When presidential hopeful Kamala Harris takes to the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, all eyes will be on the A-list backers who might grace the stage alongside her.
Rumoured names on the bill so far have included everyone from Beyonce to Michelle Obama and Taylor Swift (who’s performing in London until Tuesday) – but none have yet confirmed whether they’re bound for Chicago’s United Center for the four-day convention.
However, according to one leading media voice, it’s highly unlikely that Meghan Markle will be amongst the famous faces showing their support for Kamala Harris in person.
Andrew Cockburn, the Washington D.C editor of Harper’s, told Tatler magazine that Meghan’s current influence on voters is negligible.
Washington D.C. Harper’s editor Andrew Cockburn said he thought it highly unlikely that Meghan Markle would make an appearance in Chicago next week to show her support for Kamala Harris
The editor said the Duchess of Sussex’s selling power in the US was ‘rock bottom’…and Prince Harry’s wife was unlikely to hold much sway with US voters
At the United Center in Chicago, the Democrat National Convention will take place from August 19th to 22nd
Cockburn said: ‘I haven’t heard any rumours. I’m sure she’d like to, but her selling power has really gone pretty rock bottom here.’
He added: ‘I don’t think she would have much effect. I doubt she’ll show up at the Convention. I doubt they’d want her there.’
There’s also the matter of simple logistics too; Markle and husband Prince Harry are in Colombia on their ‘quasi-royal’ tour until Sunday, making a trip to Chicago the next day possible but unlikely.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been in Bogota since Thursday, after being invited to the South American country by Vice-President Francia Márquez.
On day one, Prince Harry showed his political voice, appearing to criticise Elon Musk following the Southport riots in Britain.
The Duke of Sussex attacked misinformation on social media during a summit on digital responsibility and appeared to blame fake news for sparking the disorder.
Some 80 adults have so far been sentenced following violence which broke out in parts of the UK in the wake of three girls being murdered in Southport on July 29.
And Harry told an audience yesterday: ‘What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets. People are acting on information that isn’t true.’
He added that a lot of people were ‘scared and uncertain ‘about the potential impact of AI and that ‘education and awareness’ would be key to tacking misinformation.
Harry and Meghan at Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata in Bogota yesterday
X founder Musk has come under intense criticism for misinformation on his platform relating to the events, with the world’s richest man even falling victim to it after sharing a fake story about Sir Keir Starmer looking at detainment camps for rioters.
And Harry said: ‘It comes down to all of us to be able to spot the true from the fake. In an ideal world those with positions of influence would take more responsibility.
‘We are no longer debating facts. For as long as people are allowed to spread lies, abuse, harass, then social cohesion as we know it has completely broken down.’
Meghan also told how the ‘digital age has almost created a culture where if you don’t have anything cool to say, don’t say anything at all – and that is fundamentally changing how we move through the world, how we connect with each other’.
