Biden urges voters to elect Harris in order to ‘preserve democracy’ in hopeful speech

US president delivers reflective and optimistic address on first night of the Democratic national convention

Just one month after making the historic choice to withdraw from the presidential race, Joe Biden took the stage at the Democratic national convention on Monday to deliver a reflective and optimistic address, urging the nation to elect Kamala Harris to protect American democracy.

Looking back on his one and only presidential term, Biden reminded Americans that he took office just two weeks after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, when the country was still in the early grips of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Democratic convention live: Demonstrators begin filling Chicago’s Union Park; national guard ‘on standby’, says Illinois governor

JB Pritzker says 250 national guard members on standby; tens of thousands expected to protest in Chicago to demand US ends aid to Israel

The Harris-Walz campaign has launched a WhatsApp channel targeting Latino voters in what it described as a “first-of-its-kind in a presidential election”.

The channel aims to reach voters with “tailored, culturally competent content” to “create an organic avenue to reach Latino families from the abuelos to tías and tíos and primos”, it said in a statement on Monday.

While Donald Trump vilifies our community at every turn and uses us as a political punching bag, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know the power of our community and are fighting everyday on the issues that matter to Latino voters.

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When is Biden’s Democratic convention speech? How to watch and what to know

The president will speak at the Democratic national convention in Chicago on Monday night

The Democratic national convention is under way, with a primetime address scheduled tonight from Joe Biden.

The president’s speech in Chicago opens a convention that, until 21 July, was meant to serve as his coronation as the Democratic nominee in a re-election bid. Having dropped out, Biden will now use his convention speech as a chance to highlight the accomplishments of his administration, and support the Harris-Walz ticket.

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Federal Reserve ‘poised to begin cutting rates as early as September’

Bank officials signal readiness to start interest rate-cutting cycle to ease pressure on households and businesses

Kamala Harris’s hopes of victory in the looming US presidential election have been given a boost by mounting expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates from as early as September.

As Democrats gather for the party’s national convention in Chicago starting on Monday, economists on Wall Street said the world’s most powerful central bank was poised to begin a cycle of interest rate cuts before the end of the year.

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Trump campaign reset goes awry in Pennsylvania as he attacks Harris

Ex-president quickly broke away from prepared speech to accuse vice-president of being a communist and a fascist

Donald Trump tried to reset his campaign at a rally in battleground Pennsylvania on Saturday as polls show Kamala Harris pulling ahead in key swing states.

But the former president quickly broke away from the prepared speech about economic issues to launch personal attacks on Harris including accusations that her agenda is both communist and fascist, and that she has “the laugh of a crazy person”.

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Trump taps Tulsi Gabbard for help preparing for debate with Kamala Harris

Former Democratic Hawaii representative, who fell out of favor with party, to be rehearsal stand-in for vice-president

Donald Trump has tapped Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic Hawaii representative, to help prepare him for next month’s presidential debate with Kamala Harris.

The selection of Gabbard as rehearsal stand-in for the vice president, first reported by the New York Times, suggests that despite denials, the former president may be planning to prepare for the 10 September clash with greater-than-usual diligence.

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Both presidential campaigns descend on critical swing state of Pennsylvania

Trump to hold rally in north-east while Harris tours through west of what election forecaster calls ‘tipping point’ state

The US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will hold dueling campaign events this weekend in the critical political battleground state of Pennsylvania.

The former president was due to hold a Saturday rally in Wilkes-Barre in the north-east of the state, while the vice-president is on a bus tour of western Pennsylvania starting in Pittsburgh on Sunday, before the Democratic national convention kicks off on Monday in Chicago.

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Rising stars have the chance to shine at Democratic convention

Speeches can boost state politician to national prominence, despite awkward challenge with Harris nomination

In 2004, Barack Obama was a relatively unknown state legislator trying to become Illinois’ next senator – until his speech at the Democratic convention. When Democrats gathered in Boston to nominate John Kerry, many Americans heard Obama speak for the first time. And they were mesmerized.

“I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible,” Obama said that evening.

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Trump reportedly considers endorsing expanded child tax credit after Harris unveils economic plan – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Harris’s economic plan, read our full report:

Joe Biden is expected to jump on the phone later today with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt amid a glimmer of progress towards a deal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza, including the return of remaining hostages, according to a report.

An Axios reporter has posted about this, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.

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Trump adds five new advisers as he tries to find attack lines against Harris

Former president also says in press conference he is ‘entitled to personal attacks’ against Democratic rival

Donald Trump expanded his circle of senior advisers on Thursday, adding five new aides including his former 2016 presidential campaign chief as the campaign attempts to find effective attacks against Kamala Harris, according to people familiar with the matter.

The former president brought Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer and Alex Bruesewitz from the Trump-aligned Maga Inc political action committee, as well as previous Trump campaign veterans Corey Lewandowski and Tim Murtaugh.

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Biden and Harris celebrate landmark deal to lower medication prices

President declares ‘we finally beat big pharma’ as he joins Harris on stage in Maryland for first time since exiting race

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Thursday cast themselves as the champions of American seniors in a David-and-Goliath fight against big pharmaceutical companies, at a joint event touting a landmark deal to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

“We finally beat big pharma,” the US president declared, sharing the stage with his vice-president for the first time since he abandoned his re-election bid in late July and Harris replaced him as the Democratic nominee.

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JD Vance agrees to October vice-presidential debate with Tim Walz

VP nominees to face off on 1 October as Vance challenges Walz to an earlier debate in September

JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, has accepted an invitation by CBS to debate Tim Walz, his Democratic counterpart, on 1 October after initially appearing to hedge.

Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, also said he was accepting another invitation from CNN to debate Walz on 18 September, although it was unclear whether the Democratic nominee had agreed to the challenge.

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Trump repeats attacks and falsehoods in free-wheeling press conference at his golf club – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the 2024 US election, you can read our full coverage here.

Donald Trump’s campaign has made a slew of new hires as he looks to get his footing against Democrat Kamala Harris, including bringing Corey Lewandowski, who managed part of his 2016 run, on to its leadership team.

Other hires on the team include Washington Times columnist and communications strategist Tim Murtaugh, political consultant Alex Bruesewitz and Taylor Budowich and Alex Pfeiffer, both of whom are associated with the Make America Great Again Super Pac.

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RFK Jr tried to meet with Kamala Harris to propose cabinet job – reports

Independent presidential candidate reportedly reached out to campaign to discuss dropping out and endorsing Harris

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the beleaguered independent presidential candidate, reached out to the Kamala Harris campaign last week to discuss dropping out of the race and endorsing the Democrat, according to multiple reports.

Kennedy attempted to set up a meeting with Harris to propose him serving in her administration, possibly as a cabinet secretary, in exchange for his endorsement, the Washington Post reported.

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FBI told Harris campaign it was target of ‘foreign actor influence operation’ – report

Campaign says it was ‘not aware of any security breaches’ after Trump’s campaign says it was hacked

Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign said it was notified by the FBI last month that it was “targeted by a foreign actor influence operation”, a NBC News reporter said on Tuesday.

“We have robust cybersecurity measures in place, and are not aware of any security breaches of our systems resulting from those efforts,” the campaign said, according to the reporter.

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Familiar vitriol, and Musk the enabler: key takeaways from Trump’s X interview

After a 45-minute delay, the former president ran through his greatest hits – and biggest lies – to a fawning Elon Musk

Donald Trump returned to the social media platform that skyrocketed his career for a live discussion with Elon Musk. The former president unleashed familiar rambling, vitriolic talking points to a sympathetic Musk.

Here are key takeaways from the event.

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‘She makes us proud’: Harris raises over $12m in California as Pelosi welcomes her home

Vice-president returns to San Francisco for event attended by ex-House speaker Pelosi and governor Gavin Newsom

Kamala Harris returned home to the San Francisco Bay area for a Sunday fundraiser that drew top California Democrats and captured more than $12m for the conclusion of a swing state tour by the vice-president and her running mate, Tim Walz.

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and California governor Gavin Newsom attended the event in San Francisco at the Fairmont Hotel, where nearly 700 people had purchased tickets that cost at least $3,300 and as much as $500,000.

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Vance lashes out at Harris and Walz as he attempts to seize back momentum

Amid a faltering campaign, Republican VP hopeful claims pair are ‘uncomfortable in their own skin’

Republican vice-presidential hopeful JD Vance lashed out at Kamala Harris and Tim Walz during a whirlwind tour of political shows on Sunday as he attempted to seize back momentum to his own faltering campaign.

The Ohio senator claimed the pairing on the Democratic presidential ticket were “uncomfortable in their own skin” over their policy positions ahead of November’s election.

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Biden says it was his ‘obligation to the country’ to drop out of presidential race

In interview, president says if Trump wins a second term it would be ‘a genuine danger to American security’

Joe Biden has said it was his “obligation to the country” to drop out of the 2024 presidential election and prevent what he said would be “a genuine danger to American security” if Donald Trump won a second term of office.

The US president gave his reasoning for stepping aside in at-times an emotional interview with CBS News on Sunday, his first since quitting the race in July. He explained that losing the confidence of senior House and Senate Democrats, who feared his unpopularity would hurt them at the polls in November, had weighed on his mind.

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Harris and Walz hold Las Vegas rally and match Trump pledge of no tax on tips

Buoyant Democratic duo, energized by recent polling data, hope to win over voters in critical states such as Nevada

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz wrapped up their first week together on the campaign trail with a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, as the Democratic party seeks to further galvanize its base and win over undecided voters in battleground states such as Nevada.

In what was the vice-president and Minnesota governor’s fifth rally in five days, the pair hoped to continue building on the renewed wave of enthusiasm and engagement among some voters and organizers since Joe Biden stepped down from the presidential race amid growing concerns over his cognitive health and entrenched support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

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