Kamala Harris attacks Trump in punchy first speech on campaign trail in Wisconsin

US Vice President Kamala Harris held her first presidential campaign rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday, launching a scathing attack on Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Accusing Trump of trying to “take the country backward”, she asked: “Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”

While the Democratic campaign appears re-energised after Joe Biden pulled out of the race on Sunday, Trump has ramped up his criticism of the new challenger, characterising Harris as “the same as Biden but much more radical”.

The Vice President has already secured support from more than 64 per cent of Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee for president in place of Biden, who threw his support behind her moments after withdrawing from the 2024 race for the White House amid longstanding questions about his age and health.

So far, no major Democratic rivals have emerged to challenge Harris while the party raised a record-breaking $81m in the 24 hours after Biden announced he was stepping aside.

The president will address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening on his plans for finishing out his term.

Key Points

• Kamala Harris attacks Donald Trump in first campaign rally in Wisconsin

• Trump commits to debating Harris

• Biden to make a case for his legacy in Oval Office address

• Republican leaders warn against ‘overtly racist, sexist attacks’ on Harris

• What does Barack Obama really think of Harris?

Trump commits to debating Harris

10:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Donald Trump has committed to debating the likely Democratic presidential nominee, insisting he would be “willing to do more than one” head-to-head with the Vice President.

In a call with reporters on Tuesday, the former president said that he believed it was “important” to take on Harris and that respective party nominees had an “obligation” to debate each other.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Donald Trump commits to debating Kamala Harris: ‘I think it’s important’

Watch: Harris says she knows ‘Trump’s type’ as she speaks of prosecutor past

09:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Harris says she knows ‘Trump’s type’ as she speaks of prosecutor past

Kamala Harris targets Trump’s links to Project 2025 in debut rally

09:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

If you’re just joining us, here’s a look back at Kamala Harris’s first presidential rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, yesterday, the scene of the Republican National Convention just last week.

The presumptive Democratic nominee to face Donald Trump took aim at her GOP rival and a widely derided Trump-linked platform that provides a blueprint for the next GOP administration.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” she said in remarks from Milwaukee just two days after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed his veep.

Harris, who secured enough delegate pledges to clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination within a little over 24 hours after announcing her candidacy, linked Trump to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-backed plan for his administration – and one that his campaign is now furiously trying to distance itself from.

“He and his extreme Project 2025 agenda will weaken the middle class. We know we got to take that seriously,” Harris said.

”Can you believe they put that thing in writing? Read it. It’s 900 pages.”

The plan proposes cuts to Social Security and Medicare, tax breaks to corporations that will force “working families to foot the bill” and abolishes the Affordable Care Act, which “will take us back to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions,” Harris said.

Alex Woodward has more.

Kamala Harris links Trump to Project 2025 in first campaign rally: ‘We can’t go back’

Harris narrows down VP shortlist as two candidates emerge as frontrunners

08:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly have emerged as frontrunners for presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ choice of vice president.

Both men are from key battleground states in the 2024 presidential race and have a history of defeating candidates endorsed by Donald Trump at the ballot box.

Mike Bedigan and Eric Garcia report.

Kamala Harris narrows down VP shortlist as two candidates emerge as frontrunners

Biden to make a case for his legacy in Oval Office address

07:20 , Namita Singh

President Joe Biden will have an opportunity to make a case for his legacy on Wednesday night when he delivers an Oval Office address about his decision to bow out of the race and “what lies ahead.”

The way his single term and decision to step aside will be judged is inevitably intertwined with Kamala Harris’ electoral prospects. “If she wins, then it will be confirmation that he did the right thing to fight against the threat that is (Donald) Trump,” says presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky.

“If she loses, I think there will be questions about, did he step down too late? Would the Democratic Party have been more effective if he had said he was not going to run?” he told the Associated Press.

The last vice president to run for the top job was Democrat Al Gore, who sought to distance himself from president Bill Clinton during the 2000 campaign after the president’s affair with a White House intern and subsequent impeachment.

Ms Harris, in contrast, has spent the better part of the last three years praising Biden’s doings – meaning any attempt to now distance herself would be difficult to explain. And she has to rely on the Biden political operation she inherited to win the election with just over 100 days to go before polls close.

Speaking to campaign staff on Monday, Ms Harris said Mr Biden’s legacy of accomplishment “just over the last three and a half years is unmatched in modern history”.

Trump and his allies, for their part, were eager to tie Ms Harris to Mr Biden’s record even before the president left the race — and not in a good way.

Democrats hope Harris’ abortion bluntness will translate to 2024 win

06:48 , Namita Singh

Vice president Kamala Harris’ bluntness on the issue of abortion and the impact of the overturning of Roe v Wade has earned her support of Democrats and advocated for reproductive rights with some hopeful that it will help her sway key congressional seats.

“The president on the record was fabulous and the campaign was turning out multiple repro-focused ads a week, and had an army of surrogates,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, while referring to Joe Biden’s campaign.

“But, you know, nothing is more compelling than the top of the ticket being the most compelling on the issue, and that’s what we have now.”

In her first official rally as a candidate on Tuesday, Ms Harris touched on the issue of abortion briefly. But she’s expected to make it a major feature of the campaign going forward, as she works to draw a stark contrast between herself and Republican Donald Trump.

She’s eager to portray herself as a direct and consistent advocate with a history of fighting for reproductive health issues, especially Black maternal health.

“We who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans, because we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies and not have their government tell them what to do,” she said to loud cheers at a Wisconsin rally.

The Supreme Court on 24 June 2022, overturned abortion rights that had been in place since 1973. Since then, roughly half the states have put some sort of ban in place.

The consequences of these bans go far beyond restricting access for those who wish to end unwanted pregnancies. And generally, the states with the most restrictions also have the worst rates of maternal mortality.

In focus: What Obama really thinks of Harris

06:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Biden now out of the race and a raft of endorsements from high-profile politicians in her party for Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee for president, one name is conspicuous by its absence: Barack Obama.

What Obama really thinks of Harris (and why it might explain his silence)

Harris attacks Trump in her campaign rally

05:48 , Namita Singh

Kamala Harris launched a fresh attack on Donald Trump at her campaign rally in Wisconsin, accusing him of trying to “take the country backward”.

“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?” she asked.“So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said echoing the comments she made to campaign workers on Monday.

“I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.”

While the Democratic campaign appears re-energised after Joe Biden pulled out of the race on Sunday, former president Trump has repeatedly tried to downplay the threat of his new likely challenger – insisting she will be easier to beat than Biden.

Jewish activists arrested during Gaza war protest in US Congress building

04:56 , Namita Singh

US Capitol police arrested Jewish activists protesting against US military support for Israel inside a congressional building on Tuesday, a day before prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech to Congress.

The protesters, organised by activist group Jewish Voice for Peace, wore red T-shirts bearing the phrases “not in our name” and “Jews say stop arming Israel”. Some carried banners reading “ceasefire now” and “let Gaza live.”

Protests are planned to coincide with Mr Netanyahu’s visit, in which he will meet president Joe Biden, vice president Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“For the past 9 months, we’ve witnessed countless horrors in Gaza, committed in our names and funded by our government,” Jewish Voice for Peace wrote on social media.

The activist group said over 250 protesters were arrested and 400 people took part in the demonstration.

Police said around 200 people were arrested.

“We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested. They did not stop,” the police said in a statement.

“Demonstrating inside the Congressional Buildings is against the law.”

Clip resurfaces of Vance criticising Harris for being ‘childless’

04:54 , Namita Singh

Comments JD Vance made in 2021 questioning vice president Kamala Harris’ leadership because she did not have biological children have resurfaced, testing the young conservative senator in his early days campaigning as part of the Republicans’ presidential ticket.

During Mr Vance’s bid for the Senate in Ohio, he said in a Fox News interview that “we are effectively run in this country via the Democrats,” and referred to them as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too”.

He said that included Ms Harris, US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat.

“How does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?” asked Mr Vance, who is now Donald Trump’s running mate.

Ms Harris became stepmother to two teenagers when she married entertainment lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014. And Mr Buttigieg announced he and his husband adopted infant twins in September 2021, more than a month before Vance made those comments.

The clip has started to spread online, with Hillary Clinton sharing it in a Tuesday post on X and adding sarcastically “what a normal, relatable guy who certainly doesn’t hate women having freedoms”.

Republican leaders warn against ‘overtly racist, sexist attacks’ on Harris

04:32 , Namita Singh

Republican leaders have warned party members against using overtly racist and sexist attacks against vice president Kamala Harris as the GOP works to adjust its campaign against the new Democratic presidential candidate.

At a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman Richard Hudson urged members to stick to criticising Ms Harris for her policies.

“This election will be about policies and not personalities,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the meeting.

“This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris and her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever.”

The meeting came after some members and Trump’s allies began to cast Ms Harris as a “DEI” hire – a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“Intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel,” Wyoming representative Harriet Hageman said in a TV interview. “I think she was a DEI hire. And I think that that’s what we’re seeing and I just don’t think that they have anybody else.”

Harris in ‘no way capable of stopping’ world conflicts, claims Trump

04:17 , Namita Singh

Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris, who on Sunday entered the presidential race after the president pulled out.

The Israeli leader appears to be hedging his bets about the November US election. Polls show the race is tight. Most analysts believe a second Trump administration would give Mr Netanyahu a freer hand in the Gaza war.

Mr Netanyahu and Trump were mostly in sync ideologically and on policy during Trump’s 2017-2021 term. The US moved its embassy then from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a long-held conservative goal that delighted Israelis and infuriated Palestinians.

In his social media post, Trump praised Mr Netanyahu’s role in the Abraham Accords, landmark US-brokered agreements signed during the Trump years that normalised bilateral relations between Israel and both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

“During my first term, we had Peace and Stability in the Region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords – And we will have it again,” Trump said on Truth Social.

He said Ms Harris, as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, was “in no way capable of stopping” world conflicts.

Coming up tomorrow: Biden set to address nation for first time since dropping out of 2024 race

04:15 , Oliver O’Connell

President Joe Biden will address the nation to explain his shock decision to exit the 2024 presidential race and lay out the final months of his administration from the Oval Office on Wednesday.

In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), Biden said he would speak at 8:00 pm about “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.”

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Biden set to address nation for first time since dropping out of 2024 race

Fox News host slams ‘cutesy’ and ‘ridiculous’ attacks on Trump’s age — despite years of attacks on Biden

03:15 , Oliver O’Connell

A Fox News host has claimed it’s “ridiculous” for Democrats to question Donald Trump’s age – despite the 78-year-old ex-president being the oldest presidential nominee in US history after Joe Biden dropped out of the race for the White House.

Less than 24 hours after the 81-year-old president stepped off the Democratic ticket on Sunday Kamala Harris, 59, has secured enough delegates to be nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. That has led Democrats to pounce on Trump and his age — a tactic straight out of the GOP playbook against Biden.

James Liddell reports.

Fox News host slams ‘cutesy’ and ‘ridiculous’ attacks on Trump’s age

02:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Harris says she knows ‘Trump’s type’ as she speaks of prosecutor past

Elon Musk backtracks on $45m Trump donation

01:48 , Josh Marcus

Elon Musk denied reports that he plans to spend $45m per month on a super political action committee backing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

“What’s been reported in the media is simply not true,” Musk told conservative commentator Jordan Peterson in an interview aired on Monday. “I am not donating $45 million a month to Trump.”

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Musk, who endorsed Trump in July, would funnel the donations via an organization called America PAC.

Musk’s denial came the day before Tesla announced that its second-quarter profits had dropped 45 percent to $1.48bn amid a drop in sales of its electric vehicles.

More details in our full story.

Elon Musk insists he is not spending $45m a month to get Donald Trump elected

The right is already spreading conspiracy theories about the Harris campaign

01:30 , Josh Marcus

Majorie Taylor Greene’s latest bizarre conspiracy concerned Joe Biden’s call to the newly rebranded Harris campaign HQ, in which he made a brief appearance over speaker-phone.

The Georgia congresswoman suggested that a small misstep by Kamala Harris during the call was evidence of the vice president “spilling the beans” that the call was a recording.

Greene, along with her Republican colleague-turned-rival Lauren Boebert, joined the GOP pile-on against the president after his shock announcement he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

Mike Bedigan has the story.

Marjorie Taylor Greene pushes new conspiracy about Biden’s call to Harris campaign HQ

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff like to watch rom-coms. Their love story sounds like one

01:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, entertainment lawyer Doug Emhoff, have already made history: She as the first Black, female and Asian second-in-command of America; he as the country’s first Second Gentleman and first Jewish spouse in the White House. As her possible bid for the presidency dangles new historic heights before the couple, Sheila Flynn tells their love story.

Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff’s rom-com love story

What is Kamala Harris’ net worth?

01:00 , Josh Marcus

Kamala Harris now looks certain to become the Democratic presidential nominee to take on Donald Trump at the polls in November.

Her lengthy career as a state prosecutor and US Senator, combined with her marriage to a successful lawyer means that Kamala Harris’ net worth is significant, though still less than that of her Republican rival.

Her campaign – recently rebranded as Harris For President – reportedly pulled in $84m within the first 24 hours of her candidacy being endorsed by Joe Biden.

While this money does not go to Harris directly, her current federal government salary as vice president sits at $218,000.

Mike Bedigan has the details.

What is Kamala Harris’ net worth?

Trump kicks off the legal war against Harris with complaint over $90m war chest

Wednesday 24 July 2024 00:45 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s campaign has accused vice president Kamala Harris of committing a “heist” and a “brazen money grab” after she inherited President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign war chest.

Trump’s complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday accuses the president and vice president of running afoul of campaign finance laws by turning Biden’s now-ended campaign into the “Harris for President” campaign, allowing Harris to tap into more than $91 million in the campaign’s coffers.

After Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday, Biden notified the FEC that his committee was changing its name to Harris for President, with Harris as the beneficiary. But as Biden’s running mate, Harris was already sharing the campaign committee with the president, and legal analysts have doubted the arguments at the heart of Trump’s attempt to take the wind out of his rival’s sails.

The Trump campaign’s legal team is now accusing Harris of “seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash — a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended,” according to the complaint, which has been reviewed by The Independent.

Alex Woodward reports.

Trump campaign tries to block Harris from Biden’s $90 million war chest

JD Vance’s sexist comments on ‘childless cat ladies’ like Kamala Harris go viral again

Wednesday 24 July 2024 00:16 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump’s newly minted running mate JD Vance is going viral yet again for past sexist comments about Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee for president in the 2024 election.

In a resurfaced clip from 2021, Vance told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the country was run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Vance’s sexist comments on ‘childless cat ladies’ like Kamala Harris go viral again

Far-right Missouri candidate breaks congressional rules with ad filmed on House Speaker’s balcony

Wednesday 24 July 2024 00:11 , Josh Marcus

A far-right candidate for Missouri’s Secretary of State posted an ad filmed on the iconic Speaker’s balcony in the US House of Representatives, where campaign and political activities are banned.

Valentina Gomez posted the video on Tuesday afternoon, which was filmed on the iconic balcony looking over Washington, DC connected to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office in the US House of Representatives.

“I am at the Speaker’s Balcony, and they don’t like me here, and neither in Jefferson City. But I don’t give a f***,” Gomez said in the video. “I speak the truth, catch pedophiles, and I will be Missouri’s 41st Secretary of State.”

The video went on to show a photo of Gomez holding a gun, followed by a campaign graphic.

Katie Hawkinson has the details.

MAGA candidate posts ad from Speaker’s balcony against House rules

Full story: Trump commits to debating Kamala Harris

Tuesday 23 July 2024 23:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump has committed to debating likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, insisting he would be “willing to do more than one” head-to-head with the vice president.

In a call with reporters on Tuesday, the former president said that he believed it was “important” to take on Harris and that respective party nominees had an “obligation” to debate each other.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Donald Trump commits to debating Kamala Harris: ‘I think it’s important’

Tuesday 23 July 2024 23:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Biden shares sweet moment with Harris: ‘I’m watching you kid, I love you’

Paris Olympics: Why is Jill Biden going and who is accompanying her?

Tuesday 23 July 2024 22:45 , Oliver O’Connell

First Lady Jill Biden will lead the US delegation to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, just days after her husband President Joe Biden announced he was bowing out of the 2024 presidential race.

The White House said that Biden will represent the US at the opening ceremony on Friday July 26 and will also attend some Olympics events while in Paris.

Amelia Neath reports.

Why is Jill Biden going to the Paris Olympics?

Where does Kamala Harris stand on key issues?

Tuesday 23 July 2024 22:30 , Ariana Baio

Days after President Joe Biden announced his historic decision to withdraw from the 2024 race, it’s all eyes on Vice President Kamala Harris, who quickly emerged as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Though Harris has spent the last four years in the White House, her role as VP has largely centered around supporting the Biden administration’s initiatives. As she hits the campaign trail to raise cash and shore up support, the vice president will now have to present her vision of the US to potential voters, revealing how a Harris administration would handle key policies and issues.

While much remains unknown about Harris’s potential platform — and how it will differ from her predecessor’s — here is what we know about her take on several key policy issues…

Abortion, Israel, crime: Where does Kamala Harris stand on key issues?

COMMENT: Why Kamala Harris might just be the perfect ‘brat girl’ president for Gen Z voters

Tuesday 23 July 2024 22:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Lauren Bulla writes:

Being ‘brat’ isn’t just partying and being silly. Having rights is ‘brat’, being politically engaged is ‘brat’, Kamala is now ‘brat’ and voting is ‘brat’ too. Will this be how Gen Z and ‘Zillennials’ get her to the White House?

How Gen Z could win Kamala Harris the election

Whitmer says ‘I’ve not sent any documentation to anyone’ regarding VP vetting process

Tuesday 23 July 2024 22:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan responded to reports that Kamala Harris’s campaign has requested materials to vet her as a contender for vice president by saying: “I am not interested in doing other than this job for the next two and a half years. I’ve not sent any documentation to anyone.”

The Gen Z slang guide to the 2024 presidential election

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:45 , Oliver O’Connell

As Charli XCX’s post about Kamala Harris being “brat” went viral, it left many wondering: What does brat even mean? The declaration appeared to add confusion to an already hard to keep up with Gen Z dictionary.

Michelle Del Rey reports.

Brat, Cooked, Yap: The Gen Z slang guide to the presidential election

Tennessee congressman files article of impeachment against Kamala Harris

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:42 , Oliver O’Connell

Republican Tennessee congressman Andy Ogles has filed an article of impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of high crimes and misdemeanors.

The Trump loyalist accuses Harris of failing to uphold immigration laws.

Harris to attend Federation of Teachers convention in Houston on Thursday

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:36 , Oliver O’Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Houston, Texas, on Thursday to attend the American Federation of Teachers convention.

Before he stepped aside and endorsed her, President Joe Biden was set to attend the event.

Update, per the White House:

Vice President Kamala Harris to Return to Houston, TX On Thursday, July 25, Vice President Kamala Harris will return to Houston, TX to deliver the keynote speech at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88^th national convention. The visit will be her second trip to Texas this month. The Vice President’s speech to educators from communities throughout the nation is a continuation of her consistent efforts to fight for workers across America, including as Chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. She recently carried this message to thousands of union workers at the SEIU Quadrennial Convention and the Constitutional Convention of UNITE HERE, the largest hospitality union. Earlier this month, Vice President Harris was in Dallas to deliver a keynote speech at Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s 71st Boulé. She was most recently in Houston for a moderated conversation with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in November.

Netanyahu to meet with Biden and Harris separately on Thursday, report says

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Maggie Haberman of The New York Times reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris separately on Thursday.

George Clooney endorses Kamala Harris and praises Biden

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:15 , Oliver O’Connell

George Clooney has endorsed Kamala Harris and praised Joe Biden for “saving democracy” just days after he penned a damning op-ed calling on the president to step aside from the 2024 race.

“President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again,” the Hollywood star said in a statement to CNN.

“We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

George Clooney endorses Kamala Harris after calling on Biden to drop out of 2024 race

ICYMI: Kamala Harris clinches enough delegates to secure nomination

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have secured enough delegates to become the Democratic Party’s nominee to take on Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

In her first full day in the presidential race, after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and swiftly endorsed his vice president on Sunday, Harris received the backing of key Democratic officials, hauled in record sums of campaign donations, and appeared to clinch a majority of delegates she will need to win the party’s nomination.

By Monday night, a little over 24 hours after she entered the race, Harris surpassed the 1,976 delegates needed for the nomination in a first round of voting among Democratic delegates, according to an Associated Press survey.

Alex Woodward reports.

Kamala Harris clinches enough delegates to secure Democratic presidential nomination

Full story: Kamala Harris links Trump to Project 2025 in debut presidential campaign rally

Tuesday 23 July 2024 20:45 , Oliver O’Connell

In her first campaign rally as the presumptive Democratic nominee to face Donald Trump, vice president Kamala Harris took aim at her Republican rival and a widely derided Trump-liked platform that provides a blueprint for the next GOP administration.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” she said in remarks from Milwaukee on Tuesday, just two days after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed his vice president.

Harris, who secured enough delegate pledges to clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination within a little over 24 hours after announcing her candidacy, linked Trump to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-backed plan for his administration, and one that his campaign is now furiously trying to distance itself.

Alex Woodward reports.

Kamala Harris links Trump to Project 2025 in first campaign rally: ‘We can’t go back’

In pictures: Kamala Harris makes first presidential campaign speech at raucous Wisconsin rally

Tuesday 23 July 2024 20:33 , Oliver O’Connell

Harris narrows down VP shortlist as two candidates emerge as frontrunners

Tuesday 23 July 2024 20:08 , Oliver O’Connell

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly have emerged as frontrunners for Democratic presumptive nominee Kamala Harris’ choice of vice president.

Both men are from key battleground states in the 2024 presidential race and have a history of defeating candidates endorsed by Donald Trump at the ballot box.

A source close to the campaign – newly rebranded as Harris For President – told ABC News that the vetting of potential running mates had begun. Other candidates being considered as well as Shapiro and Kelly are Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.

Mike Bedigan and Eric Garcia report.

Kamala Harris narrows down VP shortlist as two candidates emerge as frontrunners

Trump commits to debating Kamala Harris

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Harris revs up crowd at first presidential campaign rally

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:47 , Oliver O’Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris begins with comments on President Joe Biden: “Joe’s record of accomplishment over his entire career and over the past three and a half years is unmatched in modern history. In one term as president, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who served two terms.”

Later she told the crowd to wild cheers: “So Wisconsin, I am told as of this morning that we have earned the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.”

Harris then repeated her Trump attack line focused on her prosecutorial past: “I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”

Kamala Harris takes the stage in Wisconsin

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:37 , Oliver O’Connell

There is rapturous applause as Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for her first presidential campaign rally.

Harris was introduced by Leia Esser, a Madison public school administrator, who said thanks to the Biden-Harris administration: “I had almost all of my student loan debt forgiven.”

Watch LIVE: Kamala Harris makes debut on presidential campaign trail in Wisconsin

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Watch live: Kamala Harris makes debut on presidential campaign trail in Wisconsin

Watch: Schumer endorses Kamala Harris

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:26 , Oliver O’Connell

White House releases updated schedule for President Biden

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:25 , Oliver O’Connell

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

In the evening, the President will address the nation.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

In the afternoon, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Then, the President and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel will meet with the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas.

Friday, July 26, 2024

In the afternoon, the President will depart the White House en route to Camp David where he will remain until Sunday.

Sunday, July 28, 2024

In the afternoon, the President will depart Camp David and return to the White House.

Joe Biden seen for first time since endorsing Kamala Harris for president

What does Obama really think of Kamala Harris?

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Alex Hannaford talks to those who know them and uncovers a personal and political relationship that goes back years.

What Obama really thinks of Harris (and why it might explain his silence)

New poll: Harris leads Trump 44 % to 42% in US presidential race

Tuesday 23 July 2024 19:05 , Reuters

Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and passed the torch to her, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, followed both the Republican National Convention where Trump on Thursday formally accepted his party’s nomination and the Biden announcement on Sunday he was leaving the race and endorsing Harris.

Harris, whose campaign says she has secured the Democratic nomination, led Trump 44% to 42% in the national poll, a difference within the 3-percentage-point margin of error.

Harris and Trump were tied at 44% in a July 15-16 poll, and Trump led by one percentage point in a July 1-2 poll, both within the same margin of error.

While nationwide surveys give important signals of American support for political candidates, just a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the US Electoral College, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.

The most recent poll showed 56% of registered voters agreed with a statement that Harris, 59, was “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” compared to 49% who said the same of Trump, 78.

Only 22% of voters assessed Biden that way.

Biden, 81, ended his reelection effort after a debate with Trump in which he often stammered and failed to aggressively challenge attacks by Trump that included falsehoods.

When voters in the survey were shown a hypothetical ballot that included independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Harris led Trump 42% to 38%, an advantage outside the margin of error. Kennedy, favored by 8% of voters in the poll, has yet to qualify for the ballot in many states ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,241 U.S. adults nationwide, including 1,018 registered voters.

New poll of Democrats finds overwhelming support for Kamala Harris

Tuesday 23 July 2024 18:58 , Oliver O’Connell

Almost 80 percent of Democratic voters are in favor of Kamala Harris taking over the party’s nomination from Joe Biden, a new poll has shown, following the president’s shock decision to bow out of the 2024 race for the White House.

A survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of CBS News showed that just 21 percent were in favor of nominating someone else over the vice president.

Mike Bedigan has the details.

New poll finds overwhelming support for Kamala Harris among Democratic voters

Biden tests negative for Covid-19, returns to DC

Tuesday 23 July 2024 18:54 , Oliver O’Connell

The president’s physician Kevin O’Connor has released a new update on Joe Biden’s health:

The President’s symptoms have resolved. Over the course of his infection, he never manifested a fever, and his vital signs remained normal, to include pulse oximetry. His lungs remained clear.

BINAX rapid antigen testing is negative. He will continue to be monitored for any recurrence of illness.

The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties.

As always, I will continue to keep your office updated with any changes in his condition or treatment plan.

Wolf Blitzer roasted over ‘Wolf Spritzer’ on late-night

Tuesday 23 July 2024 18:42 , Oliver O’Connell

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer was roasted by the late-night hosts on Monday evening after he posted on social media on Sunday about relaxing with a “Wolf Spritzer” cocktail in his favorite restaurant right before Joe Biden announced his bombshell exit from the Democratic presidential ticket.

“Enjoying a Wolf Spritzer at El Presidente restaurant here in DC,” the veteran host naively posted on X and Instagram at precisely 12.47pm on Sunday lunchtime, posing with the drink named in his honor and looking perfectly at ease.

Biden’s own message confirming that he would not run against Donald Trump in November after all, ending weeks of pressured speculation, duly appeared on the same platforms at 2.13pm, unleashing all hell in newsrooms around the world.

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer gets the late-night treatment over ‘Wolf Spritzer’ post