KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
Elizabeth Warren joined Hillary Clinton in Ohio today. It was the first time the Massachusetts senator has campaigned for Clinton this year. Warren is very well-liked by the progressive left, and she's been discussed as a possible vice presidential candidate. So today it was a chance to energize the base ahead of the Democratic convention next month. NPR's Asma Khalid reports from Cincinnati.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FIGHT SONG")
RACHEL PLATTEN: (Singing) This is my fight song, take back my life song.
ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: This was not a normal Hillary Clinton rally. There were so many people some of them didn't make it inside. More than 2,500 people crammed into this old, art deco railroad station, and they cheered for two full minutes as Clinton and Warren took the stage.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ELIZABETH WARREN: I'm here today because I'm with her - yes, her.
(APPLAUSE)
KHALID: Warren pumped her fists, raised her arms and called Donald Trump a nasty man.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WARREN: Donald Trump says he'll make America great again. It's right there - no. It's stamped on the front of his goofy hat.
KHALID: Goofy - that was not a random word choice. Trump often describes Warren as goofy, including in a tweet this morning.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WARREN: You want to see goofy? Look at him in that hat.
(LAUGHTER)
KHALID: And when Clinton took the mic, she couldn't stop gushing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HILLARY CLINTON: I do just love to see how she gets under Donald Trump's thin skin.
(CHEERING)
KHALID: The two women complemented each other on stage. Where Warren was feisty, Clinton was wonky. Warren stimulated the crowd, and Clinton dove into her ideas to stimulate the economy.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CLINTON: I'm going to appoint a trade prosecutor who will report to the president. So we are going to end the abuse of our market, our workers, our people.
(CHEERING)
KHALID: Clinton talked about her five-point economic plan, her goal to make college affordable, create good-paying jobs and clamp down on Wall Street. The thing is, Clinton's ties to big banks raise questions about how she can hold Wall Street accountable. But Warren has street cred on these issues.
BRET ALBRIGHT: I mean, I love Elizabeth Warren, and I've been a Hillary Clinton supporter from the beginning. But I really like Elizabeth Warren.
KHALID: Bret Albright says Warren energizes the base in a way Hillary Clinton can't do in a general election. Clinton needs to shore up her support from white men and younger voters who supported Bernie Sanders in the primary, people like 27-year-old Selene Carey.
SELENE CAREY: I think hearing her speak to all that economic justice kind of issues - that really did excite me about her as a candidate. I don't know if I had that enthusiasm as much before seeing her speak today.
KHALID: Carey voted for Sanders but says now she'll support Clinton in November. Warren is essentially Bernie Sanders' soul sister. They both focus on economic populism and cater to the far left of the Democratic Party. And so she could help unify the party.
NICK MILLER: I was a - definitely a really big Bernie supporter during the primary.
KHALID: That's Nick Miller. I met him in the crowd with a couple of musician friends, and he says he's now onboard with Clinton.
MILLER: And just with the race - the way that the race has played out, it's extremely important that someone like Donald Trump is not in the White House.
KHALID: And that is the same simple message that Clinton and Warren are trying to deliver when they give each other a hug and wave to the crowd. Asma Khalid, NPR News, Cincinnati. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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