Eminem to introduce Barack Obama at Democrat rally in Michigan
Over the last 18 months in the lead up to the US Election, which is set to take place on November 5th, Eminem has made it clear that he is no fan of the Republican party or its members. During the GOP primaries the emcee sent a cease-and-desist letter to then-presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, who was using his 2002 track ‘Lose Yourself’ at rallies. Furthermore, in 2016, he wrote a diss freestyle aimed at Donald Trump.
That said, unsurprisingly, Eminem is set to take the opportunity to introduce the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, at the Democratic rally in Michigan on October 22nd. There will be a speech from Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who the rapper is now officially endorsing.
Eminem’s home state of Michigan is a key swing state in this election and alongside Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada will be one of the most integral places on polling day. Although Eminem will introduce Obama and no doubt give a small speech about the presidential race, Em is not reported to be performing, according to CNN.
The 8 Mile creator hates Donald Trump and seems to find the businessman-turned-politician abhorrent. In his 2016 freestyle, entitled ‘The Storm’, the rapper spat lyrics that implied Trump is an avowed racist, such as, “he tormented Hillary for, and he slandered / Then does it more / From his endorsement of Bannon / Support for the Klansmen / Tiki torches in hand for the soldier that’s black and comes home from Iraq.”
The presidential race is slowly but surely coming to an end, and the battle between Trump and Kamala Harris has been one of the tightest in years. The New York Times has conducted extensive polling in key swing states, and neither candidate is ahead by more than one point.
In North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan, neither candidate even “leads” by more than two-tenths of a percentage point. Neither can realistically win the presidency without winning at least one of these states, so there is a possibility of another Trump presidency and it seems the Curtain Call creator is more than happy to show his face at a Democatic party rally to prevent that from happening.
Hip-hop has always been political and Eminem expressed that he doesn’t care if he divides his fanbase over Donald Trump and, during an appearance on Chuck D’s Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World, the Michigan native insisted that sometimes you have to use your platform to stand up for what you believe too bbe right no matter how unpopular it may be.