Lady Gaga closes Clinton campaign with call for reconciliation with Trump supporters

Singer Lady Gaga performs at a rally for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov 8, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA (AFP) - Pop diva Lady Gaga closed out Mrs Hillary Clinton's star-studded campaign with a call for reconciliation with Mr Donald Trump's supporters after one of the most divisive presidential election campaigns in memory.

Speaking to a youthful crowd at a midnight rally just hours before the first polls open on Tuesday (Nov 8), the 30-year-old singer hailed Mrs Clinton as an advocate for the disadvantaged.

"No matter how absurd and mean he (Trump) became, she smiled bravely and she continued on," Gaga told a packed arena in the battleground state of North Carolina, hailing Mrs Clinton as being "made of steel".

But the pop star urged respect for backers of Mr Trump, who has described undocumented Mexican immigrants as "rapists", boasted of forcing himself on women and warned he may not accept an election loss.

"I know that it is important for this message, too, to be spread - that we do not need to hate his followers," she said to applause.

"If we are true, true Americans, then we must go from viewing his followers as our adversaries to viewing them as our allies," she said.

Clad in a tight black pantsuit, Gaga left the podium to lead the crowd in dancing to her song Come to Mama, which promotes civil discourse.

Gaga also performed her dance hit Born This Way and Angel Down, a ballad that touches on race relations, before joining Jon Bon Jovi in a duet on the rocker's hit Livin' on a Prayer.

Bon Jovi earlier in the day also played for Mrs Clinton in Philadelphia at a massive rally that featured Bruce Springsteen, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

A slew of prominent artists have performed to back Mrs Clinton during her campaign, including Beyonce, Jay Z, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder.

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