British folk band Mumford & Sons have encouraged Americans to “make a voting plan” as they performed at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Ms Harris has harnessed star power as she focuses on battleground states in her bid for the White House with Beyonce, Eminem and Bruce Springsteen among those to have appeared at her campaign events.
In Madison, Wisconsin, US singer Gracie Abrams appeared to address the frustration which she said is shared by young voters, before Mumford & Sons took to the stage.
The Brit and Grammy award-winning group performed hits including The Cave, Little Lion Man, Awake My Soul and I Will Wait.
“We love this place, we love this state,” 37-year-old Mumford continued.
“I know it might not sound like it, because I grew up in England, but I was born in America.
“I was born in California, and last week, it was my great privilege to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz to be president and vice president of the United States of America.
“And I would encourage you to get with your mates, make a voting plan and go out and vote, because every vote will matter you.”
“We’ve inherited a world that is struggling and it’s easy to feel disconnected and disillusioned, between the advent of social media in our childhoods and Covid and relentlessly targeted disinformation,” the 25-year-old said.
“We’ve been through some things and it’s easy to be discouraged – but we know better.
“We know that unless we vote and keep our democracy intact, there is nothing we will be able to do to fix it when it is our turn.”
Abrams urged the crowd not to give up because “our participation and our vote have never been more crucial”.
The rally came after Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will back Ms Harris in the US election on November 5 despite saying “I don’t like either party right now”.
I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.
I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.
My time as Governor taught me to…
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 30, 2024
The 77-year-old former Republican governor of California, who served from 2003 to 2011, said his party’s candidate, former US president Donald Trump, would “divide”, “insult”, and “find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been”.
Schwarzenegger said he would be voting for Ms Harris and Mr Walz as he wanted the US to “move forward as a country” despite having “plenty of disagreements with their platform”.
The Austrian-born actor said Mr Trump, who is competing for his second term as US president “won’t respect your vote unless it is for him”.
He concluded: “It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided and more hateful.
“We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former president Trump won’t do that.”
Friends star Jennifer Aniston also confirmed she had voted for Ms Harris to “end this era of fear, chaos and the attacks on our democracy”.
In an Instagram post, she said: “Today not only did I vote for access to health care, for reproductive freedom, for equal rights, for safe schools, and for a fair economy, but also for sanity and human decency.
“Please remember that whoever you are and wherever you live, your voice matters. Your vote matters.”
