As soon as former President Barack Obama took The Liacouras Center stage, he wasted no time criticizing a recently viral comment made during a rally for former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The comment, which was made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe on Sunday, described Puerto Rico as a “floating pile of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”
“These are fellow citizens [Hinchcliffe] is talking about,” Obama told a sold-out Liacouras Center crowd. “These are Americans, they’re people! And that is the reason why this election should not be close. If somebody does not respect you, if somebody does not see you as fellow citizens, you should not vote for them.”
Obama spoke to the North Philadelphia and Temple communities at The Liacouras Center on Monday for nearly 50 minutes to encourage voter turnout and support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign against Trump ahead of next week’s general election.
Obama was also joined by musicians Bruce Springsteen and John Legend, Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Joanna McClinton and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker.
The rally came as both Harris and Trump have been laser focused on campaigning in Pennsylvania in the final days before Nov. 5. Both candidates came to The Liacouras Center for rallies during the summer and have made frequent campaign stops in the Philadelphia region.
Trump made a stop at a McDonald’s in Feasterville, Pennsylvania on Oct. 20 to greet “customers” at the drive-through despite the restaurant being closed for the day. Harris made stops at a Philadelphia church, bookstore, basketball court and restaurant on Sunday. She will also be in Harrisburg for a rally on Wednesday.
Monday’s event at The Liacouras Center started with speeches from Kenyatta and McClinton, who warned attendees about the repercussions of a second Trump presidency. Both politicians stressed the importance of “never going back,” a growing tagline used by the Harris campaign and her supporters.
“None of us want to live in Donald Trump’s dark, twisted future from the 1700s, and Pennsylvanians —” Kenyatta said before he was interrupted by a phone ringing that was hooked up to a loudspeaker. “That is the future calling and you better answer!”
Kenyatta, a 2014 Temple alumnus, opened his speech by promoting his campaign for state auditor general. He urged supporters to work in their community and asked the crowd if they had someone in their life who deserved to live in a community that is safe from gun violence — to which the answer was a resounding, applause-filled yes.
Parker told the crowd about how serious the next eight days are, and continued to promote Harris’ competency and efficiency if elected.
“We are still the greatest nation in the world – and we’re gonna make sure that we do everything we’re supposed to do,” Parker said. “Not only does the road to the White House run through Pennsylvania, but we will make it clear that Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware County speak and we speak together.”
Casey then took the stage following a 15-minute performance from John Legend highlighted by a rendition of Sam Cooke’s 1963 classic “A Change is Gonna Come.” Casey immediately took shots at his opponent in the United States Senate race Dave McCormick — specifically his stance on abortion.
Abortion remains a key issue on the ballot following the United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. A poll conducted by The Temple News in August found that more than 70% of Temple students consider abortion an important issue when voting for a presidential candidate.
“I don’t believe our daughters should have fewer rights than our mothers and our grandmothers did,” Casey said.
Springsteen took the stage following Casey, and the soft rock crooner played three songs before taking his hands off his guitar and speaking to the audience.
Springsteen, a longtime Obama supporter, endorsed Harris on Oct. 3 in an Instagram post and has been traveling across the country with the campaign on its “When We Vote, We Win” tour. He was in Atlanta on Thursday with Harris and Obama to kick off the tour.
“Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant,” Springsteen told the audience during a brief pause in between songs.
Obama was the final politician to speak, taking the stage after a 15 minute performance from Springsteen. He spoke for nearly 50 minutes and echoed the same sentiment about the dangers of a second Trump presidency as his Democratic counterparts.
“Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends,” Obama said. “He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut. He doesn’t care if he costs women their reproductive freedoms — it won’t make a difference in his life.”
Next week’s election is projected by many pollsters to be one of the tightest in American history, with the nation’s seven major battleground states all polling as toss ups. Pennsylvania, the swing state with the most electoral votes, could very well decide who takes the White House in January.
In his final push in Pennsylvania, Obama concluded his speech with one last message about Harris to undecided voters across the Commonwealth — just eight days away from Election Day.
“If elected, Kamala Harris will see you,” Obama said. “She will hear you. She will have your back every single day. We need somebody like Kamala Harris who will be focused on doing the right thing, rolling up her sleeves and getting stuff done.”
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