Category Archives: Kamala Harris

Tactical ad breaks and lies: rightwing coverage of DNC is exactly as expected

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Hard-right hosts resurrect racist Obama birther conspiracy theory and lament Democrats’ treatment of Joe Biden

As the Democratic party enjoys the afterglow of an exuberant national convention, the rightwing media has settled on consistent counter-programming: complaining about “joy”, hyping up pro-Palestinian protests and expressing a newfound concern for the treatment of Joe Biden.

The coverage, which has at times avoided the more pointed Democratic criticisms of Trump by cutting to ad breaks, has also including the criticism of women both for smiling too much and not smiling enough, and the coining of a new name for Barack Obama: “Barack-Stabber”.

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Trump hails RFK Jr as ‘great person’ after 2024 endorsement – as it happened

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Merrick Garland announced this morning that the justice department has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the real estate software company RealPage.

The DoJ alleges that RealPage’s algorithm provided landlords with recommended prices for rentals that allowed them to align their rents.

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RFK Jr voters on ‘frustrating’ suspension of campaign: ‘He’s playing politics’

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Kennedy supporters bitterly disappointed as independent props up two-party system by endorsing Donald Trump

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the arguable black sheep of one of America’s biggest families in politics, has suspended his campaign for president and endorsed Donald Trump – and it has rocked some of his supporters.

On Facebook, where Kennedy groups have amassed thousands of members across the country, some expressed bitter disappointment. In their view, Kennedy was a way to buck, and even break, the two-party system in the US – and while the end of his campaign hurt, backing one of the major party candidates was seen as far worse.

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Harris’s convention speech sparks live rant from outraged Trump

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Ex-president’s 48 posts during speech confirm his trouble in maintaining discipline on the campaign trail

Kamala Harris’s Democratic national convention speech provoked a torrent of outrage from Donald Trump as the former US president fired off a volley of ripostes, rebuttals and angry calls to TV stations.

Trump posted 48 times on his Truth Social network during Harris’s 37-minute presidential acceptance speech, which was nearly an hour shorter than his own effort at the Republican convention last month.

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Harris urges America to choose ‘freedom and fairness’ over Trump extremism – as it happened

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Now comes Pat Ryan, who represents a New York battleground district in the House of Representatives.

He hit out at Donald Trump for his reported insults towards military veterans, then obliquely referenced the newfound optimism Democrats are feeling since Joe Biden ended his bid for a second term:

These last few weeks have felt like a new day in America, when we are waking up, rising up, patriots, to demand a president who does not just treat our veterans with respect, but everyone with respect.

We do not retreat, we are the United States of America, we lead!

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Harris makes forceful speech – and skewers the menace from Mar-a-Lago

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Her acceptance address was short on policy and poetry, but the Democratic nominee took the fight to Donald Trump

It was not a political address for the ages. It was not even the best of the convention (no one can compete with the Obamas). But Kamala Harris did enough in her speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday to put an exclamation mark on one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern political history.

And she made you reflect that you would not want to be Donald Trump facing her in next month’s televised debate. A speech that was short on policy and poetry was nevertheless devastating in skewering the menace from Mar-a-Lago. Trump can expect the same kind of interrogation when the two go head to head that would make most mortals tremble.

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Kamala Harris pledges to ‘chart a new way forward’ as she accepts nomination

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Democratic nominee makes sweeping convention speech and promises to prosecute case against Donald Trump

Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday with a sweeping, pointed speech in which she vowed to prosecute the case against Donald Trump and carry the country to a brighter and fairer future.

In an address that balanced optimism with scathing criticism of her opponent, Harris acknowledged her “unlikely” path to the nomination and extended her hand to voters of all political ideologies who believe in America’s promise. Harris would make history if elected – as the first woman, first Black woman and first Asian American woman to serve as president – but she instead focused on the history that the country could change in November.

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From buzz to fizzle as rumours of Beyoncé performance at DNC fly, then fade

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Multiple news sites reported the star would be a special guest at the closing night of the Democratic National Convention – but it was not to be

As Kamala Harris prepared to deliver the biggest speech of her career, one of the year’s biggest rumours snowballed online and in the media about a potential surprise guest.

In an election campaign in which anything has seemed possible, a Democratic National Convention appearance by Beyoncé, whose song Freedom is the Harris campaign’s official song, seemed for a brief moment like it could be on the cards.

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Kamala Harris’s big moment, and a message of hope: key takeaways from the Democratic convention’s final night

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The vice-president rebuked Trump and urged ‘optimism and faith’ – but Beyoncé did not make an appearance

The Democratic national convention has ended in Chicago, with vice-president Kamala Harris formally accepting the nomination and making her pitch to voters. Here are some key takeaways from the fourth night:

Democratic convention highlights:

Tim Walz’s acceptance speech channeled grit and empathy

Democrats issue warning over Project 2025

What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

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Harris prepares for convention keynote as Trump and Vance focus on immigration message – live

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Harris will formally accept her party’s historic presidential nomination while Trump and Vance will hold separate battleground state events

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz is dropping by the Minnesota delegation’s breakfast meeting in Chicago this morning, according to reports.

Walz and his wife, Gwen, are expected to thank delegates at the breakfast for their support of the Harris-Walz ticket.

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Democratic convention schedule: Oprah reported to be among speakers on night three

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Tim Walz and Bill Clinton headline the third night amid reports Oprah Winfrey will also appear. Here’s a look at other noteworthy speakers on the schedule

The Democratic national convention is under way, with primetime addresses scheduled for tonight from Bill Clinton; Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s running mate; and many more.

CNN reported that Oprah Winfrey, the talkshow host and longtime Democrat, is set to appear on the main stage. In previous elections, Winfrey lent her star power to Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Chris Murphy, US senator, Connecticut

Olivia Troye, former Trump administration national security official

Bennie G Thompson, member of the US House of Representatives, Mississippi

Andy Kim, member of the US House of Representatives, New Jersey

Stevie Wonder, singer-songwriter and musician (performance)

Kenan Thompson, comedian, and guests (remarks on Project 2025)

Mindy Kaling (host introduction)

Hakeem Jeffries, US House of Representatives Democratic leader

Bill Clinton, former US president

Nancy Pelosi, former US House speaker

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania

Catherine Cortez Masto, US senator, Nevada

Amanda Gorman, national youth poet laureate, whose performance of The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration wowed the audience

Wes Moore, governor of Maryland

Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary

John Legend and Sheila E, musicians (performance)

Amy Klobuchar, US senator, Minnesota

Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris’s running mate (keynote address)

Democratic national convention 2024 live updates

Monday: For the People

Tuesday: A Bold Vision for America’s Future

Wednesday: A Fight for Our Freedoms

Thursday: For Our Future

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Bill Clinton says ‘Trump creates chaos’ and mocks crowd-size obsession in star-studded night at DNC – live

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Former president addresses delegates amid reports Oprah Winfrey is expected to make an appearance

Kamala Harris’s campaign raised four times as much money last month than Donald Trump’s campaign, Reuters is reporting, citing federal disclosures filed late on Tuesday.

The Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission it raised $204m in July, compared to $48m reported by Trump’s main fundraising group.

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All eyes on America’s ‘blue wall’ as Harris scrambles to woo key voters

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Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin hold the election key – can the Democrats see off the challenge from Trump?

Away from the deafening roar of the party faithful that nightly fills the Democratic national convention in Chicago an urgent question is being asked behind the scenes: how can the party convert the energy that has exploded around Kamala Harris’s belated candidacy into actual votes on election day?

All eyes are on the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where the identity of the 47th US president is likely to be settled. The outsized significance of the three states in the race is evident in the scramble of the presidential candidates to woo them.

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Barack Obama calls on Americans to elect Kamala Harris – as it happened

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Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, has turned up at the Democratic national convention, for reasons unknown.

Cohen fell out with Trump years ago, and was a witness for the prosecution in the former president’s hush-money trial in New York, which ended with him being found guilty of 34 felonies related to falsifying business documents.

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Trump attacks Kamala Harris and ‘Marxist left’ in speech to police

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Ex-president falsely claims US is in grip of violent crime wave, and vows to shield officers from legal accountability

Donald Trump has pledged to shield police officers from legal accountability if he is re-elected as president after falsely claiming the US is in the grip of a wave of violent crime that he blamed on the Black Lives Matter movement and migrants crossing the Mexican border.

Speaking to police officers in Michigan on Tuesday, the former president sought to pin responsibility for the imagined crisis on his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, who he characterised as among “Marxist district attorneys” with a record of being anti-police and pro-criminal during her term as the DA in San Francisco in the 2000s.

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Obama to bring message of hope 20 years after famous convention speech

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Ex-president headlining in Chicago on Tuesday brings memories of 2004 appeal for unity that inspired Democrats

From “skinny kid with a funny name” to elder statesman: Barack Obama, the former US president, will be the headline speaker at the Democratic national convention in Chicago on Tuesday – 20 years after he first burst on to the national political scene.

Obama, a state legislator from Illinois, was days from his 43rd birthday and months from being elected to the Senate when he was given a slot at the party’s 2004 convention in Boston. “Rising star to woo voters with upbeat keynote speech,” was the Guardian headline on 27 July 2004.

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Obama to deliver ‘forceful affirmation’ for Kamala Harris – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. Please join us for all the latest developments from day two of the DNC in Chicago in our dedicated live blog:

Joe Biden described selecting Kamala Harris as his vice-president as “the best decision I made my whole career”, and he drew a sharp contrast between her and Donald Trump. Mocking Trump over his recent conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden said:

Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level of more than 50 years, and crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon.

When he talks about America being a failing nation, he says, we’re losing. He’s the loser. He’s dead wrong.

Guess who cast the tie-breaking vote? Vice-president, soon-to-be-president, Kamala Harris.

With a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved.

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Barack and Michelle Obama to speak on second day of Democratic national convention

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Theme set for Tuesday of Kamala Harris’s ‘bold vision’ will contrast with Trump’s dystopian vision of the US

The Democratic National Convention enters its second day in Chicago on Tuesday with Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign seeking to lay out what it calls a “bold vision for America” as it seeks to move forward from Joe Biden’s emotional valedictory speech.

Carrying the flame on the second night of primetime speeches will be the Obamas, with Michelle Obama addressing the convention shortly before her husband Barack takes the stage. The couple’s endorsement of Harris in July was seminal in securing the Democratic presidential nomination for the current US vice-president, helping to bypass a potentially ugly internal fight.

What is the DNC?

Joe Biden speaks at DNC night one following surprise appearance by Kamala Harris

Pro-Palestinian protesters march before DNC

Here are the rising stars and politicians to watch this week

What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

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Biden at the Democratic convention was unrecognisable from his disastrous debate

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Biden’s voice was strong and clear, and the crowd was far warmer to him as an outgoing president

Joe Biden took the stage and held his daughter, Ashley, in a long embrace, whispered some tender words and wiped tears from his eyes. She smiled and kissed the hand of her ageing dad. The pair seemed to be at the quiet centre of a storm.

Around them more than 20,000 stood, applauded, roared and chanted, “We love Joe.” They held tall narrow signs that said, “We ♥️ Joe”. The US president walked to the lectern, smiling, pointing, looked pensive, smiled again and dabbed his nose with a handkerchief.

What is the DNC?

Joe Biden speaks at DNC night one following surprise appearance by Kamala Harris

Pro-Palestinian protesters march before DNC

Here are the rising stars and politicians to watch this week

What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

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Biden says he gave ‘heart and soul to our nation’ as he passes torch – as it happened

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Democrats aren’t shying away from discussing the Covid-19 pandemic, with Minnesota’s lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan taking the stage to talk about the tragedy the virus brought upon her family, and how Donald Trump was to blame.

“My brother Ron was the second person to die of Covid in the state of Tennessee. We couldn’t see him. We couldn’t have a memorial. And millions of American families went through the same thing. Our communities were suffering, our economy was struggling, and Donald Trump was playing games. Our country was brought to the brink by his failure to respond, but the Biden-Harris administration stepped in with quick and decisive action,” Flanagan said.

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