Barack Obama is capable of (almost) anything for Kamala Harris’ victory, even doing a rap solo. At the rally in Detroit, this Tuesday, after being introduced by Eminem, the former President of the USA could not resist mentioning the song Be lost by the artist, who, in the past, also publicly supported Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
“I’ve done a lot of rallies, so I don’t usually get nervous. But I was feeling somehow following Eminem”, Obama confessed as soon as he took the podium. “I noticed that my palms are sweaty, my knees are weak, my arms are heavy, I already have vomit on my shirt, my mother’s spaghetti”, he declared, quoting the first verses of Be lost.
The allusion did not go unnoticed by the audience, who reacted with laughter. “I’m nervous, but at first glance I look calm and ready to drop bombs, but I always forget,” he insisted, staying in character. Then, amidst laughter, he ended up giving up and admitting: “I love Eminem.”
Barack Obama sings the first verse of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” while campaigning for Kamala Harris in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/flWfopIvLT
– The recount (@therecount) October 23, 2024
Moments earlier, Eminem himself had been on stage, joining the roster of celebrities who have been at Harris rallies. With less than two weeks to go until the elections, he recalled that he was there “for important reasons” and that he had written “some things” that he wanted to say. “As most of you know, the city of Detroit and the entire state of Michigan mean a lot to me, and in this election, the attention is on us more than ever, and I think it’s important to use our voice, so I I encourage everyone to go out and vote, please”, he appealed.
Michigan is one of the decisive states for the November 5 elections. The campaign’s public and internal polls show razor-thin margins for Harris or Trump in Michigan and others oscillating states. Trump won Michigan by 11,000 votes in 2016. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the state by 155,000 votes.
This time, Eminem appeals to his fellow countrymen not to be “afraid to express their opinions”. He argued: “I don’t think anyone wants an America where people worry about the reprisals people will take if they make their opinions known.”
As such, he has no doubts who he will vote for. “I believe Vice President Harris supports a future for this country in which these freedoms and many others are protected and defended.” Eminem’s support for Democrats isn’t new, nor is his use of the song Be lost which, in 2020, was the soundtrack for a Joe Biden campaign advertisement.
Eminem gave the Biden-Harris campaign permission to use “Lose Yourself” as arguably the best campaign ad of 2020! https://t.co/rdSO9Ml5e4 pic.twitter.com/MiwFbDb0Ya
—Dhaaruni??? (@dhaaruni) October 22, 2024
The rapper has also publicly spoken out against Donald Trump through his music. In 2017, in an impromptu rap at the Bet Awards (which awards African-American artists), he directly pointed the finger at the then President, calling him “bitch” (goat, in English). In Quadroanother song released the same year said: “That’s a really hot coffee pot / Should I drop it on Donald Trump? Probably not/ But that’s all I have until I get a solid plot.”
The following year, in another song he said that he had received a visit from the Secret Service as a result of his expression of opinion. “Because Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service/ To meet in person to see if I really think about hurting him.”
In addition to Eminem, Kamala Harris’ campaign has the support of celebrities such as Billie EilishMeryl Streep, Jennifer Garner, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts, George Clooney or Taylor Swift. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has names like Dennis Quaid, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock at his side, and the wrestler Hulk Hogan or Elon Musk.
Musk I promise, buteach day until the presidential elections, one million dollars (around 919,600 euros) to a person who signs their petition in support of the First and Second amendments to the US Constitution, that is, freedom of expression and the right to carry weapons. A decision that is being questioned for its legality, as the electoral law states that anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment, whether for registering to vote or for voting” faces a fine of up to ten thousand dollars or a five-year prison sentence, says Paul Schiff Berman, a law professor at George Washington University, quoted by BBC.
