Kamala Harris joins Oprah Winfrey for star-studded election event

‘Unite for America’ event features celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock and Julia Roberts.

United States Vice President Kamala Harris has appeared in a talk show-style event hosted by television legend Oprah Winfrey, the Democratic candidate’s latest bid to reach undecided voters in an election campaign that has shunned traditional media.

The livestreamed “Unite for America” event held in Michigan on Thursday featured a host of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, alongside other Americans who had been personally touched by key elections issues including abortion and guns.

Harris began her discussion with Winfrey by casting her campaign as a movement for unity.

“I think in this moment where we’ve dealt with so much that I think is quite exhausting, around powerful forces that would try and divide us, and would try to have us as Americans pointing fingers at each other, that this movement that is about reminding each other that we have so much more in common than what separates,” Harris said.

Praising the Democratic candidate for “stepping into her power”, Winfrey asked Harris about the newfound confidence she appeared to gain after replacing President Joe Biden on the ticket.

“You know we each have those moments in our lives when it’s time to step up,” Harris said.

“I felt a sense of responsibility, to be honest with you, and with that comes a sense of purpose,” she added.

Harris then discussed her pledges on key issues such as the economy, reproductive rights and immigration, including tax incentives she has proposed to create an “opportunity economy”.

“Part of my plan is to give start-up small businesses a $50,000 tax deduction to start up their small business. Right now, it’s $5,000. Nobody can start a small business with $5,000,” she said.

The Democrat, who is a former prosecutor, also reached out to gun owners, a slice of the electorate that has traditionally voted in greater numbers for the Republican Party.

“I’m a gun owner, Tim Walz is a gun owner,” Harris said, referring to her running mate.

“If somebody breaks in my house they’re getting shot,” Harris added with a laugh. “I probably shouldn’t have said that, but my staff will deal with that later.”

During the event, Winfrey also introduced several people in audience to discuss gun control and reproductive rights, including Hadley Duvall, a 22-year-old Kentucky woman who became an abortion rights activist after she was impregnated at age 12 as a result of sexual abuse by her stepfather.

“You can’t wait until it’s too late to care about reproductive healthcare, because then it’s too late,” Duvall said.

Harris has largely eschewed traditional media appearances since becoming the Democratic nominee, leading critics to accuse her of ducking tough questions about her record and agenda.

On Thursday, Axios reported that Harris and Walz were on track to do fewer interviews and press conferences than any other ticket in modern US history.

Harris and Walz have participated in just seven interviews and press conferences, compared with more than 70 such engagements by former US President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, according to Axios.

Opinion polls suggest that Harris and Trump are in a tight race for November’s election.

In a New York Times/Siena poll released on Thursday, Harris and Trump were tied at 47 percent, although the Democratic candidate led by four points in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies