US Vice President Kamala Harris has now received the endorsement of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, the former president and first lady declaring in a new video: “She’ll make a fantastic President of the United States.”
Harris has meanwhile trolled Donald Trump after the Republican presidential nominee backed out of a proposed television debate with her, asking on social media: “What happened to any time, any place?”
Trump had previously used those words to lay down the gauntlet to Joe Biden but now appears to have cold feet about taking on Harris, after the former stepped down from the Democratic Party ticket on Sunday to make way for his deputy, who is now presumptive nominee for the White House.
Harris accused Trump on Thursday of “backpedaling” on his commitment to a debate provisionally scheduled for September 10 to be broadcast on ABC.
Trump’s campaign team subsequently confirmed that he would not face her, at least not yet, blaming Democratic instability for the U-turn.
Meanwhile, a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College has found Harris just one percentage point behind Trump, a narrowing of the six-point gap between Biden and Trump.
Key Points
- Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris: ‘She’ll make a fantastic President of the United States’
- Harris trolls Trump as he backs out of debate: ‘What happened to any time, any place?'
- Democrat comes out swinging against Republican rival
- ‘We choose freedom’: Harris launches first presidential campaign ad
- Harris condemns ‘unpatriotic protesters’ and ‘hate-fueled rhetoric’ at DC Netanyahu protests
Obamas endorse Kamala: ‘She’ll make a fantastic President of the United States’
10:10
Joe Sommerlad
Barack and Michelle Obama have just put out this video endorsing Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee in place of Joe Biden, putting to bed any conservative speculation that they had doubts about her candidacy once and for all.
Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend @KamalaHarris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support. At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in… pic.twitter.com/0UIS0doIbA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 26, 2024
Judging from Kamala’s outfit, the call must have come in on Wednesday.
Here’s the very latest from Rachel Sharp.
Harris trolls Trump as he backs out of debate: ‘What happened to any time, any place?'
10:00
Joe Sommerlad
US Vice President Kamala Harris has trolled Donald Trump after the Republican presidential nominee backed out of a proposed television debate, asking on social media: “What happened to any time, any place?”
Trump had previously used those words to lay down the gauntlet to Joe Biden but now appears to have cold feet about taking on Harris, after the former stepped down from the Democratic Party ticket on Sunday to make way for his deputy, who is now its presumptive nominee for the White House.
Harris accused Trump on Thursday of “backpedaling” on his commitment to a presidential debate provisionally scheduled for September 10 to be broadcast on ABC.
Trump’s campaign team subsequently confirmed that he would not face her, at least not yet, blaming Democratic instability for the U-turn.
Here’s our report.
09:00
Oliver O'Connell
Simmering tensions over Gaza but Biden and Netanyahu all smiles in Oval Office
08:00
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were unfailingly cordial as the two leaders met in the Oval Office for what may be their last face-to-face talks before Biden leaves office after this year’s presidential election.
Netanyahu, who has spent much of the time since he became Israel’s prime minister in 2009 as a thorn in the side to Democratic presidents for his work to undermine the two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, praised Biden’s long-standing support for Israel while he and the American leader spoke to reporters ahead of their bilateral talks.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Gabrielle Giffords stumps for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania
07:16
Namita Singh
Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district, took to the campaign trail on Thursday for vice president Kamala Harris, as her nascent presidential campaign gets off the ground and a parallel campaign to find her running mate takes shape.
Ms Giffords, speaking at the Salt and Light church in swing-state Pennsylvania, met with community activists in a predominantly Black section of Philadelphia hit by gun violence recently, including one over the weekend in which three people were killed and at least six others were wounded.
The event had long been planned, Ms Giffords aides said, well before her husband, senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro entered the conversation to be Ms Harris’ running mate, now that president Joe Biden ended his re-election bid.
Ms Giffords spoke briefly about her long recovery from the shooting in 2011, which killed six people during a meeting with constituents at a Tucson grocery store. Ms Harris’ other surrogates, including Pennsylvania House speaker Joanna McClinton, framed the November presidential contest as a choice between Ms Harris, who would sign a ban on assault weapons, and more gun violence under Republican Donald Trump, who gun-rights groups back.
“We are overwhelmed with violence all across America from rural Pennsylvania to inner city neighbourhoods like where we are today,” Ms McClinton said. “We as voters can make a decision on having a more violent United States or safer communities in every part of America.”
Nikki Haley denounces attack on Harris over gender, race
06:45
Namita Singh
Nikki Haley has criticised members of her own party for attacks on vice president Kamala Harris over her age, race and gender.
“There are so many issues we can talk about when it comes to Kamala Harris, that it doesn’t matter what she looks like,” Ms Haley told CNN. “It matters what she said, what she’s fought for, and the lack of results that she’s had because of it.”
Earlier, representative Tim Burchett called the vice president a “DEI hire,” and “DEI vice president,” in a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, while representative Glenn Grothman said Democrats chose Ms Harris to replace president Joe Biden “because of her ethnic background.”
Harris likely to name running mate by 7 August
06:30
Namita Singh
Vice president Kamala Harris is likely to name her running mate by 7 August, reported the New York Times, citing sources.
A number of candidates are in consideration including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.
She is reportedly casting a wider net in her search for a running mate, looking to current administration officials, Democratic lawmakers and potentially other high-profile figures who do not currently hold elected office.
Trump backtracks on debating against Harris
06:04
Namita Singh
Donald Trump’s campaign on Thursday cast doubt about a 10 September debate that had been previously scheduled against Joe Biden. Kamala Harris has said she is prepared to debate Trump that day, but the Trump campaign said in a statement that debate details cannot be finalised until the Democrats formally name a candidate, which could happen the first week of August.
“It would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds,” said Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign communications director, in a statement late on Thursday.
Ms Harris, meanwhile accused Trump of “backpedaling” saying: “I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on the debate stage.”
Will Maya Rudolph make her Saturday Night Live return as Kamala Harris?
06:00
Oliver O'Connell
As Kamala Harris continues her campaign to officially secure the Democratic presidential nomination, Saturday Night Live fans are calling on Maya Rudolph to reprise her beloved impersonation of the Vice President.
Rudolph, 51, first portrayed the VP on a 2019 episode of NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series, where she sparred with Woody Harrelson’s Joe Biden and riffed on Harris’s most memorable lines from the first round of Democratic primary debates.
She famously brought back her impersonation of Harris for the show’s 46th season in 2021.
Inga Parkel has the story.
Who Kamala called
05:00
Oliver O'Connell
The New York Times reports on how Kamala Harris took charge of her future at the head of the Democratic Party in the all-important 48 hours following the decision by President Joe Biden that he was not standing for re-election.
There was a sprawling call list waiting for her of all the key Democratic power brokers.
Per the Times:
“I wasn’t going to let this day go by without you hearing from me,” Ms. Harris had said over and over, as day turned to night, according to five people who received her calls or were briefed on them.
She phoned past Democratic presidents, many of her potential rivals — including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — the Democratic congressional leaders, Senator Bernie Sanders, the heads of the various influential caucuses and other top Democrats, a person with direct knowledge of the call list said.
The blitz demonstrated exactly the kind of vigor and energy that Mr. Biden had lacked in recent weeks. Mr. Biden had reportedly made 20 calls to congressional Democrats in the first 10 or so days after the debate, while his candidacy hung in the balance. Ms. Harris made 100 calls in 10 hours.
The paper quotes Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and past presidential candidate, as saying: “It was a very well-orchestrated cascade.”
“I have to confess I am surprised myself how fast this has gone.”
Robby Mook, former campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run, called it “a perfect 48 hours”.
Harris tells Netanyahu ‘it is time’ to end war in Gaza
04:49
AP
Vice president Kamala Harris said she urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas so that dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza can return home.
Ms Harris said she had a “frank and constructive” conversation with Mr Netanyahu in which she affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself but also expressed deep concern about the high death toll in Gaza over nine months of war and the “dire” humanitarian situation there.
With all eyes on the likely Democratic presidential nominee, Ms Harris largely reiterated president Joe Biden’s longstanding message that it is time to find an endgame to the brutal war in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have died.
Yet she offered a more forceful tone about the urgency of the moment just one day after Mr Netanyahu gave a fiery speech to United States Congress in which he defended the war, vowed “total victory” against Hamas and made relatively scant mention of ceasefire negotiations.
“There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal,” Ms Harris told reporters shortly after meeting Mr Netanyahu.
“And as I just told prime minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.”
Jill Biden meets with US Olympic athletes in Paris
04:00
AP
U.S. first lady Jill Biden visited some American athletes at an Olympic training center in Paris on Thursday, wishing rugby and track and field competitors good luck and even taking part in a stationary relay drill with runners.
Biden arrived in Paris a day before the Summer Games’ opening ceremony on the Seine River. She will watch athletes parade on a flotilla of boats Friday after a reception with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Élysée Palace.
Read more...
03:00
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris officially joins TikTok
02:30
Mike Bedigan
Kamala Harris has launched her own official TikTok account.
The vice president, and now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, posted her first video on the social media platform on Thursday.
Asked whether she was now “on TikTok” she replies: “Well I’ve heard recently that I’ve been on the For You Page, so I thought I would get on here myself.
@kamalaharris Thought it was about time to join!
♬ original sound - Kamala Harris
Reaction to Biden’s address to nation from across political spectrum
02:00
Oliver O'Connell
Democrats, Republicans and talking heads have lead reaction to President Joe Biden’s address to the nation on Wednesday night, with supporters saying he “fell on his sword” while critics blasted it as “barely understandable”.
James Liddell reports.
Judge threatens to sanction Hunter Biden's legal team
01:00
AP
A federal judge in California is threatening to sanction Hunter Biden‘s lawyers, saying they made “false statements” in a court filing asking the judge to throw out the tax case against President Joe Biden‘s son.
US District Judge Mark Scarsi accused lawyers for the Democratic president’s son of “misrepresenting the history” of the case when they said in court papers filed last week that no charges were brought in the investigation until after Delaware US Attorney David Weiss was named special counsel in August 2023.
Which Democrats worked with JD Vance in the Senate and what were their thoughts?
Friday 26 July 2024 00:30
Oliver O'Connell
Senator Elizabeth Warren has been one of JD Vance’s sharpest critics since former President Donald Trump picked the Ohio Republican senator as his vice presidential running mate. And that makes sense, given she was an early supporter of Kamala Harris going back to the vice president’s days as attorney general of California.
But back in Washington, the Massachusetts Democrat has happily worked with Vance, as the pair serve on the Senate Banking Committee and co-authored legislation to claw back executive pay for failed banks.
“It’s good legislation,” Warren told The Independent while she rushed out of the Senate after votes on Thursday. “I’m happy to work with anyone.”
Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.
Harris wins over Democrat voters but still trails behind Trump
Friday 26 July 2024 00:00
Oliver O'Connell
The first few polls are out since President Joe Biden announced he would be abandoning his second bid for the White House on Sunday, with Vice President Kamala Harris set to take over as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Most polls show Harris neck-and-neck with former President Donald Trump, with Harris leading by two points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, but trailing Trump by a few points in several others.
The polls were carried out between July 21, when Biden dropped out, and July 23.
Data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports.
Harris ‘ready’ to debate Trump and accuses him of ‘backpedaling’ on agreement
Thursday 25 July 2024 23:30
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said she is fully prepared to meet Donald Trump at the September debate which their respective campaigns agreed upon earlier this year and accused the ex-president of reneging on the agreement.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
Harris rides Biden wave to pick up union support (with a few exceptions)
Thursday 25 July 2024 23:15
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris is on track to wrap up support from America’s biggest labor unions, even as Republicans led by JD Vance and Donald Trump try to make a play for union voters.
The vice president spoke at an event held by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) on Thursday, where she thanked the teachers’ union for its longstanding support of her political career.
John Bowden and Eric Garcia report from Washington, DC.
Who are Kamala Harris’s stepchildren?
Thursday 25 July 2024 23:00
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris was once called a “childless cat lady” by Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance — a claim that the childfree community, her husband’s ex-wife, and even Jennifer Aniston have slammed as sexist.
It’s also just plain wrong, as Kelly Rissman reports.
Thursday 25 July 2024 22:46
Oliver O'Connell
Thursday 25 July 2024 22:42
Oliver O'Connell
Constitutional amendment aims to reverse Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling
Thursday 25 July 2024 22:02
Oliver O'Connell
New York congressman Joe Morelle has introduced a constitutional amendment intended to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision granting presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions while in office.
A statement from Morelle reads:
Earlier this month the Supreme Court of the United States undermined not just the foundation of our constitutional government, but the foundation of our democracy. At its core, our nation relies on the principle that no American stands above another in the eyes of the law. I introduced this constitutional amendment to correct a grave error of this Supreme Court and protect our democracy by ensuring no president is ever above the law. The American people expect their leaders to be held to the same standards we hold for any member of our community. Presidents are not monarchy, they are not tyrants, and shall not be immune.
Former DOJ officials endorse Kamala Harris fearing Trump win
Thursday 25 July 2024 21:46
Oliver O'Connell
NBC News has obtained a letter signed by more than 40 former Justice Department officials — who served under presidents of both parties — endorsing Kamala Harris for the presidency.
Those who signed the letter include former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former deputy attorneys general Sally Yates, David Ogden and Jamie Gorelick, and John McKay, who was appointed as a top federal prosecutor in Washington state during the George W Bush administration.
“The fabric of the nation, the rule of law and the future of the Democracy are at stake in this election,” the letter states.
“The stakes could not be higher. Former President Trump presents a grave risk to our country, our global alliances and the future of democracy.”
Per NBC News:
Trump “regularly ignored the rule of law” as president, the former officials wrote, pointing out that one of his first acts was an “unconstitutional Muslim travel ban” and one of his last acts was an attempt “to stay in power by defying election results and the will of the American people.”
Harris is “the best choice to defeat Donald Trump and lead the nation,” the letter says, citing her work in the Biden administration and as attorney general of California, where “she oversaw the largest state justice department in the country. She forged strong relationships with law enforcement to keep people safe, fought for American consumers and fought against those preying on the American people.”
Simmering tensions over Gaza but Biden and Netanyahu all smiles in Oval Office
Thursday 25 July 2024 21:36
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were unfailingly cordial as the two leaders met in the Oval Office for what may be their last face-to-face talks before Biden leaves office after this year’s presidential election.
Netanyahu, who has spent much of the time since he became Israel’s prime minister in 2009 as a thorn in the side to Democratic presidents for his work to undermine the two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, praised Biden’s long-standing support for Israel while he and the American leader spoke to reporters ahead of their bilateral talks.
Andrew Feinberg reports from the White House.
Thursday 25 July 2024 21:31
Oliver O'Connell
New poll: Harris now a threat to Trump in several major swing states
Thursday 25 July 2024 21:13
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris has pulled her party back into contention in several key battleground states after taking the reins of the presidential ticket and becoming the presumptive nominee for the Democrats.
A new Emerson poll released on Thursday shows Harris putting an end to the bleeding her predecessor was suffering for weeks across five key states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. She still trails Donald Trump in each state, but she’s now within just a few percentage points — ground she has a chance of making up over the next 100-plus days until the general election.
John Bowden has the details.
A new low point?
Thursday 25 July 2024 21:00
Oliver O'Connell
Thursday 25 July 2024 20:57
Oliver O'Connell
“You have been asking me about the debate and I’ll tell you I’m ready to debate Donald Trump. I have agreed to the previously agreed upon September 10 debate. He agreed to that previously. Now, here he is backpedaling and I’m ready and I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage and so I’m ready to go.”
New York Times/Siena College poll sees single point between Harris and Trump
Thursday 25 July 2024 20:45
Oliver O'Connell
The latest New York Times/Siena College poll has Donald Trump at 48 per cent and Kamala Harris at 47 per cent among likely voters in a head-to-head match-up, in the first survey since Harris took over as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee after President Joe Biden stepped aside.
This shows a marked improvement for Democrats. The last poll conducted by the group in early July showed Biden down six per cent to Trump.
Among registered voters, Trump leads Harris by two per cent (48:46) but he led Biden by nine per cent in the earlier poll.
Per the Times:
The poll showed Ms. Harris garnering about 60 percent support from voters under 30 and Hispanic voters, groups Mr. Biden had consistently struggled with. Among voters under 45, Ms. Harris was ahead by 10 percentage points, less than three weeks after Mr. Trump had held a narrow edge with that group over Mr. Biden.
Because the survey was of voters nationwide, the impact of Ms. Harris’s candidacy in particular battleground states was not immediately clear. But a Democratic candidate with greater appeal to younger and more diverse voters could put renewed focus on the Sun Belt states of Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, which had been threatening to slip off the swing-state map for Mr. Biden.
The nationwide poll surveyed 1,142 registered voters between July 22-24 by phone in both English and Spanish. The poll’s margin of sampling error among registered voters is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
Harris says she is ready to debate Trump as he backpedals on agreed date
Thursday 25 July 2024 20:41
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris says she’s ready to debate Donald Trump on ABC on September 10 as previously agreed.
Trump now seems to be backing away from the face-off.
Trump agreed on a September 10th debate.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 25, 2024
It now appears he's backpedaling.
Voters deserve to see the split screen that exists on a debate stage.
I'm ready. So let's go.
Anti-immigrant campaign ad sees Missouri Republican slammed for ‘racist bigotry’
Thursday 25 July 2024 20:30
Oliver O'Connell
A Missouri Republican with a history of attention-seeking political stunts is promising to “crack down on illegal immigration” in a widely derided ad loaded with racist stereotypes.
Bill Eigel, a GOP state senator running for governor of Missouri, stands next to a Spanish “translator” as he pledges “no more taxpayer handouts to illegals, period. Nada, zilch, zero.”
Alex Woodward reports.
Harris wins over Democrat voters but still trails behind Trump in first polls
Thursday 25 July 2024 20:00
Oliver O'Connell
The first few polls are out since President Joe Biden announced he would be abandoning his second bid for the White House on Sunday, with Vice President Kamala Harris set to take over as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Most polls show Harris neck-and-neck with former President Donald Trump, with Harris leading by two points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, but trailing Trump by a few points in several others.
The polls were carried out between July 21, when Biden dropped out, and July 23.
Alicja Hagopian, data correspondent, reports.
Fox News proposes hosting new debate between Trump and Harris
Thursday 25 July 2024 19:42
Oliver O'Connell
Fox News has written to both the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns proposing that the network host a presidential debate on September 17 in Pennsylvania.
“Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee, Fox News Media is amending our proposal for a debate this cycle. Given the race has changed, we’d like to request the opportunity to host a Presidential Debate between VP Harris and former President Trump,” the letters sent to each campaign, signed by Fox News Media president and executive editor Jay Wallace and Fox News vice president of politics Jessica Loker, stated.
“We propose to host the debate in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 17, just as early voting is getting underway there and in other key battlegrounds. We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location — with or without an audience,” Wallace and Loker continued. “Again, we believe Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the faces of our political coverage, are the best choices to moderate.”
The proposal continued: “As you recall, despite not having a Democratic debate in 2016/2020, Fox News was able to secure town halls with Democratic candidates such as: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand.”
“In recognition of Fox News Media’s capabilities and reputation, we cordially extend an invitation to all concerned parties to discuss our proposal. We appreciate your consideration and look forward to the opportunity to foster informed political dialogue at this pivotal moment for our nation,” they concluded.
COMMENT: Has Netanyahu finally lost support in America?
Thursday 25 July 2024 19:30
Oliver O'Connell
Kim Sengupta writes that the Israeli prime minister’s address to US Congress showed just how badly frayed the relationship between the once-close nations has become.
Read Joe Biden’s Oval Office address in full
Thursday 25 July 2024 19:15
Oliver O'Connell
RFK Jr thinks government should send ‘addicts’ to tech-free ‘wellness farms’
Thursday 25 July 2024 19:00
Oliver O'Connell
Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has said he wants to create tech-free “wellness farms” for those struggling with addiction to “reparent” them away from using both legal and illegal drugs.
The anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist took part in a live recording of the Latino Capitalist podcast during a virtual “Latino Town Hall” last week when he shared his idea for new addiction treatment programs for “addicts” using opiates, but also antidepressants, and ADHD medication.
Gustaf Kilander reports on what he said.