KAM-PAIGN ON
Kamala Harris secures enough delegates to win presidential nomination and vows to ‘unite nation’ and defeat Trump
Joe Biden was heard on a call at Harris' campaign HQ and vowed he's not going anywhere
KAMALA Harris has vowed to unite the US and defeat Donald Trump in November’s election as she secured enough delegates to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Big beasts within the Democratic establishment, including Nancy Pelosi, rallied behind the vice president and she will be coronated at the party’s convention in Chicago next month.
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Harris worked the phones after Joe Biden dramatically announced he was leaving the presidential race and by Monday night, she had the support of at least 2,668 delegates - way more than the minimum of 1,976 required to win on a first ballot.
She later released a statement on her presumptive nomination.
"When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination," she said.
"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.
Harris noted that she looks "forward to formally accepting the nomination soon," and said she is "grateful" to both President Biden and "everyone in the Democratic Party" who had already pledged their support for her historic presidential bid.
Harris also stated that she "will be traveling across the country talking to Americans about everything that is on the line" in the next few months.
She added, "I fully intend to unite our party, unite our nation, and defeat Donald Trump in November."
Earlier in the day, she paid tribute to Biden's service before jetting to Wilmington, Delaware, where she addressed her campaign team.
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Biden once again gave his backing to Harris during a surprise call.
Kamala Harris 'showed off power' in 1st speech since Biden dropped out with subtle body language difference, expert says
"And by the way I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be out on the campaign with (Kamala)," he said.
"I'm going to be working like hell both as a sitting president getting legislation passed as well as campaigning."
Biden urged Democrats to give their "heart and soul" to his VP after endorsing her to replace him in November.
The president, who tested positive for Covid last week, added that he "won't be on the ticket but I will still be fully engaged."
"I've got six months left of my presidency, I'm determined to get as much done as I can," he said.
"So let me be real clear, we are still fighting this fight together and I am not going anywhere."
It comes as:
- Kamala raises $50 million in donations in one day after Biden endorsement
- Vice President "showed off power" in first speech since Biden quit race
- Avoids mention of president in first address
- Biden was 'forced' out of race but Kamala Harris is worse, Trump's former advisor blasts
- Kamala Harris is 'worst candidate imaginable' and Biden's endorsement will 'come back to bite him'
Harris spoke at the Democratic campaign headquarters earlier on Monday night, in what was her first speech as the candidate now taking on Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Kamala expressed her love for the president and thanked him for all he has done for the country, adding that serving as Biden's VP has been the greatest honor of her life.
She also praised her boss for having what she described as a successful presidency, saying what he has gotten done in one term has surpassed the legacies of most two-term presidents.
"Joe got the Covid-19 pandemic under control, he has created more than 15 million new jobs, brought together Republicans and Democrats, and passed historic legislation, and I'm a first-hand witness of all this work," she told Democrats.
The vice president has reportedly received a record-breaking $81 million in donations since Biden's announcement and endorsement.
But Harris pushed back on calls for Biden to step down immediately as she spoke on Monday, insisting "he's not done — far from it."
She went on to promise to take the reins of his campaign and defeat Trump in November.
"I know Donald Trump's type," she said as she went over her resume as a senator, former prosecutor, and California attorney general.
"I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain," Harris said, alluding to Trump and the crimes he has been both convicted and accused of - including defrauding students of Trump University.
"In this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his," she said.
"But make no mistake - this campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump, there is more to this campaign than that.
"Our campaign has always been about 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, and one focused on the past.
So let me be real clear, we are still fighting this fight together and I am not going anywhere.
Joe Biden
"In this election, we know we each face a question - what kind of country do we want to live in?"
The vice president told the crowd that this election is a fight for freedom and people's rights, saying Trump is trying to take the country back to a time "before many of our fellow Americans had full freedoms and rights, but we believe in a brighter future for all Americans."
"We believe in a future where every person has the person not just to get by, but to get ahead," she said.
"We believe in a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every person can buy a home, start a family, and build wealth, where every person has access to paid family leave and affordable childcare.
"Together we fight to build a nation where every person has affordable healthcare, where every worker is paid fairly, and every senior can retire with dignity."
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Harris added that "building up the middle class will be a defining goal" of her presidency.
"That is the future we see. And we know that's not the future Donald Trump is fighting for."
Harris said her goal now is to "earn the nomination and win," wanting to generate excitement and support strong enough to defeat the former president.
"In the next 106 days, we have work to do," said the presumed-to-be Democratic nominee.
"We have doors to knock on, "we have people to talk to, and we have an election to win."
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held August 19-22 in Chicago.
While the party had previously announced – before Biden dropped out of the election – that it would "hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden before in-person proceedings begin," the convention's rules committee is "scheduled to meet this week to finalize its nomination process with a virtual vote as soon as August 1...with the process completed by August 7," as reported by the Associated Press.
“We can and will be both fast and fair as we execute this nomination,” Jaime Harrison, the Democratic National Committee’s chair, said on a conference call.
If multiple candidates meet the qualification threshold, a virtual roll call could potentially feature "multiple rounds of voting on nominees."
What happens next as Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 race?
President Biden has finally heeded calls to drop his bid for re-election, throwing the 2024 election into chaos. He has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris but naming a new Democratic nominee won't be a simple process. Here's what's next after Biden's stunning announcement.
Biden secured nearly 4,000 delegates by winning state caucuses and primaries earlier this year. He was set to officially be named the Democratic nominee at a virtual vote ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which begins on August 19.
Democratic party rules don't allow Biden to simply pass his 3,896 delegates to Harris or another candidate.
Harris will now have to convince those nearly 4,000 delegates and 700 superdelegates to support her and name her nominee.
However, delegates are free agents who can choose to support whichever candidate they want - likely without input from voters at this stage since primaries and caucuses were already held.
All eyes are now on the previously planned virtual vote - where the Democratic party could choose a nominee before the DNC begins.
Biden's endorsement of Harris will likely sway delegates and no one has publicly challenged her as a candidate - but delegates are not required to back her. Even if the virtual vote isn't held, the party could still choose Harris or another candidate before the convention.
If Democrats don't name their nominee before the DNC, it'll be the first open and contested convention since 1968.
To qualify for the nomination, candidates must obtain at least 300 signatures from convention delegates.
Meanwhile, potential and undecided voters are waiting to see how Harris handles the situation between Israel and Palestine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not exactly seen eye-to-eye with President Biden over the war in Gaza, will be addressing Congress on Wednesday - an address that Harris has already declined to attend, according to The Washington Post.
Democrats are deeply divided over the war, with some referring to it as a "genocide," and dozens of lawmakers expected to boycott Netanyahu’s speech, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson threatening to have anyone who disrupts the event arrested.
Before Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday, he was scheduled to travel to Texas that day and would miss Netanyahu’s visit.
FORCED OUT
Before Biden's announcement on Sunday that he would no longer seek reelection, the president faced being forcibly removed from office by top Democrats, according to reports.
The plan to oust Biden and halt his reelection has reportedly been in place for weeks, and part of the strategy was supposedly setting him up for failure during the train wreck presidential debate on June 27.
President Biden upended the Democratic Party when he shockingly announced the end of his reelection campaign, which reportedly caught White House officials by surprise.
Part of the "elaborate, well-orchestrated" plan by high-ranking members of the Democratic Party was allowing Biden to debate Trump, the New York Post reported, citing sources.
Biden's disastrous performance during the debate opened the floodgates of unrelenting questions about his cognitive decline and inability to serve as commander-in-chief for a second term.
"That debate was a set-up to convince Democrats that he couldn't run for president," a source told the New York Post.
As Biden attempted to instill confidence and reassurance in his ability to lead, top Democrats threatened to invoke the 25th Amendment to force him out.
The 25th Amendment allows the vice president and members of Congress to declare the president is unfit to serve and force him to step down.
'NOT ON JOE'S SIDE'
Despite Biden endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination, Democratic delegates will strongly oppose and rally behind Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, according to the outlet.
President Biden's eldest son, Hunter, reportedly became more involved in his dad's day-to-day schedule following the June 27 debate.
"Hunter felt he [Biden] was being set up, and he was very concerned about his father. These people, these officials, were not on Joe's side," according to the New York Post.
Meanwhile, President Biden has not been spotted in public since being diagnosed with Covid-19 on July 18.
White House staffers were blindsided when they learned on X about Biden's plans to abandon his reelection campaign.
"Everyone was totally shocked. It was pretty telling that Jill Biden tweeted a heart emoji and nothing else," the source told the outlet.
FAMILY FRICTION
Biden's brother, Frank, told ABC News that the decision "boiled down" to the president's "overall health and vitality."
"Selfishly, I will have him back to enjoy whatever time he has left," Frank told the outlet.
But, a Biden family source discredited Frank's claims, telling CBS News that the president's younger sibling "suffers from alcoholism and hasn't spoken to his brother [Joe Biden] in weeks."
The source told the outlet that Frank's claims were "completely untrue."
Since accepting Joe Biden's endorsement, Kamala Harris has raised $50 million in donations in just 24 hours.
Grassroots supporters rushed to back Harris in what Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue said was its best day so far this year.
Several of her potential rivals also got behind Harris, 59, and other Democrats have slowly backed the vice president's candidacy.
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Those backing Harris include former Bill and Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
However, others, such as former President Barack Obama, have not endorsed Harris but praised Biden’s decision and leadership.
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Timeline of Biden's failed re-election bid
President Joe Biden endured weeks of calls to step aside before he announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Here are key developments leading up to his decision.
June 27: Biden's disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump sparks calls for him to step aside. His voice is raspy and he trails off several times after having already endured questions about his age and mental capacity following a series of blunders at public events.
July 2: Polls after the debate indicate that Trump is pulling ahead. Rep. Lloyd Doggett is the first Democratic congressman to publicly urge Biden to drop his bid for re-election and big Democratic donors issue the same call a day later.
July 5: Biden does a live TV interview with George Stephanopoulos where he tries to quell fears about his age and debate performance. He calls it a "bad night" and says he was under the weather and "exhausted."
July 10: Senator Peter Welch becomes the first senator to call for Biden to drop out.
July 11: Biden refers to Ukrainian President Zelensky as President Putin at a NATO event.
July 13: Trump is shot at a campaign rally by a wannabe assassin. His popularity and favorability rating soar after he was seen bloodied on stage but walked off with a fist in the air, telling the crowd to "fight!"
July 17: Rep Adam Schiff and a series of other Democrats call for Biden to step aside and even former President Barack Obama tells allies that Biden's path to victory has "greatly diminished." Biden tests positive for Covid-19 hours later, after saying he would consider ending his bid if he were diagnosed with "some medical issue."
July 19: Biden insists he will continue campaigning in his first statement since Obama's U-turn - despite reports that he would decide to drop out by the weekend.
July 21: Just before 2 pm, Biden announces he is stepping aside in the 2024 election and endorses VP Kamala Harris.