US election live updates: Sign Kamala Harris will win Democratic presidential nomination
New polling has revealed how voters who support the Democratic Party feel about Joe Biden’s decision to step aside.
The bombshell announcement by Joe Biden that he won’t stand for a second term as President continues to reverberate around the US.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in pole position to be the Democratic nominee for president, gave her first speech on Monday (US time) following Mr Biden’s statement.
She said her boss’ legacy was “unmatched in modern history”.
But Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his new running mate JD Vance said in a Fox News TV interview that a “coup” took place to depose Mr Biden and that he should resign from the presidency now if he really was unfit to run for a second term.
Follow our live coverage.
Poll: Democrats approve of Biden’s withdrawal
New polling has been published which shows the Democratic Party’s voters approve of President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
The CBS News/YouGov poll found 83 per cent of registered Democrats surveyed approved of the move, with just 17 per cent disapproving.
Almost as many voters, 79 per cent, thought the Democrats should nominate Kamala Harris in Mr Biden’s place.
A solid 45 per cent felt their party’s chances had been improved by Mr Biden’s withdrawal. Just 10 per cent felt the opposite.
The polling figures will go some way towards undermining the Trump campaign’s argument that Democratic voters have been disenfranchised by party elites, having voted for Mr Biden in the near-uncontested primaries earlier this year.
Trump calls Harris ‘dumb as a rock’
Mr Trump has been active on his social media site Truth Social today, sending off several “truths” over the past few hours targeting Ms Harris, Mr Biden and the US’s ABC News.
In one post, the Republican Party’s nominee for president used a new nickname for Ms Harris - in the same vein as his old barbs for Mr Biden such as “Sleepy Joe” or “Crooked Joe”.
There was also a possible acknowledgement of how the debate over age in US politics has now being flipped to focus on the 78-year-old Trump, since 81-year-old Biden dropped out of the race.
Mr Trump labelled himself “a fine and brilliant young man” in his post attacking the Democrats’ record on immigration.
“Lyin’ Kamala Harris, the Biden appointed ‘Border Czar’ who never visited the Border, and whose incompetence gave us the WORST and MOST DANGEROUS Border anywhere in the World, has absolutely terrible pole numbers against a fine and brilliant young man named DONALD J. TRUMP! he wrote.
“Be careful what you wish for, Democrats???”
Mr Trump was referring to Ms Harris being tasked by the current President with finding the “root causes” of an influx in migration from countries like Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador via Mexico in 2021.
The borders were still overseen by Homeland Security and other immigration agencies.
In another post, Mr Trump called Ms Harris “dumb as a rock”.
Mr Trump has also been posting claims about the Democratcs misleading the public about Mr Biden’s fitness in recent months.
“They also misled the Republican Party, causing it to waste a great deal of time and money.”
ABC News has also been a target of the former president, who has posted several times that the channel is “not worthy of holding a debate, of which I hope there will be many”.
ABC News is due to host the second of two scheduled presidential debates in September. After Mr Biden’s exit, Mr Trump called for that debate to be shifted to Fox News.
Harris set to win the Democratic presidential nomination
Kamala Harris has confirmed she has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to win her party’s nomination for president.
“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 in a statement.
The Vice President said she looks forward to “formally accepting the nomination soon”.
“I am grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people,” she said.
“Over the next few months, I will be travelling across the country talking to Americans about everything that is on the line. I fully intend to unite our party, unite our nation, and defeat Donald Trump in November.”
It comes as a survey by the Association Press, shows Ms Harris has won the backing of 2,600 delegates, well over the 1976 endorsements needed for nomination.
No other candidate was named by a delegate in the survey.
However, the endorsements are not binding, with delegates free to vote for the preferred candidate at the Democratic National Convention in August or through a virtual roll call beforehand.
It was thought Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer could have challenged Ms Harris, however, he has now endorsed her.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also officially behind Ms Harris.
Biden to return to the White House
President Joe Biden will return to the White House on Tuesday, after self-isolating in his home in Delaware.
The 81-year-old, who has spent nearly a week recovering from Covid, will return to the White House at 2.30pm on Tuesday (US time), according to his official schedule.
‘You’re lucky’: What Biden said to Trump after shooting
Donald Trump has revealed what Joe Biden said to him when they spoke on the phone after his attempted assassination.
Speaking to Fox News in a recently aired interview, Mr Trump said the President told him “You’re lucky you turned to the right”.
When the shooting occurred during his rally in Pennsylvania, Mr Trump turned his head to look at a graph displayed on a screen to his right, an act which he claims saved his life and meant the bullet clipped his ear.
During the interview, he also claimed he refused orders to be carried off on a stretcher after the attack.
“They wanted to put me on a stretcher,” he said.
“They had a stretcher, and they wanted to put me on a stretcher. And I said, ‘I’m not going on a stretcher.’”
‘Small bandages’: Trump gives update on ear wound
Donald Trump has given an update on his ear after it was grazed by a bullet during his attempted assassination over a week ago.
Speaking to Fox News, Mr Trump shared his ear was “getting much better”.
“We’re getting down to the small bandages. But it was a nasty one and it was a nasty period,” Trump said in the interview, which was recorded on Saturday and aired on Monday (local time).
“It was exactly one week ago from today. Exactly. And, you know, when you think about it, it’s, that’s been a lot of territory covered. Who would have thought this was going to be happening? But it happened, and I got very lucky. Or God, I think it was God, actually.”
During the interview, Mr Trump wore a beige bandage smaller than the white patch he wore over his ear during the Republican National Convention.
The former president also spoke of the immigration chart which saved his life at the rally, sharing it was Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson who gave him the graph.
“He actually gave me the chart. If I didn’t have that chart, I wouldn’t have looked to the right. If I didn’t look to the right, a very bad thing would have happened.”
‘That’s crazy’: Republican shares video from rooftop used by Trump shooter
A Republican has hit out at claims a sniper team was not positioned on the rooftop used by a gunman to shoot at Donald Trump because it was too sloped.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in a televised interview last week the slope of the rooftop at the Pennsylvanian rally was a “safety factor”.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof, at its highest point. And so, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside,” Ms Cheatle told ABC News.
Hitting back at the claim, Florida Republican Carlos Gimenez shared a post on social media claiming to show him standing on the roof used by the attempted assassin.
“I’m standing on the roof in Pennsylvania where Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate President Trump,” he wrote on X.
“I’m 70 years old, if I was able to get on this roof — anybody can.”
In the video, Mr Gimenez said the roof was “not a big deal” and offered a clear line to Mr Trump.
“For someone to tell me that Secret Service agents couldn’t have been here, that’s crazy.”
Biden says he’s ‘not going anywhere’
A day after quitting the election race, President Joe Biden has reassured Harris’ campaign team he’s “not going anywhere”.
Mr Biden, who was diagnosed with Covid last week, called in to speak with the Vice President at Harris’ campaign HQ in Delaware on Monday (US time).
The 81-year-old sounded raspy and slurred his words at times as he spoke from his home in Delaware.
“I know yesterday’s news was surprising and it was hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” Mr Biden said over the phone as the crowd listened in.
“I know it is hard because you poured your heart and soul into me. … I think we made the right decision.”
"The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn't changed at all," President Biden says. pic.twitter.com/ad4p8HXHXB
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 22, 2024
“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” he continued.
“And by the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be out there on the campaign with her, with Kamala. I’m going to be working like hell, both as a sitting president, getting legislation passed, as well as in campaigning.”
Ms Harris took to the stage after the call and praised the President.
“It is so good to hear our President’s voice”, she told the crowd.
“Joe, I know you’re still on the call and we’ve been talking every day. … We love Joe and Jill. We really do. They truly are like family to us,” she said.
“It’s mutual,” Mr Biden said on speakerphone.
“I’m watching you, kid, I love you.”
Harris’ campaign raises $81 million in 24 hours
Kamala Harris’ campaign has broken fundraising records, racking in $81 million in its first 24 hours.
The eye-watering figure is the largest amount of money raised in a 24-hour span in presidential history, according to Harris’ campaign, who noted a “groundswell” of support behind the Vice President.
It comes as 888,000 grassroots donors made contributions in the past 24 hours, 60 per cent of whom made their first contribution during the 2024 election race.
“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” said Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for Harris’ campaign.
“Already, we are seeing a broad and diverse coalition come together to support our critical work of talking to the voters that will decide this election.”
‘I know Donald Trump’s type’
Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a swipe at Donald Trump, saying she knows his “type” after working as a prosecutor and lawyer general.
The would-be Democratic nominee recalled her experience taking on perpetrators as a courtroom prosecutor and the California attorney general in an address at her campaign headquarters in Delaware.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own game,” she said.
“So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”
Ms Harris added she specialised in cases involving sexual abuse while she was a young prosecutor at the Alameda County District Attorney’s office.
“Donald Trump was found liable by a jury for committing sexual abuse,” she said.
“As attorney general of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges and put it out of business. Donald Trump ran a for-profit college, Trump University, that was forced to pay $25 million to the students it scammed.”
‘Horrible and incompetent’: Trump and Vance lash out at Harris
A day after Kamala Harris received the President’s endorsement, Donald Trump and his running mate have wasted no time criticising the would-be Democratic nominee.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday (US time), Mr Trump slammed Mr Biden as the “worst President in the history of the United States” before setting his sights on Ms Harris.
“KAMALA, OUR HORRIBLE & INCOMPETENT BORDER CZAR, WILL BE WORSE!” he wrote.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance also hit out at Ms Harris during his first solo appearance on the campaign trail in Ohio, where he accused her of not sounding grateful.
“If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it,” Mr Vance said during his address on Monday.
“You should feel a sense of gratitude, and I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.”
Mr Vance also joked he was “pissed off” he won’t be able to debate the Vice President.
“I was told I was going to debate Kamala Harris and now President Trump’s going to get to debate her,” he said.
“I’m kind of pissed off about that, if I’m being honest with you.”
Secret Service head grilled by politicians
US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee in Washington DC on Monday (US time) about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
It was “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Ms Cheatle said
“I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
Politicians were frustrated by Ms Cheatle refusal to go into detail on many details of the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Both a Republican and a Democrat member of the committee have now demanded her resignation.
Ms Cheatle said the time between when Thomas Crooks was identified as a threat and when he began shooting “was seconds”.
Tempers frayed from one Republican politician who said Ms Cheatle was “full of s***”.
Nancy Mace asked Ms Cheatle if the committee had received all the video and audio recordings taken by the Secret Service in relation to the attempted killing.
“I would have to get back to you,” Ms Cheatle replied.
“That is a ‘no’. You’re full of s*** today,” Ms Mace replied.
“You’re just being completely dishonest.
“These are important questions that the American people want answers to. And you’re just dodging and talking around it in generalities.” she said.
“And we had to subpoena you to be here. And you won’t even answer the questions.”
Firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said Ms Cheatle was a “complete failure”.
She also asked if there was “a conspiracy to kill President Trump”.
“Absolutely not,” Ms Cheatle replied.
Ms Cheatle was quizzed on why it took so long to remove Mr Trump form the stage.
Democrat politician Stephen Lynch said that Mr Trump was on stage for “over a minute of exposure on that podium”.
During that period, agents could be seen on top of him and Mr Trump, when he did stand up, threw his fist in the air leading to several iconic images.
“In under three seconds they threw themselves” on Trump”, Ms Cheatle said.
Republican Glenn Grothman touched on a narrative that the right of his party has been pushing: that there were several female agents who it’s claimed were not up to the job.
The politician suggested the “makeup of the Secret Service” has been changed because some thought there were “too high a percentage are men”.
Ms Cheatle said the Secret Service only hired “the best and the brightest”.
Dems threaten to forcibly remove Biden
Top Democrats reportedly threatened to forcibly remove the President from office if he did not drop out of the election race.
Sources told the New York Post a “palace coup” to stop Joe Biden from being re-elected had been in the works for weeks, with his disastrous presidential debate performance part of an “elaborate” strategy to take him out of the race.
“That debate was a set-up to convince Democrats that he couldn’t run for president,” a source close to the Biden family told the outlet.
Party members also threatened to invoke 25th Amendment to the US Constitution – which allows members of the cabinet to declare the President unfit.
Amid mounting pressure, Mr Biden announced his withdrawal from the race on Sunday (US time), declaring it was in the “best interest” of the Democratic Party and the country for him to withdraw.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President,” Mr Biden wrote in a letter he posted on his X account.
Kamala Harris gives first speech
A day after President Biden have his endorsement for Kamala Harris she took to a lectern outside the White House on Monday.
“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” she said.
“In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms.
“I am first-hand witness that every day our President Joe Biden fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful of his service to our nation.”
She said Mr Biden wanted to be at the event but he was still recovering from Covid.
Former Trump VP praises Biden
Mike Pence, who served as vice president in the Trump administration, has commended Mr Biden for stepping down.
“President Joe Biden made the right decision for our country and I thank him for putting the interests of our Nation ahead of his own,” he stated on X/Twitter.
Mr Pence has pointedly not endorsed Mr Trump and was nowhere to be seen at the Republican National Convention. He has been at loggerheads with Mr Trump ever since 2020 when he refused to go along with the then President’s spurious claims the election had been rigged.
Mr Pence called for party leaders to “send a message of strength”.
“After the assassination attempt on President Trump and President Biden’s decision to end his campaign, now is a time for leaders in both parties to project calm and send a message of strength and resolve to America’s friends and enemies alike that, whatever the state of our politics, the American people are strong and our American military stands ready to defend our freedom and our vital national interests anywhere in the world.
Trump, Vance claim ‘coup’ against Biden
Donald Trump and his new running mate JD Vance have said a “coup” took place in the Democratic Party and Joe Biden should resign immediately.
Fox News’ Jesse Waters asked Mr Trump if there has been a “coup against Joe Biden” to which he said “sort of”.
Mr Vance concurred and added “there’s a constitutional process, the 25th Amendment. If Joe Biden can’t run for president, he can’t serve as president”.
The 25th amendment is a mechanism to remove a sitting president.
“And if they want to take him down because he’s mentally incapable of serving, invoke the 25th Amendment.
“You don’t get to sort of do this in the most politically beneficial way for Democrats. If it’s an actual problem, they should take care of it the appropriate way.”
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