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    • Jennifer Garner calls for bipartisan support for Harris
    Tennessee

    Jennifer Garner calls for bipartisan support for Harris

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

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    Socialite Jennifer Garner campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris at events in Phoenix and Tempe on Saturday, rallying Arizonans’ support for Harris ahead of the upcoming November presidential election.

    One of the events took place at a private home in downtown Phoenix, the other at a tea cafe in south Tempe. Both drew large crowds who were encouraged by Garner and other speakers to vote for and advocate for Harris this election season.

    Here you can find out who spoke at each event and what they had to say.

    First a stop at a house in Phoenix

    Garner’s first stop of the day was a campaign rally at a private home in downtown Phoenix, where she was joined by a notable group: former Trump-era White House official Stephanie Grisham, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , Susan Rice, and Mesa Councilmember Julie Spilsbury.

    Bettina Nava hosted the event at her home with the aim of demonstrating bipartisan support for Harris. The entrance was lined with “Republicans for Harris” signs that set the tone for the day.

    “This shows the collaboration of people who have nothing and everything in common,” Nava told the crowd, acknowledging their nervousness as she introduced the celebrity and former officials.

    Councilman Spilsbury served as moderator and asked questions of Garner, Grisham and Rice. Before she began, she expressed bipartisan support for Harris, declaring, “I am a lifelong Republican and a proud supporter of the vice president.”

    Garner talks about unity, voter activism and bipartisanship

    Garner used her celebrity status as a tool for activism aimed at helping children, particularly in small town and rural America, which made her realize the importance of coming together for a greater good.

    “The only way to work if you want to help children in rural America is to be completely open to bipartisanship,” said Garner, reflecting on the significance of the same behavior in Arizona during the 2024 election.

    Garner’s parents met in Tucson, and her mother’s decision to vote for a Democratic candidate despite coming from a Republican household shaped Garner’s own willingness to stand up for her faith.

    “I remember when I was young my mother wouldn’t tell my father when she voted for Carter. I remember as she got older and had three daughters who were all Democrats, she had the power to say, ‘Phil, you know?’ “I just love you, but I just don’t vote like you,” Garner said.

    “They’re voting for you,” Garner told the Phoenix audience.

    Celebrity support for Harris: Stars Kerry Washington, Jessica Alba and Glenn Close support Harris in Arizona

    The former United Nations ambassador says the events in Phoenix are a testament to voters’ ability to unite

    Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice spoke at the event about her experiences working with then-California Senator Kamala Harris and later Vice President.

    Rice said Harris was the right person for the job and called for bipartisan unity in support of the vice president.

    “The reality in our country is that we need more of it. We need people who are willing to stand up for this country to underscore that there is so much that unites us and not what divides us,” Rice said.

    Rice said Trump’s refusal to certify the 2020 election set a dangerous precedent, suggesting the law could be ignored if it favored a particular candidate.

    “This is about more than winning and losing, this is about fundamentally undermining Americans’ trust in our democratic process,” Rice said.

    Rice later reflected at the event in Tempe that she wanted to spend the rest of October in Arizona supporting the Harris campaign.

    Donald Trump’s former press secretary explains why she’s voting for Harris

    Stephanie Grisham, once press secretary to former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, returned to the state she once called home to urge Arizonans not to vote for her former boss.

    “I think what scares me is the fact that I’m a pretty normal person, I’m a mother, I have two kids… I was drawn into it and I believed him,” Grisham said at the event in Phoenix.

    “There’s nothing redeeming about him, I could sit here for hours and tell you stories that would drive you nuts about what I saw behind the scenes,” Grisham said, prompting Garner to reply, “Tell.” “Give us something.”

    Grisham didn’t hesitate, recalling a day when she accompanied Trump on a trip across the country to visit shooting victims, some of whom were still in intensive care at a hospital.

    “We got back to Air Force One, he called me into his office and asked, ‘Stephanie, why was there no press in the ICU?'” Grisham said.

    “I think, ‘Well, number one, it’s the ICU, it’s germs, HIPPA, and that wouldn’t be appropriate.’ He yelled at me and told me I was the most useless person on the planet, using lots of curse words,” Grisham said.

    Grisham said Trump then instructed her to release his version of events to the press, but she refused, which led to him turning to the media himself.

    “He didn’t care about these poor people who were literally clinging to life in the ICU, he was pissed that there was no press, and that’s just a small snapshot of the stories that I have,” Grisham said.

    The event in Tempe supports reproductive rights in Arizona

    In Drink Me! A “Mom’s for Kamala” event was held. The strip mall business had more people than ever before Saturday afternoon at the tea room near McClintock and Warner streets, according to owner Melissa Harlan.

    In addition to Garner and Rice, speakers included Arizona Senator Eva Burch and former Arizona House of Representatives candidate Hiral Tipirneni.

    Standing next to her daughter Haley Gill, Harlan told The Republic that she hosted the event “for her” and pointed to her daughter. Gill was born as a result of fertility treatment that gave her mother her daughter’s life, underscoring the importance of reproductive rights in Arizona.

    Burch, who has been directly affected by access to reproductive care, particularly abortion, shared her story of a failed pregnancy and the resulting health complications, emphasizing the critical importance of such access.

    “When I became pregnant again earlier this year, I knew I had to show this story because I knew it wasn’t just my story. It’s your story,” Burch said.

    “We can do so much better and we deserve so much better. Our daughters, our sisters, our mothers. “We all deserve better because this affects not just women, but families and communities,” Burch added.

    Tipirneni, a doctor, spoke strongly about women’s reproductive rights at the event, including supporting a yes vote on Proposition 139, which would loosen abortion restrictions in Arizona.

    “I am a doctor. I am committed to health policy. I am a mother of three young adult children and I know that there is no place for the government and politicians in the decision,” Tipirneni said.

    Attendees at the Tempe event on why Harris is the candidate for them

    Cyndi Smith, who has lived in Arizona for nearly 50 years, expressed hope that Harris would help stabilize the ongoing fight for women’s rights.

    “Arizona is trying to take us back to the dark times,” Smith said before the “Mom’s for Kamala” event.

    “We’ve tried to go blue so many times and I think we’ll do it again because we did it for Biden,” Smith said.

    “(Harris) makes you feel like something good is going to happen, and I believe in her, and I believe once people really know what she wants to do for us, they’ll vote for her,” Smith added.

    Laura Sharpe supported the bipartisan energy for Harris even before the event began.

    “The more you surround yourself with positive people, the more you realize that Kamala has to be president. It brings joy and happiness and that’s what we need in our country,” said Sharpe, of Scottsdale.

    “We need to go back to when Roe was first in office,” Sharpe added.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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