Madonna plays surprise Washington Square Park gig to support Hillary Clinton
'This is a concert that is about unifying us and it's about keeping America great,' singer tells crowd
Madonna belted out some of her biggest hits on Monday night as she treated people in the city to a surprise outdoor concert in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Meet me in Washington Square Park at 7:30 Let's Go Hard For Hillary Clinton! 🇺🇸🙏🏻🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃 <a href="https://t.co/3czBXlaWsR">pic.twitter.com/3czBXlaWsR</a>
—@MadonnaAbout 300 people jammed into Washington Square Park, in the heart of Manhattan, to watch the pop singer perform Express Yourself, Don't Tell Me, Imagine, Like a Prayer and If I Had a Hammer while they sang along.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/Madonna">@Madonna</a>. Washington Square Park. Right now. <a href="https://t.co/heezVbrygd">pic.twitter.com/heezVbrygd</a>
—@billboardMadonna opened the 30-minute performance by urging the crowd to vote on Tuesday.
"This is a concert that is about unifying us, and it's about keeping America great, not making America great again," Madonna said.
"Tomorrow we're going to keep America great. We're going to elect a president that does not discriminate."
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As she finished the concert, she again urged the growing crowd to go to the polls and vote for Clinton.
"New York! Tomorrow is the big day. Are you listening?" She said. "Do we want Donald Trump to be president?"
"No!" the crowd roared back.
"Do we need Hillary Clinton?"
"Yes!"
Some in the crowd were just as excited to vote for Clinton as they were to see Madonna performance.
"It's really exciting: the enthusiasm to elect the first woman president, to elect a president who will fight for LGBT rights, fight for women's rights and to move America forward," said Zach Baum, a 23-year-old from Long Island.
"It's really a choice about who we are as a nation."
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For Sara Bellis, a 34-year-old stay-at-home mom from the Bronx who wore a yellow "Hillary" pin, the election of Clinton has been a long time coming.
"I've been a Hillary fan since I was in elementary school," Bellis said.
"Now I have three kids, and I think far and away she has the best chance of creating the kind of world I want them to have."
With just hours before Election Day, Clinton and Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, continued to crisscross the battleground states in an effort to secure every last vote.
