Harris and Oprah hold star-studded US election rally

Kamala Harris held a star-studded rally hosted by talk show legend Oprah Winfrey on Thursday in a bid to bedazzle voters, as rival Donald Trump criticized Jewish Americans for not voting for him.

Hollywood stars including Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, and Ben Stiller beamed in remotely to lavish praise via screens on the Democratic vice president.

Sitting on a chat-show style stage, Winfrey started by asking Harris about what seemed a sudden burst in confidence — "a veil or something dropped" — after she replaced President Joe Biden as nominee.

"We each have those moments in our lives when you have to step up," the 59-year-old Harris replied at the livestreamed "Unite for America" event

The pair hugged as Harris arrived on stage at the rally in Michigan, one of the seven crucial battleground states that will decide the knife-edge Nov. 5 election.

Harris urged Americans to unite against the "powerful forces that would try to divide us", represented by Republican former president Trump.

The Democrat then talked through her key campaign points, ranging from abortion to economy and immigration and gun control, as audience members told stories about their experiences.

Former prosecutor Harris also made a pitch to gun owners, a key part of the electorate in a country with more firearms than people, even as she called for an end to high-powered assault weapons used in a string of school shootings.

"I'm a gun owner too, if somebody breaks in my house they're getting shot," Harris said with a laugh, before adding: "I probably shouldn't have said that... my staff will deal with that later."

TV superstar Winfrey, who also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August,...