CINCINNATI • They stormed the stage together wearing similarly coloured clothes - hues that almost perfectly matched the bold blue of Mrs Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign logo.
With a "Stronger Together" sign hanging in the background and a Katy Perry pop song blaring from the speakers, they cheered each other on like old pals, cracking jokes about Mr Donald Trump and pointing with enthusiasm at a young supporter who waved a placard that read "Girl Power".
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a towering political figure among today's liberal Democrats, brought her energy, folksy appeal and populist roar to a candidate not known for energising crowds.
For Mrs Warren, the joint event with Mrs Clinton in the swing state of Ohio on Monday, the first time the two Democrats campaigned on stage together, was a moment for her to elevate her profile as the liberal voice of the party and a favourite to be vice-president.
For Mrs Clinton, it was a chance to woo the party's liberal wing and convince economically hard-hit voters that she, too, is a populist champion running for president to improve their lives.
"I got into this race because I wanted to even the odds for people who have the odds stacked against them," Mrs Clinton told the crowd. "To build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, we have got to go big and we have got to go bold."
She grinned and nodded as Mrs Warren eviscerated Mr Trump in remarks that lasted roughly half as long as her half-hour address. Mrs Warren told a crowd of roughly 2,600 that the presumptive Republican nominee would "crush you into the dirt to get whatever he wants". She said: "When Donald Trump says he'll make America great, he means make it even greater for rich guys just like Donald Trump."
The event was the culmination of warming ties between Mrs Clinton and Mrs Warren, who has criticised the financial policies of the Bill Clinton era. Before she was a senator, Mrs Warren had turned her ire on Mrs Clinton, then a New York senator, for shifting her position to back bankruptcy legislation that would have made it harder for families to get debt relief. Those differences were a distant memory on Monday as Mrs Clinton took an almost identical tone and praised Mrs Warren's rabble-rousing in the Senate.
In a statement, Mr Trump's campaign called Mrs Warren a "sellout" for supporting Mrs Clinton, pointing to the presumptive Democratic nominee's Wall Street donors. Mr Trump also told NBC News Mrs Warren was a "racist" and "a total fraud", accusing her of making up claims about her Native American heritage to advance her career.
Mrs Warren is often discussed as a possible Clinton vice-presidential pick. While an all-female ticket is unlikely, Mr James Hamilton, the Washington lawyer leading Mrs Clinton's vice-presidential search, has begun vetting Mrs Warren and other candidates.
NEW YORK TIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
