A group of famous, self-described “white dudes” raked in more than $3.5m in donations for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign during a Zoom rally on Monday.
The “White Dudes for Harris” online rally included Hollywood stars such as Jeff Bridges, Mark Ruffalo and Josh Groban as well as Democratic officials such as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and potential VP candidate Pete Buttigieg.
Over 150,000 joined the virtual event where Bridges channeled his “The Dude” moniker from The Big Lebowski: “I’m excited, man!”
As the event drew in numbers, organizer Ross Morales Rocketto claimed that X – owned by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk – suspended its account on the platform.
The same day, Harris’ field of potential vice presidential running mates narrowed with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and then Cooper ruling themselves out, leaving Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as favorites.
Trump meanwhile put in an appearance on Fox News where he defended JD Vance’s sexist comments and again refused to commit to debating Harris.
“The answer is yes, I’ll probably end up debating,” he said, then adding: “I can also make a case for not doing it.”
Key Points
- White Dudes for Harris rakes in cash for Kamala Harris
- Roy Cooper rules himself out as Harris’ VP
- Trump defends JD Vance’s sexist comments: ‘I think women understand’
- JD Vance admits Harris replacing Biden was a ‘sucker punch’
- Harris narrows gap on Trump in new poll
Watch: Kamala Harris campaign launches first TV ad
14:35
Oliver O'Connell
NEW: We just launched our campaign’s first TV ad.
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 30, 2024
Donald Trump wants to take us backward — but we are not going back. pic.twitter.com/MzsCk5CxCL
Biden says court reform needed to protect civil rights
14:25
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden on Monday said his proposal to reform the nation’s highest court is in keeping with the tradition of expanding and protecting civil rights and a justified response to the current Supreme Court’s effort to roll back a whole host of rights enjoyed by Americans and plans laid out in Donald Trump’s “Project 2025.”
Speaking at the Lyndon Johnson presidential library at an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act that ended legal segregation in America, Biden said Republicans are “planning another onslaught” of attacks against civil rights to follow up on the end of the federal right to abortion and restrictions on enforcement of the Voting Rights Act signed into law by Johnson nearly six decades ago.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Countdown on for Trump to decide on Vance’s future, says Schumer
13:30
Oliver O'Connell
If Donald Trump is having doubts about JD Vance as his running mate, he doesn’t have long to choose a replacement, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Josh Marcus reports.
White Dudes for Harris X account is suspended with organizer saying Elon Musk ‘got scared’ by $4m fundraiser
13:02
Rachel Sharp
The X account for “White Dudes for Harris” was briefly suspended on Monday as the group held an online fundraising rally for Kamala Harris – sparking outrage and prompting the organizer to accuse Elon Musk of getting “scared.”
A group of almost 200,000 Democrats, including Hollywood stars and potential running mates, met on a Zoom call on Monday evening to voice their support for Harris’ White House run.
The star-studded online rally raked in more than $3.5m in donations, adding to the $200m haul that Harris’ campaign raised in the first week of her run for the Oval Office.
But, the organizers soon learned that the X account, titled @dudes4harris, had been suspended.
Read more...
Who is winning in the Kamala Harris veepstakes?
12:30
Eric Garcia
Vice President Kamala Harris has continued to build on her momentum since the Democratic Party coalesced around her. A new poll showed that she has made significant inroads with Latino voters and during the White Women for Harris fundraiser last week, she reportedly raised $20,000 per minute.
But with the election 99 days away, Harris has to clear every hoop to have a chance at beating Donald Trump. That means she must ace her first big task: picking the person to run against Senator JD Vance as her running mate.
Historically, running mates have had a minimal effect on the top of the ticket. This time is different; similar to Barack Obama in 2008, Harris remains untested on the national stage and her 2020 campaign ended before the Iowa caucus. This means the running mate selection will have even higher salience.
Here’s The Independent’s ranking of who’s doing all the right moves in the veepstakes.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper takes himself out of the running for Kamala Harris’ VP
12:10
Rachel Sharp
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has taken himself out of contention as Kamala Harris’ running mate.
Cooper had been considered a potential running mate given his long friendship with Harris going back to their days as attorneys general of North Carolina and California, respectively.
“I strongly support Vice President Harris’s campaign for president,” he said in a statement on X. “I know she is going to win and it was an honor to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to be running on the national ticket.”
Read the full story:
Jon Stewart offers Republicans complaining about Harris replacing Biden some advice: ‘You can replace your old guy too’
11:53
Rachel Sharp
Jon Stewart has offered some advice to Republicans complaining about Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic party’s ticket: replace their old guy too.
Following the president’s announcement that he was stepping down from the 2024 race, several conservative figures have tried to claim that there was a “coup” among Democrats to oust Biden – with some even going as far as to cry “election interference”.
It’s a narrative that has featured prominently on Fox News over the last week, including during an appearance from Donald Trump‘s running mate JD Vance.
Stewart roasted Republicans over their grumblings during The Daily Show on Monday night.
Read more...
Kamala Harris is still the pride of her Indian ancestral village
11:30
Oliver O'Connell
Vishwam Sankaran writes:
Between the coconut trees, bungalows and rice paddies of this remote village in southern India there is a bizarre sight: a collection of giant blue posters adorned with the face of US vice president Kamala Harris, each wishing her – in the local Tamil language – luck for November’s presidential election.
Continue reading...
Trump defends JD Vance’s sexist comments: ‘I think women understand’
11:18
Rachel Sharp
Donald Trump has come to JD Vance’s defense over his sexist comments, claiming that women “understand” his running mate’s controversial views.
Before he was sworn into the Senate in 2021, Vance branded then-new vice president Kamala Harris and other Democrats as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives” in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
The former Marine’s comments have since resurfaced after he was chosen as Trump’s vice presidential pick earlier this month – prompting fierce backlash.
But, in an interview with Fox News on Monday, Trump stood by his running mate and insisted he has “tremendous support”, particularly among “people that like families.”
“He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good,” he told host Laura Ingraham.
“And I don’t think there’s anything wrong in saying that.”
Read on...
White Dudes for Harris rakes in cash for Kamala Harris
10:30
Rachel Sharp
Celebrities, elected officials and political activists jumped on a Zoom call to raise more than $3.5m for Vice President Kamala Harris’s run for president on Monday evening.
The Zoom call featured stars such as Mark Ruffalo, Josh Gad, Sean Astin, Mark Hamill, and Josh Groban.
There were also appearances by elected officials such as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, former House majority leader Steny Hoyer and Senator Gary Peters of Michigan. Potential Harris VP Pete Buttigieg was also on the call.
Similarly, many of the attendees took swipes at former president Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, seeing it as a chance to push back on sexist attacks about Harris being one of the “childless cat ladies” who runs the country, as well as accusations she was a diversity hire.
As of Monday evening, the Zoom call raised $3.5m.
Read the full story:
Trump slams Olympics opening ceremony a 'disgrace'
10:10
Rachel Sharp
Donald Trump has become the latest right-wing figure to fume about the Olympics opening ceremony, branding it a “disgrace” in an interview with Fox News on Monday night.
“I thought that the opening ceremony was a disgrace, actually. I thought it was a disgrace,” he said.
The former president then vowed that the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will look very different.
“We won’t be having a Last Supper as portrayed the way they portrayed it the other night. I mean, they can do certain things. I thought it was terrible,” he said.
“Look, I’m for everybody. I’m very open-minded... but I thought what they did was a disgrace.”
Conservatives have been up in arms over the Olympics opening ceremony which featured drag performers and a reimagined version of The Last Supper.
JD Vance says the quiet part out loud as he admits Harris replacing Biden was a 'sucker punch'
09:50
Rachel Sharp
The audio @iarnsdorf obtained of Vance saying: “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.” pic.twitter.com/aMH9I7yMNg
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 30, 2024
Kamala Harris ends poll bleeding among Democrats
09:30
Oliver O'Connell
The efforts to paint JD Vance and former President Donald Trump as “weird” appear to be paying off.
Kamala Harris entered her second week as a presidential candidate on Monday, and a slew of new polling indicates that her “honeymoon” period is not coming to an end just yet.
With the formerly-Biden, now-Harris campaign pushing out a new memo to reporters detailing the strength of the vice president’s candidacy as the week began, all the signs indicate that momentum is clearly shifting in the US presidential race. The campaign woke up on Monday morning to a pair of new polls from ABC News and the Wall Street Journal indicating what many had suspected for days: Kamala Harris has now completed a virtual reset of the presidential race’s dynamic, erasing months of bleeding suffered by the campaign when Joe Biden was at the top.
John Bowden has the details.
07:30
Oliver O'Connell
Harris and Democrats keep calling Trump and Vance ‘weird’
06:30
Namita Singh
Vice president Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies are emphasising a new line of criticism against Republicans — branding Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance, as “weird”.
Democrats are applying the label with gusto in interviews and online, notably to Mr Vance’s comments on abortion and his previous suggestion that political leaders who didn’t have biological children “don’t really have a direct stake” in the country.
The “weird” message appears to have given Democrats a narrative advantage that it rarely had when president Joe Biden was still running for reelection. Trump’s campaign, which so often shapes political discussions with the former president’s pronouncements, has spent days trying to flip the script by highlighting things about Democrats it says are weird.
“I don’t know who came up with the message, but I salute them,” said David Karpf, a strategic communication professor at George Washington University.
Mr Karpf said labeling Republican comments as “weird” is the sort of concise take that resonates quickly with Harris supporters. Plus, Karpf noted, “it frustrates opponents, leading them to further amplify it through off-balance responses.”
“So far, at least, Trump-Vance has been incapable of finding an effective response,” Mr Karpf said.
Associated Press
Elon Musk shares manipulated video of Kamala Harris
05:30
Oliver O'Connell
Elon Musk, the owner of X, reposted an altered video of Kamala Harris without noting that it had been edited, seemingly in violation of his own platform’s policies.
The world’s richest man reposted a video that seems to have been deceptively edited to make it appear as if a real campaign ad, where Harris says that she’s the “ultimate diversity hire,” President Joe Biden is senile and that she doesn’t “know the first thing about running the country.”
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Mark Ruffalo, Mark Hamill, Josh Gad and Jeff Bridges show up at White Dudes for Harris Zoom
04:30
Namita Singh
Celebrities, elected officials and political activists jumped on a Zoom call to raise more than $3.5m for vice president Kamala Harris’s run for president on Monday evening.
The Zoom call featured stars such as Mark Ruffalo, Josh Gad, Sean Astin, Mark Hamill, and Josh Groban.
There were also appearances by elected officials such as North Carolina governor Roy Cooper, former House majority leader Steny Hoyer and senator Gary Peters of Michigan. Potential Harris VP Pete Buttigieg was also on the call.
Report:
Democrats are hard selling Kamala Harris’ message that Trump and Vance are ‘weird’
03:30
Oliver O'Connell
Prominent Democrats championed Vice President Kamala Harris’s bid for the presidency on Sunday, one week after the official launch of her campaign, as she seeks to capitalize on a wave of support coalescing around her candidacy.
The Democratic Party’s sudden unification was on full display across the broadcast and cable news networks on Sunday as the party’s biggest stars lined up to deliver talking points on three issues: the strength of Harris’s resume, the perceived weirdness of Trump and his vice presidential candidate JD Vance, and Joe Biden’s lame-duck agenda item, Supreme Court reform. Today marked the first round of Sunday news talk shows (minus Meet the Press, pre-empted by the Olympics) since Biden’s decision to drop out of the race was announced last Sunday afternoon.
John Bowden reports.
Harris received $20,000 per minute during fundraising effort, campaigners say
02:30
Oliver O'Connell
At one point on Thursday, the Kamala Harris campaign was raising $20,000 per minute, campaigners said.
The campaign for the vice president was hosting a Zoom call for white women to “answer the call” and “show up for Kamala Harris.”
“We’re raising $20,000 per minute — the system wasn’t built for this. If you can’t make your donation, keep trying,” Shannon Watts, founder of the anti-gun violence group Mom Demands Action, wrote on X on Thursday morning.
Watts added that there were more than 100,000 participants and that at least $2m was raised during the fundraising effort.
Read on...
Harris gaining on Trump among Hispanic voters, new poll shows
01:30
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is quickly gaining on former President Donald Trump among Hispanic voters, a new poll shows.
While majorities of Hispanic voters have supported Democrats in the past, many have recently been moving towards the Republican Party.
Some polls have indicated that Trump was gaining on President Joe Biden among this group of voters before Biden decided to step aside as the Democratic nominee.
Gustaf Kilander looks at the numbers.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper takes himself out of the running for Kamala Harris’ VP
01:25
Josh Marcus
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper reportedly took himself out of contention to Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, according to reports from The New York Times and CNN.
Cooper had been considered a potential running mate given his longtime friendship with Harris going back to their days as attorneys general of North Carolina and California, respectively.
A widely popular governor of a swing state, some saw him as having the potential to flip a state Democrats have not won in 16 years. A staple in North Carolina politics, Cooper had served as attorney general for sixteen years before he beat an incumbent Republican governor in 2016 despite the fact that Donald Trump carried the Tar Heel state.
As governor, Cooper expanded Medicaid under Obamacare but also vetoed a 12-week abortion ban that the state legislature ultimately overrode.
Eric Garcia has the story.
In support of Kamala Harris, Joan Baez changes lyrics to ‘America the Beautiful’
Tuesday 30 July 2024 00:30
Oliver O'Connell
Legendary singer-songwriter Joan Baez has urged fans to register to vote in the looming US election, as she expressed her support for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The folk musician and activist, 83, shared a video of herself singing “America the Beautiful” on Sunday (28 July), as she played an acoustic guitar.
Roisin O’Connor has the story.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper reportedly out of Kamala Harris veepstakes
Tuesday 30 July 2024 00:29
Josh Marcus
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper has reportedly taken himself out of consideration to serve as presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 election.
Cooper, 67, reportedly made the call based on concerns about his age and that North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, would take over for him if he left for national office, according to anonymous sources who spoke with CNN.
Tuesday 30 July 2024 00:00
Oliver O'Connell
Veepstakes: Who’s in the running?
Monday 29 July 2024 23:30
Oliver O'Connell
Here’s Eric Garcia with The Independent’s latest ranking of Kamala Harris’s potential running mates.
4. Andy Beshear has fallen off the map a bit, but there's a chance for him to get back in.
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) July 29, 2024
OUT:
Whitmer took herself out of the running.
Wild Card:
Jim Clyburn's praise of Buttigieg suddenly puts him in the running. https://t.co/owHuHCEXX1
Watch: Shapiro says as Trump hugs US flag ‘he’s ripping away our freedoms'
Monday 29 July 2024 23:15
Oliver O'Connell
Shapiro: You ever see this guy? He kind of meanders over and goes over to the flag and hugs the flag. I love the flag but it’s a weird thing he does. While he’s hugging the flag, he’s ripping away our freedoms… pic.twitter.com/YvNGpUZawS
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 29, 2024
Biden says court reform needed to protect civil rights
Monday 29 July 2024 23:05
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden on Monday said his proposal to reform the nation’s highest court is in keeping with the tradition of expanding and protecting civil rights and a justified response to the current Supreme Court’s effort to roll back a whole host of rights enjoyed by Americans and plans laid out in Donald Trump’s “Project 2025.”
Speaking at the Lyndon Johnson presidential library at an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act that ended legal segregation in America, Biden said Republicans are “planning another onslaught” of attacks against civil rights to follow up on the end of the federal right to abortion and a restrictions on enforcement of the Voting Rights Act signed into law by Johnson nearly six decades ago.
He also slammed the high court for its’ recent decision granting presidents broad immunity for official acts in response to Trump’s effort to avoid criminal charges stemming from his efforts to unlawfully remain in office after losing the 2020 election.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Watch: GOP senator gets schooled about name-calling in contentious Fox News interview
Monday 29 July 2024 22:45
Oliver O'Connell
Kennedy’s interview on Fox was not helpful at all for the Trump campaign. Might want to reconsider having this guy implode on tv on behalf of your candidacy pic.twitter.com/bGkCbvy9tW
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 29, 2024
American flags should be born in the USA now, too, Congress says
Monday 29 July 2024 22:30
AP
Soon, Old Glory will have to be born in the land of the free and not merely flying over it.
Congress has passed a proposal to require the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the U.S. The U.S. imports millions of American flags from overseas, mostly from China, and the sponsors of the proposal said it’s time for American flags to originate in the country they represent.
Watch: Whitmer says Harris has more experience than both Trump and Vance combined
Monday 29 July 2024 22:16
Oliver O'Connell
Whitmer: Let’s be clear, Kamala Harris has more experience than the Trump Vance ticket combined. pic.twitter.com/9Ql5JDSa3N
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 29, 2024
Veepstakes: Harris narrows search to three contenders, report says
Monday 29 July 2024 22:06
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris has reportedly narrowed the search for a potential running mate down to three candidates, Bloomberg reports. She has just two weeks to make up her mind as to who will join her on the Democratic Party ticket once she is officially confirmed as the nominee.
People familiar with the process say the shortlist consists of elected officials with nationwide appeal: Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said the vice president has “directed her team to begin the process of vetting potential running mates” but declined to elaborate on the search.
Harris is expected to make a decision by August 7.
Shapiro and Whitmer hold rally in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Monday 29 July 2024 21:43
Oliver O'Connell
AMBLER, Pa — Crowd here for the Monday rally with Govs. Shapiro and Whitmer pic.twitter.com/Lq0qG5bRbk
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) July 29, 2024
Watch LIVE: Biden speaks at Civil Rights Act’s 60th anniversary event
Monday 29 July 2024 21:30
Oliver O'Connell
Watch live as Joe Biden delivers remarks to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the LBJ Presidential Library.
Schumer notes clock ticking if Trump considering replacing Vance
Monday 29 July 2024 21:15
Oliver O'Connell
If Donald Trump is having doubts about JD Vance as his running mate, he doesn’t have long to choose a replacement, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The addition of JD Vance on this ticket is an incredibly bad choice,” Schumer said Sunday on Face the Nation. “Donald Trump, I know him, and he’s probably sitting and watching the TV, and every day it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic.”
Josh Marcus reports.
‘We’ll see if Trump shows’: Harris will be at September 10 debate says campaign
Monday 29 July 2024 21:00
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris’s campaign is doubling down on its accusation that Donald Trump is backpedaling away from their scheduled debate on September 10 hosted by ABC News.
In a statement first shared with The Hill, campaign communications director Michael Tyler said that the vice president will be at the debate as scheduled, regardless of whether the former president shows up.
“As Vice President Harris said last week, the American people deserve to hear from the two candidates running for the highest office in the land and she will do that at September’s ABC debate,” Tyler said. “If Donald Trump and his team are saying anything other than ‘we’ll see you there,’ — and it appears that they are — it’s a convenient, but expected backtrack from Team Trump. Vice President Harris will be there on September 10th — we’ll see if Trump shows.”
Trump adviser Jason Miller told MSNBC over the weekend that the former president will “of course” debate the Democratic Party nominee but they need to formalize who that is “before we go and lock in all the debates”.
A joke? A ‘classic Trumpism’? Or the end of democracy?
Monday 29 July 2024 20:45
Oliver O'Connell
Some Republican lawmakers are downplaying Donald Trump’s claim that Christians will never have to vote again if he is elected in November.
Trump made the remarks at the Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, Friday, at an event hosted by Turning Point Action, a conservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk.
Now Republican allies are walking back the remarks as Katie Hawkinson reports.
White Dudes for Harris mass video call schedueld for 8pm ET
Monday 29 July 2024 20:30
Oliver O'Connell
Following on from the successes of organizing Zoom calls for Black women, Black men, and white women in support of Kamala Harris, tonight is the turn of “White Dudes for Harris” with 75,000 men signed up to take part so far.
Here’s who is confirmed for the call:
- Gov Tim Walz
- Gov JB Pritzker
- Gov Roy Cooper
- Pete Buttigieg
- Mitch Landrieu
- Rep Steny H Hoyer
- Rep Adam Schiff
- International Union of Painters and Allied Trades President Jimmy Williams
- David Hogg, Founder, Leaders we Deserve
- George Goehl, Longtime Rural Organizer and Author, Fundamentals of Organizing
- Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler
- Actor Josh Gad
- Actor Rory O’Malley
- Actor Michael Kelly
- Actor Misha Collins
- Author Scott Galloway
- Actor/Singer Josh Groban
- Actor Bradley Whitford
- Comedian Paul Scheer
- Actor Mark Hamill
- Actor/Producer Mark Ruffalo
- Actor Sean Astin
Hey look, some of our VIPs for tonight's call!!
— White Dudes for Harris (@dudes4harris) July 29, 2024
RSVP & livestream here at 8pm ET: https://t.co/nh9VsviDgK pic.twitter.com/8jb7MfctrM
Calls are also scheduled on Wednesday for Latino men and Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Harris ends poll bleeding among Democrats as ‘weird’ Vance attacks kick in
Monday 29 July 2024 20:15
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
The efforts to paint JD Vance and former President Donald Trump as “weird” appear to be paying off.
Kamala Harris entered her second week as a presidential candidate on Monday, and a slew of new polling indicates that her “honeymoon” period is not coming to an end just yet.
With the formerly-Biden, now-Harris campaign pushing out a new memo to reporters detailing the strength of the vice president’s candidacy as the week began, all the signs indicate that momentum is clearly shifting in the US presidential race. The campaign woke up on Monday morning to a pair of new polls from ABC News and the Wall Street Journal indicating what many had suspected for days: Kamala Harris has now completed a virtual reset of the presidential race’s dynamic, erasing months of bleeding suffered by the campaign when Joe Biden was at the top.
Continue reading...
