Comedians including Cecily Strong, Patton Oswalt and Ben Stiller will rally for Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris on a Monday Zoom meeting, the latest in a string of massive digital fundraising events that have profoundly shaped the race.
Jon Hamm, Jason Bateman, Tom Arnold and Kathy Griffin have also confirmed their attendance for the August 5th “Comics for Kamala” virtual rally, set for 8 p.m. EST, per a post on Arnold’s Instagram account.
According to Deadline, the call was organized by California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who reached out to standups to raise cash and boost organizing efforts for the Harris campaign.
“President Biden so graciously stepping aside and passing the torch has just energized so many people,” Swalwell told Deadline, adding that Vice President Harris “likes to have fun, and part of who she is is her great laugh.”
That laugh, which is immortalized in the viral “coconut tree” meme, has become the subject of negative attacks from the right, who brand Harris’ chipper demeanor as a liability, with Trump boldly dubbing her “LAFFIN’ KAMALA.”
The Zoom call is the latest in a series of Harris fundraisers on the platform, including a 44,000-strong “Black women for Harris” call last month, a “White Dudes for Harris” meeting that raised $4 million, and a record-breaking “White women for Harris” call, which boasted over 100,000 participants.
The Harris campaign, which shattered Trump’s July fundraising numbers and pulled in over $300 million, is off to an unprecedented start, flipping polls by more than five digits in the three weeks since Harris presumed the top of the ticket.
The comics will join amongst celebrity endorsements from rappers Quavo and Megan Thee Stallion, who joined Harris on stage at her largest rally yet in Atlanta earlier this week, as the Trump campaign managed to pull rousing endorsements from C-listers including Amber Rose and Kid Rock at the Republican National Convention.