Kamala Harris’ potential VP pick drops big hint as poll shows tie with Donald Trump
One of the three main contenders in the race to be Kamala Harris’s running mate has made a cryptic statement. Follow updates.
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One of Kamala Harris’ potential picks for vice presidential running mate has dropped a huge hint about his future plans in a social media post that was quickly deleted.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly appeared to suggest that he could be out of contention after posting a statement on social media platform X, The New York Post reports.
In his post, which was later deleted, Senator Kelly said his focus was now on “serving Arizonans.”
“My background is a bit different than most politicians,” the deleted post read. “I spent my life serving in the Navy and at NASA, where the mission always comes first.
“Now my mission is serving Arizonans.”
Shortly afterwards, Kelly posted a more general tweet that left less room for speculation.
“Whether it was from my time in the Navy and at NASA, serving in the United States Senate, or visiting our troops overseas: I’ve learned that when your country asks you to serve, you always answer the call,” he posted.
Ms Harris is set to make her final decision on her VP pick imminently.
It came as a new poll confirmed that Ms Harris has drawn level with Donald Trump, transforming a White House race that the Republican had been increasingly confident he was going to win.
As the November 5 election rapidly approaches, Ms Harris has erased the growing lead that Mr Trump was building before US President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid.
According to the CBS News/YouGov poll released on Monday (AEST), Ms Harris has a one per cent advantage on Mr Trump nationwide – compared to Mr Trump’s previous five point edge on Mr Biden.
In the swing states that decide the Electoral College contest in US elections, Ms Harris and Mr Trump – who shocked the world with his 2016 presidential victory but was beaten by Mr Biden in 2020 – are equal.
These are considered good numbers for a Democratic candidate who parachuted into the race only last month, when Mr Biden bowed to mounting concerns over his mental acuity and ability at 81 years old to serve a second term.
The CBS poll, which echoes numerous other surveys indicating rapid gains by Ms Harris, shows that Mr Trump is still favoured by voters on the key issue of the economy.
Only 25 per cent said they expected to be better off financially if Ms Harris wins, compared to 45 per cent who said so about Mr Trump.
However, when it comes to trust in the candidates’ temperament, the poll shows voters prefer the former California prosecutor to Mr Trump, a convicted felon who has made a career out of publicly insulting those who oppose him – including while president.
The issue of cognitive health, which used to bedevil Mr Biden, is now a liability for 78-year-old Mr Trump, the poll found. Only 51 per cent of respondents thought Mr Trump is mentally capable for the presidency, compared to 64 per cent for Ms Harris.
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VP SHORTLIST
Ms Harris, who is Mr Biden’s vice president and the first Black and South Asian woman ever in the role, is in a sprint to define herself to voters before Mr Trump does.
A big moment in that process will be when Ms Harris announces her choice for running mate in a historic bid to become America’s first female president.
Expectations are that Harris will pick a white man to balance the ticket – and likely a moderate Democrat who would help counterweigh attacks on Ms Harris from Republicans that she is too far to the left.
The three figures seen as heading the short list – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator Kelly of Arizona – were all visiting Ms Harris in Washington on Sunday local time, The Washington Post reported.
“It’s her first major decision that she’s making as an executive, so it tells you about her thought process,” Amy Walter, a polling expert from Cook Political Report newsletter, told CBS News.
‘BLOOD ON HER HANDS’: TRUMP LETS RIP AT HARRIS
Donald Trump has unleashed on White House rival Kamala Harris in a jaw-dropping speech at his latest joint rally with running mate Senator JD Vance.
During his 90-minute speech, the former US president said Ms Harris’s actions had contributed to the horrific murder of university student Laken Riley, who was allegedly killed by a migrant that illegally crossed the border.
Speaking at the Georgia State University Convocation Centre in Atlanta, Mr Trump told supporters: “Laken’s blood is on Kamala Harris’s hands”.
“Kamala Harris let in the savage monster who killed Laken Riley,” Mr Trump said. “Kamala is responsible for the death as though she were watching it herself.”
“Kamala Harris should not be asking your vote, she should be begging Laken Riley’s family for forgiveness,” he said to cheers.
Ms Riley, a nursing student, was jogging on the campus of the University of Georgia on February 22 when she was attacked and killed.
Her accused killer, 26-year-old Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra, entered the US illegally in El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, but was released after about a day in custody.
He has been linked to the Venezuelan gang El Tren de Aragua and has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges linked to her murder.
During his address, Mr Trump also insulted Ms Harris’s intellect and repeatedly attacked her over crime and inflation.
It came after Mr Trump announced that he has accepted an offer from Fox News to debate the US Vice President in September.
The former US president said in a Truth Social post the debate would be held in Pennsylvania on September 4 and hosted by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.
“I have agreed with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Ms Harris had wanted Mr Trump to stick to the scheduled September 10 debate on ABC News, which was originally set to be between Mr Trump and US President Joe Biden.
But following Ms Harris’s rise to Democratic nominee after Mr Biden dropped out of the race, Mr Trump has complained that it would not be “fair.”
In a statement posted to X, Ms Harris refused to say whether she would agree to the Fox News showdown.
“We’re happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to. Mr Anytime, anywhere, any place should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” she said in the post, falsely asserting that Mr Trump had previously agreed to debate her.
Mr Trump later responded that Ms Harris “doesn’t have the mental capacity” to face him.
“I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all,” he said.
Mr Trump’s campaign said previously that it would not finalise debate plans until Ms Harris — who has now secured enough votes to secure her nomination — was formally declared the Democratic nominee.
HARRIS SECURES MAJORITY OF VOTES
Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic Party’s official candidate for the 2024 presidential election after securing the majority of votes in the ‘virtual roll call’ early Saturday morning.
“I am honoured to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States,” Harris, 59, said, calling in by phone to a party celebration after securing enough votes from grassroots delegates in a virtual nomination process.
Harris was the only candidate on the ballot for the electronic vote, which was scheduled to run until after the weekend but wrapped up within a day.
TRUMP AGREES TO HARRIS DEBATE
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has finally agreed with Fox News to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on September 4, after earlier refusing to commit.
“I have agreed with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, but it was not immediately clear if Ms Harris had agreed to the debate.
Earlier, Mr Trump refused to commit to such a debate, asking why he should face the vice president when he’s leading in the race.
“Well, I want to. And we’re leading in the polls it seems by quite a bit still,” Mr Trump told Fox News, referencing his dwindling lead since Mr Biden dropped out.
“She’s better than he is, but I think ultimately she’ll be worse than him.”
“I mean right now I say, why should I do a debate? I’m leading in the polls. And, everybody knows her, everybody knows me.”
BIDEN’S AWKWARD APPEARANCE
It comes after the first unscripted remarks of her presidential campaign delivered the first bump in the road to her candidacy for president in November
In one of their rare joint appearances since Mr Biden dropped out of the 2024 election, the president and vice president faced the cameras to celebrate a historic prisoner exchange with Russia.
It comes after the first unscripted remarks of her presidential campaign delivered the first bump in the road to her candidacy for president in November
In one of their rare joint appearances since Mr Biden dropped out of the 2024 election, the president and vice president faced the cameras to celebrate a historic prisoner exchange with Russia.
As Ms Harris went off script for the first time, the 81-year-old president stared off into the distance without comment before later walking onto the aircraft that had delivered the Americans to the air base in Maryland.
As Mr Biden walks onto the plane, his Secret Service security detail and Ms Harris wait at the stairs for him to return about two minutes later.
“Thanks for being here everybody,” Mr Biden said on his return to the tarmac.
It was a rare stumble for a buttoned-up campaign that turned the 2024 presidential campaign on its head since ousting Mr Biden from the race on July 21.
TRUMP CALLS PRISONER SWAP ‘WIN FOR PUTIN’
Mr Trump said the prisoner swap between the United States and Russia was a “win” for President Vladimir Putin as he continued to offer baseless speculation over the details of the agreement.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, two other Americans and a green card holder are back in the United States after being freed by Putin as part of a massive, multi-country East-West prisoner exchange.
Trump — the Republican nominee for November’s US presidential election — set out in an interview with Fox Business why the exchange was bad news for America as he sought to downplay President Joe Biden’s success in securing the deal.
“The Russians made a great deal. I’m not going to criticise it, because it’s good to have them home, but they got a phenomenal deal, and that sets a very bad precedent,” he said, calling it a “win for Putin.”
TRUMP JAN 6 CASE RESUMES
MR Trump’s election interference case is set to resume after sitting dormant while the Supreme Court ruled on presidential immunity.
The court issued its decision on July 1, with the order turned over to Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday, local time.
Ms Chutkan is expected provide a scheduling update within the coming days.
Originally published as Kamala Harris’ potential VP pick drops big hint as poll shows tie with Donald Trump
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