A unique Democratic national convention gave countless memorable moments, from Kamala Harris's historic nomination as vice-president, to Michelle Obama's harsh words for Donald Trump. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and former president Barack Obama echoed her words by giving scathing reviews of the Trump administration. Others who showed their support for Harris and Joe Biden's nomination included healthcare activist Ady Barkan, former US congresswoman and shooting survivor Gabby Giffords, comedian Sarah Cooper, actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus and singer Billie Eilish
Continue reading...Category Archives: US Politics
How Julia Louis-Dreyfus roasted Donald Trump in DNC finale – video
Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus brought a great deal of levity while hosting the final night of the Democratic national convention. The comedian and star of Veep roasted Donald Trump and urged Americans to vote this November, joking that not even 'Facebook, Fox News and Vladimir Putin' can stop the democratic process
Continue reading...‘I’m more for Trump than I was before’: president clings to narrow lead in Iowa as Biden closes in
In a county that flipped dramatically from backing Obama to supporting Trump, there are signs of danger for the president
When Aaron Schatz surveys the wreckage of 2020, he finds himself doing surprisingly well.
Profits on his Iowa dairy farm are up thanks to coronavirus. The pandemic feels a distant threat, and Schatz has yet to wear a mask. Black Lives Matter protests are an annoyance but really someone else’s problem.
Continue reading...Boy with stutter delivers moving DNC speech: ‘Joe Biden made me feel confident’ – video
Brayden Harrington, 13, spoke about how he met Joe Biden, who stuttered himself as a boy, and how the Democratic presidential nominee gave him confidence. 'He told me we were members of the same club: we stutter. It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became vice president,' Brayden said.
In the final night of the Democratic national convention, Biden outlined his plans to bring relief and solace to a country battered by the coronavirus pandemic as he accepted the nomination to challenge Donald Trump in the November election
Continue reading...Joe Biden’s speech wins praise from left and right – but not from Trump
Obama campaign veterans, Hillary Clinton, and Fox News personalities hail former vice-president’s convention appearance
Democrats have largely praised Joe Biden’s speech formally accepting the party nomination as a resounding success, while Republicans have begrudgingly conceded it went well.
Biden’s speech on Thursday capped off the Democratic national convention and was largely optimistic, laying out his vision for tackling several crises facing the country.
Continue reading...Biden completes a comeback for the ages with career-defining speech
Analysis: The Democratic presidential nominee’s remarks resonated with decency, gravity and passion – if not many specifics
Joe Biden stood in a school gym in Iowa fumbling for a message, generating little electricity and looking his age. His rivals were drawing bigger crowds and beat him into fourth place in the caucuses. Political pundits declared him over the hill.
That was February. Now, in August, Biden resembles an ageing heavyweight boxer who got himself in shape, climbed back into the ring, and landed a knockout punch. His closing performance at the Democratic convention on Thursday night produced the finest speech of his career, a comeback for the ages more presidential than the current US president.
Continue reading...‘Light is more powerful than dark’: Joe Biden accepts presidential nomination – video
Joe Biden has vowed to unite America and lead the country to overcome “this season of darkness”, as he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday evening, a long-sought moment that comes more than 30 years after he first ran for president
- Biden vows to end 'season of darkness' as he accepts Democratic presidential nomination
- Biden gives the acceptance speech he's been waiting decades to deliver
‘Mika Pintz?’ Democrats mock Republicans for mispronouncing ‘Kamala’ – video
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang open the final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention with a not-so-subtle dig at Republicans mispronouncing vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s first name
Continue reading...Joe Biden to accept Democratic presidential nomination 33 years after first bid – DNC live
- Full story: Biden to accept nomination in long-sought victory
- Biden to follow last night’s impassioned speeches by Obama and Harris
- Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to fraud after arrest on luxury yacht
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On the last night of the Democratic National Convention, progressives remain critical that Republicans have been included more than young, progressive Democrats.
If I had a second for every time someone said X got more time than me I’d pool them together and give them to @JulianCastro
Honestly I’m so tired of saying this at this point: the speaking allotment does not represent the future of the Democratic Party. #DemConvention
The convention played a tribute video commemorating the life of Beau Biden, Joe Biden’s eldest son who died of brain cancer in 2015.
Continue reading...Democratic national convention day four: Joe Biden delivers closing speech – watch live
Biden will formally accept the Democratic nomination for president on the final night of the virtual convention
Continue reading...California fires: hundreds of blazes burn amid scorching heatwave – as it happened
- Newsom: state is currently battling 367 known fires
- Thousands evacuate as ‘siege’ of flames overwhelms state
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We are wrapping up the liveblog for the day. Thanks for staying with us.
Santa Cruz county is asking that all visitors and tourists occupying hotels, motels and vacation rentals leave the county immediately to free up space for evacuees.
The #CZULightningComplex fire has grown to 40,000 acres, officials say, with at least 20 structures damaged and 0 percent containment; @CAL_FIRE says there's "potential significant growth over the next 48 hours" https://t.co/1hzaWhE7bf pic.twitter.com/4jnuQpSirk
Santa Cruz County is asking all visitors to leave the county to free up shelter space. #CZULightningComplex pic.twitter.com/9vOm4MMyj3
The current map of evacuated areas, this is expected to expand. Please be prepared.#CZUAugustLightningComplex pic.twitter.com/GpVeArkz5J
Continue reading...Kamala Harris’s DNC speech claimed a new moment for progressive Democrats
Harris spoke about structural racism, injustice in healthcare and being a ‘proud black woman’ – fresh words for the presidential stage
The first note that Kamala Harris sounded in her first speech as the Democrats’ official vice-presidential nominee was not about Donald Trump, or Joe Biden, or the crossroads to which the country has arrived.
Instead Harris began her acceptance speech at the party’s national convention Wednesday by looking backwards, to the black women activists who fought historically for the right to vote and then for “a seat at the table”.
Continue reading...Kamala Harris makes history, Barack Obama slams Trump: day three at the DNC – video highlights
Kamala Harris officially accepted her vice-presidential nomination on the third day of the Democratic national convention. Her husband, Douglas Emhoff, joined her on stage alongside Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Gabrielle Giffords were among the many figures who condemned Donald Trump's presidency and pledged their support for the Biden-Harris ticket
- Harris makes history and Obama issues warning: key takeaways from the DNC's third night
- Kamala Harris makes history at DNC after Barack Obama rallies voters against Trump – as it happened
Shooting survivor Gabby Giffords delivers moving speech at DNC – video
Former US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords provided the most emotional moment of the third night of the Democratic national convention.
Giffords, who sustained brain damage after she was shot at an event with constituents in 2011, spoke during a segment on gun control. She said: 'Today, I struggle with speech but I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words.'
A spokesperson for Giffords said she spent 'countless hours' practising the speech, the longest she has delivered since the shooting
Continue reading...Kamala Harris reflects on vice-presidential nomination at DNC – video
Kamala Harris made US history as she became the first black woman and first Asian American to join a major party’s presidential ticket. On the third night of the Democratic national convention, she urged voters to reject the divisive and destructive leadership of Donald Trump, calling him a president who 'turns our tragedies into political weapons'
- Hysteria and dismay: Fox hosts spend evening fear-mongering over Kamala Harris
- Hillary Clinton urges voters to prevent Trump from 'stealing way to victory'
Barack Obama’s fiery DNC speech in full – video
Barack Obama delivered a powerful message calling for voters to protect American democracy during the third night of the Democratic national convention. The former president argued that Donald Trump’s potential re-election posed an existential threat to the country’s democratic values and institutions, and he implored voters to 'embrace your own responsibility as citizens'
Continue reading...Obama’s stark message: America must save itself from Trump | Analysis
Analysis: The former president issued an unprecedented attack on his successor as he urged voters to rescue their democracy
Just four years ago, amid balloons, confetti, dry ice smoke and giant TV screens, Donald Trump struck an authoritarian tone as he accepted the nomination at the Republican national convention before a frenzied crowd. It prompted warnings of the impending death of democracy, and the end of America’s gloriously chequered 244-year journey. But no one really believed it.
However, Barack Obama is now clearly taking the fall of Rome theory seriously. No former US president has criticised his successor at a party convention as he did on Wednesday night, and none has warned that his successor “will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win”.
Continue reading...Kamala Harris accepts vice-presidential nomination on historic night
Democratic nominee urges voters to reject Donald Trump and says: ‘We can do better and deserve so much more’
Kamala Harris, a California senator and daughter of immigrants who has broken racial barriers at every step of her political career, made US history on Wednesday night as she became the first Black woman and first Asian American to formally accept a major party’s vice-presidential nomination.
In the most consequential speech of her career to date, Harris urged voters to reject the divisive and destructive leadership of Donald Trump, calling him a president who “turns our tragedies into political weapons”.
Continue reading...Barack Obama condemns Trump in powerful Democratic convention speech – video
The former president spoke at the Democratic national convention and cast Donald Trump as someone who will 'tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win' and urges Americans to get out and vote in November
Continue reading...Trump tacitly endorses baseless QAnon conspiracy theory linked to violence
President says followers of movement, which claims Trump is fighting ‘deep state’ paedophiles, ‘love our country’
Donald Trump has tacitly endorsed QAnon, a baseless rightwing conspiracy theory identified as a potential domestic terrorism threat by the FBI, claiming its followers “love our country” and “like me very much”.
Followers of the QAnon movement believe without evidence that Trump is fighting a Satanic “deep state” of global elites involved in paedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children.
Yet asked about the theory at Wednesday’s White House press briefing, the US president failed to condemn it. “I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he said. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity.”