Key events
JD Vance to make first solo campaign appearance on Mondau
Republican JD Vance, an Ohio Senator, will make his first solo appearances on the campaign trail Monday, AP reports.
Vance is scheduled to hold a rally in his hometown of Middletown on Monday afternoon, followed by a second rally Monday evening in Radford, Virginia, fresh off his rally debut with Donald Trump over the weekend.
Vance was expected to eventually face Vice President Kamala Harris in a debate. But with Biden dropping out and the Democratic ticket unsettled, the senator is following Trump’s lead and focusing on attacking Biden and Harris jointly.
“President Trump and I are ready to save America, whoever’s at the top of the Democrat ticket,” Vance said Sunday in a post on X. “Bring it on.”
Why hasn’t Obama endorsed Harris?
Obama, who has notably not yet endorsed Harris had two main reasons for holding back, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed people close to the former US president.
The first is that Obama “has positioned himself as an impartial elder statesman above intraparty machinations” and did not want to make “a political mistake — fueling criticism that Ms. Harris’s nomination, should it come, was a coronation rather than the best possible consensus under rushed circumstances”.
He also “wanted Sunday to be about Biden”, the New York Times reports, citing a former White House official who speaks regularly with Obama.
Here is what we know about what Harris’s schedule holds for this week:
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She will host an event on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday with sports teams from across the country that won NCAA championships this year.
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She is planning to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington later this week.
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Harris also has a previously scheduled campaign swing to Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Asian markets fell Monday as Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the US presidential race fuelled fresh uncertainty, while traders appeared to be unmoved by China’s decision to cut interest rates in a bid to boost the country’s economy.
The news has left traders wondering who will go head to head with Trump, whose expected victory had lifted equities and the dollar on expectations for tax cuts and deregulation.
Analysts said markets would likely be volatile in the near term.
“While market instinct will be to say that the news adds a degree of uncertainty to the outcome of the 5 November election that wasn’t present last week, it will be many weeks… before anyone can reasonably determine if the race for the White House is significantly narrower than looked to be case previously,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill.
“In short, there’ll be more noise than signal on US politics for markets to contend with in the coming few weeks at least.”
Stocks in Asia fell Monday following losses on Wall Street and Europe, where trade was dominated by the global computer systems crash.
Kamala HQ, the newly launched Twitter account that describes itself as “the official rapid response page of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign” has branded itself with three key things that young people already identify with Harris.
1. Her telling a story in 2023, about her mother saying to her as a child: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”, with Harris adding: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” It became an instant meme at the time. “The arc of the coconut tree is long, but it bends towards justice,” one person tweeted following Biden’s announcement.
Biden HQ rebranded as Kamala HQ. The Brat banner image is gonna get the most attention but honestly it’s the “providing context” bio that killed me 😂 pic.twitter.com/yZWhazdOsf
— Alyssa Franke (@AlyssaFranke) July 22, 2024
2. The album brat, by Charli XCX. The singer tweeted on Sunday saying “kamala IS brat”. Brat is both the album of the summer and the theme of the summer, according to this newspaper.
3. Venn diagrams, which Harris has famously said she loves.
Here is a video that explains all three things (in its own unique and very online way):
why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb
— ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024
The Harris for President campaign has sent out a list of all of the endorsements Harris has garnered from elected officials in the hours since Biden announced his withdrawal from the race.
There are “hundreds” according to the statement, which includes the words of more than 100 of them.
Here is a selection from the most recognisable names (who are not contenders for the nomination or running mate):
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: “My friend @KamalaHarris is a champion for freedom and a proven leader who is ready to defeat Donald Trump and defend our democracy. I’m proud to endorse her — and I’m eager to join her in this fight. Donate to her campaign now”.
Senator Elizabeth Warren: “We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November”.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November. Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy. Let’s get to work”.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar: “Thrilled to support @KamalaHarris as our Democratic nominee and remain committed to working alongside her to defeat Donald Trump in November”
Congressman Adam Schiff: “Now it’s time for all of us to unite behind Vice President Harris. I am excited to endorse her campaign for President – she has the judgment, experience, leadership, and tenacity to take on and defeat Donald Trump. I worked with her when she was our Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, and I can’t wait to work with her as President. There is no better matchup than this superb former prosecutor against this convicted criminal, and she’ll prosecute the case against Trump every single day. The stakes are high, and we must focus all of our energy on electing Kamala Harris and defeating Donald Trump.”
DNC rules committee to meet Wednesday – reports
CNN and the Wall Street Journal report that the DNC rules committee’s co-chairs have announced the committee will meet on Wednesday afternoon.
The committee determines the rules for the party’s nomination.
“It is now the Committee’s responsibility to implement a framework to select a new nominee, which will be open, transparent, fair, and orderly,” said co-chairs Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and longtime Democratic operative Leah Daughtry.
“The process presented for consideration will be comprehensive, it will be fair, and it will be expeditious.”
Where Harris stands on abortion
Democrats will be hoping that Harris, if she is the nominee, will have gender in her favour among Democrat voters, particularly since Roe v Wade was overturned by a Supreme Court with three judges appointed by Trump, who boasted this year, ‘We broke Roe v Wade’.
Beginning in late 2023, Harris has embarked on a national tour to highlight the threats to reproductive rights posed by a second Trump administration – an issue that Biden has been criticized for shying away from. Biden has defended Roe v Wade, but has said he is “not big on abortion”.
“As a woman on the ticket and the first woman VP and a woman of color, and then secondly, as an AG, she is strongest when her profile is fighting and prosecuting the case. People really like her in that mode,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic party strategist and a lead pollster on the 2020 Biden campaign told the Guardian in March. “She’s so comfortable saying the word ‘abortion’. She’s so comfortable leaning in and speaking to the repercussions.”
Trump has run against and defeated a woman before – Hillary Clinton. After Roe v Wade, more people may be motivated by the possibility of a clearly pro-abortion rights woman president. It will likely also, however, motivate people who anti-abortion and otherwise sexist to vote for Trump.
Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant late on Sunday thanked Biden for his “unwavering support” for Israel.
“Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable. We are grateful for your leadership and friendship”, he said on X.
Since the Hamas attack against Israel 7 October, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza and wounded more than 88,000, according to local health officials. Malnutrition and disease have become widespread as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cram into squalid tent camps.
All state Democratic party chairs endorse Harris
All 50 state Democratic party chairs have endorsed Harris to be the party’s new presidential nominee to run against Republican nominee and former president, Donald Trump, Reuters reports.
The chairs held a conference call after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside as the party’s candidate.
“Following President Biden’s announcement, our members immediately assembled to unite behind the candidate who has a track record of winning tough elections, and who is a proven leader on the issues that matter to Americans: reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, climate protection, justice reform, and rebuilding the economy,” said Ken Martin, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, in a statement.
