chefs are hosting one of at least three “Cooking for Kamala” fund-raisers that the Harris campaign has planned.
And on Sept. 18 Mr. Miranda and Mr. Damon will headline a dinner in New York, with tickets going for $25,000 apiece. The following day, Oprah Winfrey is set to headline a Zoom event for Ms. Harris, although that is not an official campaign event.
The roster of the September events speaks to how much excitement the Democrats have ushered in from cultural tastemakers since President Biden withdrew from the race — although it offers former President Donald J. Trump, her opponent, plenty of material to cast her as overly close with coastal elites. Ms. Harris is not wanting for campaign cash, but her team is trying to have her maximize her time by only headlining truly significant fund-raisers. This Saturday, Ms. Harris is scheduled to attend a finance event in Washington that is sure to be headlined by the city’s lawyers and lobbyists.
Mr. Trump does not have a comparable roster of celebrity supporters, although Kid Rock is headlining a fund-raiser for the Log Cabin Republicans on Sept. 29, according to a copy of the invitation. Most of the fund-raising in recent months has been shouldered by Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Mr. Trump’s running mate, who has galloped across the country since his selection to raise money for the ticket. Mr. Trump himself has headlined relatively few events, although he does have three fund-raisers scheduled in Utah and California after the debate on Tuesday night.
Theodore Schleifer writes about campaign finance and the influence of billionaires in American politics. More about Theodore Schleifer
See more on: Democratic Party, U.S. Politics, 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, Jose Andres
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Source: nytimes.com
