Kamala Harris secures enough support to become presumptive nominee
Kamala Harris is the Democrat party’s presumptive nominee against Donald Trump after crossing a delegate threshold.
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Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s presumptive nominee against Donald Trump.
In a statement, the 59-year-old former prosecutor said she “looked forward to accepting the nomination soon”.
“When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination. Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top,” Ms Harris said.
She thanked US President Joe Biden and her backers in the Democratic Party for “putting their faith in me” and said the election will present “a clear choice between two different visions”.
Ms Harris continued: “Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights. I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.”
In closing her statement she said: “I fully intend to unite our party, unite our nation, and defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Ms Harris has steamrolled through any opposition to her running against Mr Trump in November’s US election, with high-profile Democratic leaders abandoning their own White House ambitions to back the Vice President.
Within 24 hours of Joe Biden dropping out of the race, Ms Harris had all but sewn up the party’s nomination and had already begun vetting running mates to help her take on the former US president.
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‘I KNOW THE TRUMP TYPE’
Ms Harris travelled to Wilmington, Delaware, to the Democratic Party’s campaign headquarters, meeting the team she will now take over in the race against Mr Trump.
During her speech in Wilmington, Ms Harris took aim at Mr Trump as staff members cheered.
“I was the elected attorney general (of) California and before that I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” Ms Harris said.
“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” Ms Harris said to cheers.
Ms Harris said her campaign would not just be about her versus Mr Trump.
“There is more to this campaign than that. Our campaign has always been two different versions of what we see as the future of our country. Two different visions for the future of our country. One focused on the future — the other focused on the past,” Ms Harris said.
HARRIS MAKES FIRST ADDRESS SINCE BIDEN DROPS OUT
Earlier at the White House, Ms Harris did not mention her campaign, instead praising Mr Biden at a White House event he was due to host to celebrate college sports champions.
She said the 81-year-old – who has been isolating at home in Delaware with Covid for days – was “feeling much better and recovering fast”. He is due to address the US later this week.
“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Ms Harris said, as she praised his integrity, honesty, “big heart” and “deep love of our country”.
“We are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation”
SUPPORT FOR HARRIS GAINED QUICK MOMENTUM
A political action committee backing her campaign received a whopping $US150m ($A226m) in commitments from donors in the hours after Mr Biden dropped out of the race.
While former president Barack Obama declined to publicly endorse Ms Harris, instead encouraging a transparent process to replace Mr Biden, a series of potential candidates swiftly rowed in behind her.
Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi issued a statement endorsing Ms Harris: “Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute – and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November,” she said.
Popular governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Andy Beshear of Kentucky were among those to throw their support behind Ms Harris a day after Mr Biden dropped out, as she received an avalanche of support from members of Congress, big donors and grassroots activists.
Independent senator Joe Manchin – who briefly considered re-registering as a Democrat to challenge Harris – said he would not run but urged the party to consider alternatives in a competitive process.
Democratic chiefs were planning to meet on Thursday to confirm how they would formally replace Mr Biden, who had romped through the party’s primary elections earlier this year.
Ms Harris reportedly made more than 100 calls in less than 12 hours to help secure the nomination, including to Mr Obama as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton, who did back her.
Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries stopped short of supporting her, but she won the backing of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi after the trio had helped orchestrate the rebellion against Mr Biden.
Ms Pelosi had previously favoured a competitive battle.
The Vice President also spoke to at least three potential running mates including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
As Ms Harris cleared the Democratic field, Mr Trump’s campaign team went on the attack, pointing out that he “crushes Kamala Harris in every poll”.
“The last thing we are worried about is Laffin’ Kamala,” Mr Trump’s campaign co-chief Chris LaCivita told Axios, referencing the nickname Mr Trump had recently given the Vice President.
“You can move the chairs on a sinking boat all you want … Doesn’t change the result.”
Her campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said Ms Harris, a former prosecutor, had “held criminals accountable her entire career”.
“Donald Trump will be no different,” he said.
“Vice President Harris has dedicated her career to making life better for working people – while Trump only cares about himself. That’s the contrast the American people will see over the next 106 days.”
‘SHE’S GOING TO KILL IT’
With less than a month until the Democratic Party’s nominating convention in Chicago, veteran strategist James Carville said it was crucial for her to quickly craft a campaign message.
“She’s got to kill it out of the box, she can’t be defined by Trump before Chicago,” he told Politico.
But he warned Democrats who argued against anyone challenging her “on the grounds of race and gender” were giving Trump a line of attack that would be “weaponised against her”.
“Such appeals only offer fodder to Trump and his allies, who are eager to portray her, as some already crudely have, as a ‘DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) candidate’,” he said.
If she can defeat Mr Trump, the 59-year-old would be the first woman elected to the Oval Office.
TRUMP REVEALS WHAT BIDEN SAID AFTER SHOOTING
Donald Trump has given his first full account of the failed attempt on his life, saying the crowd at the rally in Pennsylvania thought he was dead and that his iconic fist pump was a “beautiful moment”.
Speaking on Fox News in a joint interview with running mate JD Vance, the former US president also revealed what US President Joe Biden told him on their call after the assassination attempt.
“He said, ‘You’re lucky you turned to the right,’” Mr Trump told Fox News host Jesse Watters.
Mr Trump also revealed that he refused to be carried off stage on a stretcher as he gave more detail about why he asked the Secret Service agents coming to his rescue to let him collect his shoes.
BIDEN TO RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE
Joe Biden will return to the White House on Tuesday, local time, after spending a week at his Delaware beach house recovering from Covid-19.
HARRIS WILL ‘ABSOLUTELY BE NOMINEE’
Former senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said Kamala Harris will “absolutely” be the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I am absolutely convinced that the vice president will be the nominee” Axelrod told The Washington Post earlier.
“She went about the business of earning it by making the calls, doing the work,” he said.
BIDEN SPEAKS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE WITHDRAWAL
Joe Biden has spoken for the first time since announcing he was dropping out of the US presidential race.
Mr Biden phoned into Vice President Kamala Harris’s address at the campaign headquarters in Delaware where he spoke with a hoarse voice.
The US President, who is recovering from Covid at his home in Delaware, said he knows his decision would have come as a surprise but believes it was the right thing to do.
“I want people to remember that what we have done has been incredible and we [have] so much more we’re gonna get done,” he said.
“I know yesterday’s news is surprising, and so hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do … I know it’s hard because you poured your heart and soul into me to help us win this thing, helped me get this nomination, helped me win the nomination.
“But you know, you’re an amazing team, but … I think we made the right decision.”
HARRIS RAISES $122M IN 24 HOURS
Democratic Party donors have poured a record $122 million ($US81m) into Kamala Harris’s campaign in the 24 hours since Mr Biden exited the White House race.
The influx of cash, claimed to be the largest in “presidential history” within 24 hours, adds to the $376 million ($US250m) the campaign has raised for the 2024 election.
BIDEN THREATENED WITH REMOVAL, SET UP TO FAIL
Senior Democrats threatened to forcibly remove Mr Biden from the White House if he did not step down, according to the president’s allies.
Quoting a source close to Mr Biden’s family, The New York Post reported the “palace coup” has been in place since before the debate with Donald Trump.
“That debate was a set-up to convince Democrats that he couldn’t run for president,” the source said.
As Mr Biden defied calls to exit the 2024 presidential race, senior Democratic Party figures threatened to invoke the 25th Amendment for force him out of office, the Post reported.
‘EXTRAORDINARY COLLAPSE’: HOW IT UNFOLDED
US President Joe Biden caved to a relentless internal rebellion and abandoned his re-election campaign, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump in November’s election.
His decision to drop out capped one of the most extraordinary collapses in American political history, which was sparked by Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump last month.
Having defiantly ignored calls by Democratic leaders for him to quit, amid concerns he was too frail to serve for four more years, the oldest president in history shocked the world by announcing he would drop out in a letter posted on social media on Sunday (local time).
“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus entirely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” Mr Biden said.
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
He offered his full support for Ms Harris to take his place at the top of the Democratic ticket, with the 59-year-old saying it was her “intention to earn and win this nomination”.
The 81-year-old – who entered the US Senate in 1972 – said he would address the nation later this week, having made the announcement while isolating at home with Covid.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President,” Mr Biden said.
It marks the first time since 1968 that a sitting US president will not seek a second term.
In recent weeks, Mr Biden had claimed only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to drop out, before later conceding that he could reconsider if his doctors raised concerns. A senior White House official maintained to CNN that medical issues were not a factor in his decision.
He tried desperately to revive his flailing candidacy after the debate, in which he repeatedly coughed, stumbled and lost his train of thought.
But a series of interviews and campaign appearances, as well as what the White House called a “big boy” press conference, failed to quell concerns among party powerbrokers.
OBAMA YET TO ENDORSE HARRIS
While Ms Harris received a flood of support from top Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton and 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, the party’s congressional leaders and former president Barack Obama did not immediately endorse her.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Mr Obama said.
“But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
TRUMP DECLARES BIDEN ‘WORST PRESIDENT’
Donald Trump, the former Republican president who was confirmed as his party’s nominee last week, attacked Biden as “the worst president, by far, in the history of our nation”.
“He was not fit to serve from the very beginning, but the people around him lied to America about his complete and total mental, physical and cognitive demise,” he said.
Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance and other leading Republicans called on Mr Biden to stand down as the President rather than remaining in the White House until January.
Who is running our Country right now? It’s not Crooked Joe, he has no idea where he is. If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!@realDonaldTrump Donald Trump Truth Social 10:46 PM EST 07/21/24
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 22, 2024
HOW BIDEN MADE HIS ANNOUNCEMENT
In the days before the attempted assassination of Mr Trump, Democratic congressional leaders privately lobbied Biden to quit, before their warnings leaked late last week in a bid to up the pressure on him.
He discussed dropping out with his closest advisers and family at his Delaware home on Saturday (local time), before locking in his decision the next day and informing Ms Harris.
His staff were told one minute before his letter was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Democratic donors – who had turned off the cash tap to the campaign as they demanded Mr Biden drop out – greeted the announcement by injecting more than $US30m into the party’s election effort, the biggest single day since the 2020 election.
Ms Harris sent an email blast to supporters asking for donations as she launched her campaign to secure the endorsement of key Democratic leaders.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATE STILL IN FLUX
The party is due to hold its nominating convention in Chicago from August 19, although it had planned to lock in Mr Biden as its candidate with a virtual roll call early next month.
West Virginia independent senator Joe Manchin was reportedly considering re-registering as a Democrat to mount a last-ditch run against Ms Harris for the party’s nomination.
Originally published as Kamala Harris secures enough support to become presumptive nominee
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