Hillary’s midnight rally: The final show before the polls opened
The Clinton campaign hosted a midnight event in Raleigh packed with star power
Hillary Clinton wrapped up her 2016 campaign trail at a midnight event in Raleigh, NC. The Democratic presidential nominee came out accompanied by her family and plenty of star power at a packed to capacity Reynolds coliseum on the campus of NC State University. After spirited performances by Lady Gaga and Bon Jovi, Hillary made her last appeals for students get out and vote in the heavily contested battleground state of North Carolina. “We’re going to win North Carolina, and we’re going to win this election”? Clinton began enthusiastically. “We need your help; we need your vote!”
The former First Lady reiterated her usual attacks against Trump at the midnight event, highlighting his lack of experience and questionable temperament. A talking point she used to emphasize this included Trump’s verbal attacks on the Khans; a gold star family, and his outbursts during the debate. There was not much discussion about the email debacle as expected, indeed Hillary presented herself with an aura of confidence as American’s hit the polls all over the country.
In recent days Hillary has had numerous celebrities endorse her and appear at rallies including Lebron James, Jay-Z and Beyonce, and Katy Perry. Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi did a tremendous job occupying the raucous crowd as they waited for the Clinton’s arrival. Before her performance Gaga spoke about how much it meant to her to have the chance to see history made “I’m proud to be a 30-year-old woman born to Italian immigrants, and I’m absolutely ecstatic to be able to witness the first Madam President of our country!”
Among the thousands of students who attended the event, many say the former Secretary of State scored major points with them in last night’s debate by reaffirming her commitment to students. Clinton reiterated: “It will be my goal to end our ridiculous student debt problem and make college affordable for everybody!” while also taking the opportunity to assert Trump lacks a similar plan.
Former President Bill Clinton’s remarks consisted of a story of meeting Clinton and her parents: “I have never quite met anybody like this lady, and don’t get me started on her mother,” he quipped to the crowd. Their daughter Chelsea also joined them onstage and expressed her excitement to be part of the first family again.
Hillary Clinton demonstrated impeccable timing by hosting a huge last minute event, at the largest university, in the most important state in the election. By making a quick return to NC (in super important Wake county at that) she hopes to get a boost with the younger, more liberal college student vote.
Photos by Sierra Stanford.