20,000 people attend Harris rally with Obama in Georgia

Thousands of people gathered in the battleground state of Georgia for a rally held by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who was joined by Bruce Springsteen, actor Samuel L Jackson entertainer Tyler Perry and former US president Barack Obama.

Ahead of Ms Harris' remarks, film director Spike Lee warned the crowd at the James R Hallford Stadium not to be "bamboozled" into voting for Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant. He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be American," Mr Springsteen said, as he encouraged the crowd to vote for Ms Harris.

Mr Obama, who has been campaigning in political swing states for Vice President Harris, said Mr Trump thought about no one but himself. He implied that Mr Trump was acting like a doddering old man and noted that Ms Harris had actually worked at McDonald's earlier in her life.

"She worked at McDonald's when she was in college to pay her expenses. She didn't pretend to work at McDonald's when it was closed," Mr Obama said, referring to Mr Trump's recent event at the fast-food chain.

About 20,000 people attended the Georgia rally, her campaign said, which would make it her largest political rally yet, besting the 17,000 that Ms Harris drew in Greensboro, North Carolina, in early September.

It is the latest attempt by the Harris campaign to capitalise on the backing of movie and music stars to rally voters in the closing days of a tight election race against Mr Trump.

She will be joined by Beyonce in Houston tonight.

Ms Harris' whirlwind campaign started with a big jump in polls after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in late July, but her lead has narrowed in national polls and evaporated in the battleground states that will decide the US election.

Celebrity endorsers add cultural cachet to candidates, and have typically helped campaigns raise money, turn out crowds at rallies and generate excitement on social media. For both the Harris and Trump campaigns, they are part of the down-to-the-wire blitz to mobilise voters ahead of election day on 5 November.

Last night's rally also marks the first time Ms Harris and Mr Obama campaigned together. Ms Harris is slated to appear with Michelle Obama tomorrow Michigan, one of seven swing states expected to decide the winner.

The latest polls in Georgia show Mr Trump with a slight lead, but Harris campaign officials say they remain confident the state, along with its neighbour North Carolina, are still in play come 5 November.

Mr Biden pulled off a surprise victory in Georgia in 2020, and Democrats won two hard-fought Senate seats there that gave them control of both houses in Congress for the first half of Mr Biden's term.

Some 1.9 million residents have already cast their ballot in Georgia, according to the secretary of state's office. On Monday, Mr Springsteen will also appear in Philadelphia with Mr Obama.

In 2016, Springsteen played a three-song set at a rally in front of 20,000 people at Philadelphia's Independence Hall for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on the eve of the election.

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In 2008, he played a seven-song set for tens of thousands on the city's Benjamin Franklin Parkway to urge people to register and vote for Mr Obama.

Taylor Swift, Pink, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Lizzo and many other celebrities have endorsed Ms Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. Swift's endorsement of Ms Harris via an Instagram post in September has now received more than 11 million likes.

Mr Trump's supporters from the entertainment world, include musicians Ted Nugent, Kid Rock and Jason Aldean, wrestler Hulk Hogan, who spoke at this summer's Republican National Convention, Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, actor Dennis Quaid, and TV star Amber Rose.