Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has compared the enthusiasm seen during Vice President Kamala Harris' first campaign stop to the zeal shown during former President Barack Obama's first run for the White House.
Organizers of Tuesday's rally, held at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta, told The New York Times that around 10,000 people attended the event, which included a performance by rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Per the stadium's website, the Convocation Center has seating for up to 8,000 guests.
Hamill, a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump who is an outspoken supporter of the Democratic ticket, took to X, formerly Twitter, hours after the rally to comment on the support shown for Harris as she stepped out onto the stage.
Video footage of Harris receiving resounding cheers was posted on the platform by Acyn Torabi, a senior digital editor for MeidasTouch.
"Wow," Torabi captioned the clip, prompting Hamill to comment: "Wow, indeed. Haven't seen this kind of enthusiasm since Obama's first run in '08. We won't go back... & we're just getting started. #LetsGoooooooooooo!"
As of press time, the clip has garnered more than 900,000 views.
Harris is a late entrant to the race, following President Joe Biden's July 21 announcement that he would not be seeking reelection in the 2024 presidential race, following weeks of pressure from within his own party and from key Democratic donors to step down amid concerns over his age and mental acuity.
After Biden endorsed Harris to succeed him as the nominee, the vice president said in a statement of her own that she was "honored to have the president's endorsement."
She continued: "My intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead."
"I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until election day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win," she concluded.
Early into her roughly 20-minute speech on Tuesday, Harris repeated her line about knowing former President Donald Trump's "type," from her days as a prosecutor, again highlighting the former president's plethora of legal challenges and 34 felony convictions in Manhattan. Her supporters were also heard chanting, "Lock him up!" a play on the "Lock her up!" chant that Trump supporters hurled at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
The vice president threw another jab at Trump for backing out of his agreement to participate in the September 10 presidential debate that will be hosted by ABC News.
"So the momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it," Harris said from the podium.
"Last week, you may have seen, [Trump] pulled out of the debate in September that he previously agreed to," she continued. "Here's the funny thing about that. He won't debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me."
"Well, Donald, I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage," she added. "Because as the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face."
Trump originally accepted ABC News' invitation to debate while Biden was still in the race as the Democrats' presumptive nominee. Since Harris announced her campaign, however, the former president has come up with several reasons why he no longer wants to participate, including saying that he thinks the network will not be impartial while moderating.
Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa released a statement Monday evening, saying Trump was "dodging" questions about participating in the September 10 debate because "he's scared he'll have to defend his running mate's weird attacks on women, or his own calls to end elections in America in a debate against the vice president." Trump picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.
Newsweek has contacted a representative of Trump via email for comment.
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