Democrats in for hard-fought election after joyful DNC as RFK Jr set to announce end of campaign
Good morning,
Following an energetic few days at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Kamala Harris deliver the biggest speech of her career last night, Democrats are now in for the hard part.
With many Democrats rejoicing as a “joyful” Harris offered the much-needed hope following Joe Biden’s lackluster campaign performances several weeks ago, Democrats are now set to fight tooth and nail in battleground states where Harris is polling by just a knife’s edge over Donald Trump.
Additionally, with the DNC’s failure to meet uncommitted delegates’ request for a Palestinian speaker and thousands of anti-war protesters taking to the Chicago streets over their disapproval of US policies on Israel’s deadly war in Gaza, Harris and Democrats will need to figure out how to win the support of those voters, come November. For many, the answer is simple: adhere to demands for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel.
With Democrats rejoicing from the political stamina seen in Chicago over the last few days, Trump remains on the offence. Over the course of Harris’s speech, Trump fired off multiple posts on Truth Social, accusing her of “complaining about everything but doing nothing” and calling her “weak and ineffective.”
Meanwhile, independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr is scheduled to deliver a public address this afternoon in Arizona amid reports of his widely speculated withdrawal.
Here are other developments in US politics:
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Trump is set to deliver remarks on his no tax on tips proposal in Las Vegas today before heading to a rally in Arizona.
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New details have emerged about communication failures prior to Trump’s assassination attempt last month, including forgotten radios, CNN reports.
Key events
Trump’s campaign on Harris following DNC speech: ‘Dangerously liberal, not a centrist’
In response to Kamala Harris’s speech at the DNC on Thursday, Donald Trump’s campaign released an email on Friday morning, calling Harris “dangerously liberal, not a centrist.”
In the email, Trump’s campaign wrote:
“Kamala Harris has apparently expanded her press department to include the New York Times,” citing a New York Times article that described Harris’s “move to the political center” which “seems to be working.”
Citing the article, Trump’s campaign said, “That’s nonsensical,” adding, “Kamala is no centrist.”
It went on to say:
“Her record includes being named the most liberal senator, supporting eliminating private health insurance, and saying we need to ‘redirect resources’ from police. Kamala Harris is dangerously liberal, describing her as anything else is a lie.”
The latest email from Trump’s campaign follows a series of angry posts Trump fired off Thursday evening on Truth Social during Harris’s speech. In addition to accusing Harris of being “weak and ineffective” and having “done nothing for three and a half years but talk,” Trump accused her of standing for “incompetence and weakness.”
With only a few weeks left until election day, the two are neck to neck in the polls, particularly in crucial battleground states.
Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, said on Friday that “the time has come” to cut rates, Reuters reports.
During a speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic conference in Wyoming, Powell said:
“The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”
Powell went on to add that his “confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%” after it rose to 7% during the pandemic.
With Democrats rejoicing as a “joyful” Kamala Harris puts them back in the game, the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports on Democrats’ reactions from the DNC and the long road they now face ahead of November:
Five weeks ago, Democrats were preparing to hold their national convention in Chicago under a pall, weighed down by fears of defeat and what Michelle Obama called a “palpable sense of dread about the future”. An 81-year-old president, trailing badly in the polls, would face his people as they cowered before the prospect of four more years of Donald Trump and his bloodlust for retribution.
What we got at the DNC in Chicago was a week-long celebration that went well beyond the relief that the party evidently feels now that it is back in the game. There was rejoicing in the energy and confidence that has been unleashed by the unexpected metamorphosis from Joe Biden to the “joyful warrior”, Kamala Harris.
Relief and rejoicing were written on Harris’s face as she took the stage in Biden’s place on Thursday night. She was met by a roar from delegates, many dressed in blazing white in homage to the suffragette movement without which they would not have been marking the nomination of the first Black and Asian American woman on a major party ticket.
For the full story, click here:
RFK Jr reportedly facing pushback from wife Cheryl Hines over rumored exit
Edward Helmore
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is reported to be facing pushback from wife and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Cheryl Hines over rumored plans to throw his support behind Donald Trump later today.
The Kennedy campaign filed paperwork late Thursday to withdraw from the ballot in Arizona as speculation swirls that his presidential ambitions are coming to a close amid falling polls numbers and a campaign cash-crunch.
But according to The Hill, Kennedy’s negotiations with the Trump campaign to forge an alliance, which could in theory add Kennedy’s 5% national support to Trump’s side of the polling ledger, is not popular with Hines.
A source told the publication that Hines “really does not want him” to back Trump.
“He’s contending with that,” the source said.
The Kennedy and Trump campaigns are reported to have been in discussions for several weeks. “It would be so good for [me] and so good for you,” Trump said in a recorded phone call to former Democrat last month.
But it’s not clear that Kennedy supporters would necessary follow the independent candidate to the Trump ticket. Kennedy’s polling has roughly halved since Joe Biden dropped out and vice president Kamala Harris took up the mantle of presidential hopeful.
That suggests in part that Kennedy’s appeal to supporters rests on being a non-major party candidate who may not follow him en masse to the Trump ticket.
According to the Hill, Kennedy and Hines agree to disagree on some of the candidate’s conspiracy-minded positions, including those around vaccines skepticism which Trump sometimes appears to share.
When Kennedy compared vaccine mandates to the Nazi Holocaust – a comment he later walked back – Hines posted on X: “My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own. While we love each other, we differ on many current issues.”
Here is the response from another undecided Pennsylvania voter on CNN on why he decided to vote for Kamala Harris following her speech last night at the DNC:
“I was looking for policy information… I like what she gave on military, what she wants to do for our veterans. And with border control. I just think that she has a lot of good ideas and she is very well spoken. I think she was very professional.”
Undecided Voter: I like what she gave on military, what she wants to do for our veterans. And with border control. I just think that she has a lot of good ideas and she is very well spoken. I think she was very professional. pic.twitter.com/fxhIHqoMmA
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024
Addressing the DNC last night, Harris said:
“I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice.”
On border control, Harris vowed:
“As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law. I know — I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border.”
Following Kamala Harris’s speech yesterday evening, a handful of undecided Pennsylvania voters raised their hands on CNN in response to whether they are ready to make a commitment to any candidate in November.
Among eight undecided voters, all but one raised their hands to the question. Six voters indicated that they will vote for Harris, one said Trump and another remained undecided.
In response to what led them to make up their minds on Harris, one person said:
“I really liked her confidence. She really seemed presidential… She spoke from her heart.”
Reporter: None of you were ready to make a commitment to any candidate in November. Please raise your hand if you’re ready to make a commitment after today. pic.twitter.com/yC4SgZOrsq
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024
For approximately 45 minutes on Thursday evening, Kamala Harris tried to show the US who she is and why she is worthy of being its next president.
Here are several key takeaways from her speech and the DNC’s final night by the Guardian’s Sam Levine:
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Kamala Harris accepted the nomination: ‘Guided by optimism and faith’: The vice-president’s final speech offered a forceful rebuke of Donald Trump and laid out the stakes of the election.
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Harris said she would ‘always stand for Israel’ and called for ‘Palestinian self-determination’: After days of sustained pro-Palestinian protests calling for an arms embargo on Israel, Harris’s final address offered both a defense of Israel and a call for Palestinian self-determination.
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The convention denied requests for a Palestinian speaker, sparking outrage: The convention ended without a Palestinian American speaker on the main stage, a key demand of the uncommitted movement. The Harris campaign and Democratic party faced increasing pressure throughout the week to include a Palestinian voice, particularly after parents of a Hamas hostage were given a speaking slot and delivered emotional testimony on Wednesday.
For more key takeaways, click here:
Democrats in for hard-fought election after joyful DNC as RFK Jr set to announce end of campaign
Good morning,
Following an energetic few days at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Kamala Harris deliver the biggest speech of her career last night, Democrats are now in for the hard part.
With many Democrats rejoicing as a “joyful” Harris offered the much-needed hope following Joe Biden’s lackluster campaign performances several weeks ago, Democrats are now set to fight tooth and nail in battleground states where Harris is polling by just a knife’s edge over Donald Trump.
Additionally, with the DNC’s failure to meet uncommitted delegates’ request for a Palestinian speaker and thousands of anti-war protesters taking to the Chicago streets over their disapproval of US policies on Israel’s deadly war in Gaza, Harris and Democrats will need to figure out how to win the support of those voters, come November. For many, the answer is simple: adhere to demands for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel.
With Democrats rejoicing from the political stamina seen in Chicago over the last few days, Trump remains on the offence. Over the course of Harris’s speech, Trump fired off multiple posts on Truth Social, accusing her of “complaining about everything but doing nothing” and calling her “weak and ineffective.”
Meanwhile, independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr is scheduled to deliver a public address this afternoon in Arizona amid reports of his widely speculated withdrawal.
Here are other developments in US politics:
-
Trump is set to deliver remarks on his no tax on tips proposal in Las Vegas today before heading to a rally in Arizona.
-
New details have emerged about communication failures prior to Trump’s assassination attempt last month, including forgotten radios, CNN reports.