Former President Barack Obama sought to transfer the energy of his political movement to Vice-President Kamala Harris at a rally on Thursday night outside Atlanta — their first joint appearance of the campaign — as he tried to help propel her over the finish line.

“Together, we have a chance to choose a new generation of leadership in this country,” Obama told a crowd of 23,000 people at a high school football stadium in Clarkston, Georgia. “And start building a better and stronger and fairer and more hopeful America.”

When Harris took the stage, he lifted up her arm like a prizefighter in celebration. She quickly seemed to try to adopt his mantle, leading the audience, the largest she has drawn since becoming the Democratic nominee, in a chant of “Yes, we can”, Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan.

“Millions of Americans were energised and inspired not only by Barack Obama’s message but by how he leads,” Harris said after he ceded the lectern to her. “Seeking to unite rather than separate us.”

Obama and Harris were joined on Thursday by the rocker Bruce Springsteen, who played a three-song set with guitar and harmonica before she spoke, accusing Trump of running to be an “American tyrant”.

There was also actor Samuel L. Jackson, who proudly noted to the crowd that he
and Harris share a favourite curse word.

Although Harris was well received in Clarkston, there were dangers in following Obama, one of the nation’s most gifted political orators.

As she spoke, some members of the crowd, who had waited for hours in the heat, started trickling towards the exits.

New York Times News Service