Democrats on Thursday began the process of making Vice President Harris their formal presidential nominee on a day that saw several campaign developments and highlighted one of the solemn challenges of an American president: bringing hostages home.<\/p>\n
Democratic delegates began online voting Thursday in a process that almost certainly will result in Harris formally becoming the party\u2019s nominee, since she is the only candidate who qualified and most of the delegates have already endorsed her. Yet her official selection will mark a significant milestone, making her the nation\u2019s first Black woman to become a major-party presidential nominee and capping one of the most tumultuous months in recent American political history.<\/p>\n
Parties typically nominate their ticket at their in-person convention, but Democratic leaders were concerned that early ballot deadlines in several states could make it risky for them to wait until the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19-22. They set up a virtual nomination process that started Thursday morning and could last until Monday, though Harris could clinch the nomination sooner.<\/p>\n
Harris is expected to name her running mate in the coming days before launching a joint nationwide campaign tour starting Tuesday across seven battleground states. The campaign has announced that Harris and her running mate will travel to Philadelphia; Eau Claire, Wis.; Detroit; the Research Triangle in North Carolina; Savannah, Ga.; Phoenix; and Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
There was no indication of a final decision Thursday, but strategists on both sides were carefully watching the actions of the Democratic figures who have been mentioned as potential running mates.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has canceled some upcoming appearances in what could be read as a schedule-clearing move to join Harris. But a spokesman said the governor\u2019s trip this weekend to the Hamptons on Long Island, which was planned \u201cseveral weeks ago and included several fundraisers for his own campaign committee,\u201d was canceled because \u201chis schedule has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on Thursday attacked former president Donald Trump\u2019s recent comments about Harris\u2019s racial identity. \u201cIt\u2019s such a desperate, desperate attempt to rebuild his campaign that\u2019s obviously faltering,\u201d Kelly told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. \u201cShe\u2019s the person to bring us into the future, and Donald Trump is about divisiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
At an event Wednesday hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump said he \u201cdidn\u2019t know [Harris] was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.\u201d He added, \u201cIs she Indian, or is she Black?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly declined to comment on reports that he met with Harris\u2019s vetting team in the past few days. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about me. This is about beating Donald Trump,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other senior Democrats who are considered close to the Harris campaign and could be potential running mates are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.<\/p>\n
Harris on Thursday delivered a eulogy at a Houston service for the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), who died last month at age 74 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n
She called her late friend \u201ca change-maker\u201d and a \u201ccoalition builder.\u201d At one point, Harris misspoke and referred to herself as \u201cpresident\u201d before correcting to say \u201cvice president\u201d \u2014 triggering cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was Sheila Jackson Lee whose bill made Juneteenth a federal holiday,\u201d she said, \u201cwhich, as a United States senator, I was proud to co-sponsor. And then as president \u2014 as vice president \u2014 it was my honor with the president \u2026 [to make it into law]. It was my honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Republican side, nominee Donald Trump\u2019s campaign announced that the former president would participate in a rally in Bozeman, Mont., on Aug. 9. Montana is the site of a major battleground Senate race between incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D) and Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s campaign also announced that it had raised $138.7 million during the month of July and had $327 million cash on hand. Harris\u2019s campaign said it had raised $200 million during the first week of her candidacy. The figures cannot be confirmed until later this month, when financial disclosures are filed.<\/p>\n
Trump did not hold any public events Thursday, but Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), the Republican vice-presidential candidate, delivered remarks at the U.S.-Mexico border in southeast Arizona.<\/p>\n
Dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans and hiking boots, Vance greeted law enforcement authorities with handshakes and was shown a spot where the border wall \u2014 which Trump started building when he was president \u2014 was incomplete.<\/p>\n
After 30 minutes of speaking with law enforcement officials and touring the border, Vance made comments in which he repeatedly criticized Harris and referred to her as the \u201cborder czar.\u201d Harris and other Democrats have rejected that title, noting that Biden asked her to tackle the root causes of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, not to address illegal border crossings.<\/p>\n
Vance described several policy initiatives that he said a Trump-Vance administration would implement, including resuming border wall construction, more aggressively deporting undocumented immigrants and investigating drug crimes further.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe, until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
Vance also said he and the former president have a \u201cgood relationship\u201d and sought to push back on criticism that Democrats \u2014 and some Republicans \u2014 have leveled against him since he was put on the ticket. Vance, for example, has come under fire for previously calling Democrats such as Harris \u201ca bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, it\u2019s the same thing they did to Dick Cheney, the same thing they did to Mike Pence,\u201d Vance told NOTUS in an interview Wednesday, referring to past Republican vice-presidential nominees. \u201cI think that any Republican who comes out of the gate as the new VP nominee is going to get attacked. I have no doubt that the president is confident in the way that I\u2019ve been doing things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance said his \u201cgood relationship\u201d with Trump \u201cwill keep on going through all the way to November \u2014 hopefully past that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ohio senator said he has no regrets over having been supportive of the Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025, a blueprint for an incoming conservative administration that Democrats have attacked and from which Trump has distanced himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Heritage Foundation has some good ideas, and also has some ideas that \u2026 I think are bad ideas,\u201d Vance told NOTUS. \u201cAnd regardless of whether you think they\u2019re good ideas or bad ideas, it has nothing to do with the Trump campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance said he had not read the entire 900-page document. \u201cThere are some things I like about it, and some ideas in there that I strongly disagree with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The organizers of Project 2025 recently announced that the initiative is winding down its policy operations and that its director, former Trump administration personnel official Paul Dans, is departing.<\/p>\n
Amid the campaign activity, events unfolded Thursday showcasing the gravity of the office that Harris and Trump are seeking. Biden announced a complex release of hostages \u2014 including Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who were both held by Russia.<\/p>\n
Biden made forceful remarks signaling that while he is no longer running for reelection, he intends to use the powers of his office to the fullest for the six months he has remaining in the office. Trump immediately questioned whether the deal was as beneficial to the U.S. side as it could have been.<\/p>\n
Harris, who was in Houston for the memorial service, flew back to Washington to join Biden in greeting the hostages at Joint Base Andrews. She also spoke with Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, and welcomed the release of 16 individuals from Russia, including political prisoners who worked with Navalny.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States stands with all of those who are fighting for freedom in Russia,\u201d Harris said on the tarmac outside Air Force Two before flying back to Washington. \u201cAs we celebrate today\u2019s news, we must also keep front of mind that there are other Americans that are unjustly being held in places around the world, and we will never stop fighting for their release.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meryl Kornfield, Mariana Alfaro, Liz Goodwin, and Amy B Wang contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Democrats on Thursday began the process of making Vice President Harris their formal presidential nominee on a day that saw several campaign developments and highlighted one of the solemn challenges of an American president: bringing hostages home. Democratic delegates began online voting Thursday in a process that almost certainly will result in Harris formally becoming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}