Category Archives: US Politics

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.

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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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This blog is now closed. You can read our full report on Biden’s speech here.

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

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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

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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

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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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Biden to give possible swan song at Democratic convention amid Gaza protests

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President set to receive electrifying welcome but thousands also expected to protest in Chicago over Israel military aid

Joe Biden will take centre stage for perhaps the last time on Monday night when he addresses the Democratic national convention in Chicago – as the US president faces a backlash over one of his most complex legacies.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to converge in the host city to demand that the US end military aid to Israel for its ongoing war in Gaza. Activists have branded Biden “Genocide Joe” and called for the vice-president, Kamala Harris, to change course.

Andrew Roth and Rachel Leingang contributed reporting

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Lindsey Graham warns Trump ‘the provocateur’ in danger of losing election

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Republican senator urges Trump to focus on policy issues instead of making personal attacks against Harris

The Republican senator and Donald Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham has warned that Trump is in danger of losing the US presidential election if he continues to talk about Kamala Harris’s race and make other personal attacks instead of focusing on policy issues.

Graham’s comments came on Meet The Press when asked whether he agreed with Nikki Haley’s recent admonition that Trump and Republicans should “quit whining” and stop “talking about what race Kamala Harris is”.

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Trump campaign reset goes awry in Pennsylvania as he attacks Harris

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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

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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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Rising stars have the chance to shine at Democratic convention

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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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Iranian group used ChatGPT to try to influence US election, OpenAI says

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AI company bans accounts and says operation did not appear to have meaningful audience engagement

OpenAI said on Friday it had taken down accounts of an Iranian group for using its ChatGPT chatbot to generate content meant for influencing the US presidential election and other issues.

The operation, identified as Storm-2035, used ChatGPT to generate content focused on topics such as commentary on the candidates on both sides in the US elections, the conflict in Gaza and Israel’s presence at the Olympic Games and then shared it via social media accounts and websites, Open AI said.

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

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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 reveals he made $300,000 selling Bibles and has big cryptocurrency stash

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Financial disclosure shows presidential nominee owes $500m in civil penalties but sheds little light on solvency

Donald Trump made hundred of thousands from his branded Bible and millions from his properties – but also owes millions for defamation and fraud cases, according to his latest financial disclosures that shed little light on the perennial question of whether the Republican presidential nominee is, in fact, solvent.

Voluminous disclosure documents to the US Office of Government Ethics to comply with election campaign laws show that, in addition to Trump’s US real estate holdings, he has global financial interests, including registered trademarks in China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ukraine and Israel.

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Global health charities warn of ‘huge and terrible’ threat to abortion rights if Trump returns

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‘Global gag rule’ and funding cuts will be ‘on different scale’ if Republicans win again, family-planning providers say

Providers of women’s healthcare around the world are preparing for potentially disastrous consequences should Donald Trump win the US presidential election in November.

Policies pursued during Trump’s last presidency caused “devastating” harm in a number of countries, said Beth Schlachter, a senior director at MSI Reproductive Choices in the US. It meant “clinics shuttered, health teams closed, women dying … but a second Trump term will be on a different scale”.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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