President Biden will deliver the keynote address at the Democratic national convention in Chicago tonight as the party attempts to secure the smooth installation of Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee.
Biden, 81, is expected to give a full-throated endorsement of his vice-president and of his own record in office after withdrawing from the race against Donald Trump last month. Harris, 59, will speak as she formally accepts the nomination on Thursday, the fourth and final day of the convention.
Tonight’s speeches were scheduled to begin at 5.30pm local time (11.30pm BST), with Biden due to take the stage at 9.50pm local time.
Stage is set for historic convention
The final preparations have been made before the Democratic national convention begins. The event will mark the first time a major US party has confirmed a woman of colour as its nominee for the presidency.
President Biden checking the stage and podium
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
An attendee makes clear his support for Harris’s candidacy
ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Gaza protesters march on convention
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are rallying outside the convention hall to protest in favour of a ceasefire in the Gaza war and an end to US aid for Israel. They have succeeded in breaching a security fence outside the venue.
Trump moots cabinet role for Musk
Trump at the White House with Musk in 2017
EVAN VUCCI/AP
Trump has said he would offer Elon Musk a cabinet or advisory role “if he would do it”.
The Republican nominee has developed an increasingly close relationship with the Tesla founder and the pair took part in a lengthy live-streamed discussion on Musk’s X platform last week.
The billionaires praised each other during the interview and now Trump has said he would welcome Musk into the White House, according to Reuters.
Trump, speaking at a campaign event in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, also said he would consider ending the “ridiculous” $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases. “Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing,” he said. Such a policy would presumably threaten Musk’s Tesla, a leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.
George Santos pleads guilty
Santos was hailed for winning a normally Democratic seat but his life story soon unravelled
Away from the convention hall George Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman dubbed Walter Mitty for “fabricating his entire life story” to get elected, has pleaded guilty to federal fraud.
Santos was indicted in New York last year on dozens of charges of stealing from campaign donors, credit card fraud, money laundering and identity theft, in a case described by American media as “one of the oddest sideshows in modern US politics”.
• Read in full: Fraudster could face eight years behind bars
Biden’s dropped out — someone tell the Democrats
The Democratic party platform repeatedly refers to a “second Biden term” despite the president withdrawing from the race a month ago. The 92-page policy document was approved by a committee before Biden’s withdrawal and was not updated before its release over the weekend.
“President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats are running to finish the job,” the document reads, referring to Biden as the nominee 19 times. Party members are expected to vote on the platform on Monday night.
It contains pledges to restore abortion rights nationwide, advance green energy initiatives, cap low-income families’ childcare costs and urge Congress to approve a pathway to citizenship for “long-term” illegal immigrants. It also says Israel’s right to defend itself is “ironclad” while endorsing the Biden administration’s efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire deal.
• What did Biden do for America? His legacy explored
Trump shares fake images of ‘support’ from Taylor Swift fans
Donald Trump has posted on social media a series of AI-generated images of Taylor Swift fans in which they appear to endorse his presidential campaign.
The Republican candidate shared more than 25 posts on his Truth Social platform with fake images of “Swifties”, as the pop star’s fans are called. The singer has not made any presidential endorsements, but did back President Biden in 2020.
• Read in full: Truth Social bombarded by ‘Swifties for Trump’ fakes
Analysis: Harris wants US to forget the past — including, perhaps, her own
ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES
This week’s Democratic convention has an upbeat feel as the party’s nominee leads Donald Trump but he may yet succeed in weaponising his rival’s previous policies, writes David Charter.
Harris vows to raise tax rate
Harris’s campaign has said she will increase the US corporation tax rate to meet some of her spending pledges — in a clear contrast with Trump, who has promised to cut the levy.
The vice-president has come under pressure to explain how she will fund a number of proposed tax credits and other increases in public spending, including a $25,000 subsidy for first-time home buyers and a $6,000 payment to families in the first year of a child’s life.
It is understood that she plans to raise the corporate tax rate from 21 per cent to 28 per cent. Trump cut it from 35 per cent when he was in office between 2017 and 2021. He has promised to reduce the rate further if he is elected in November.
As a challenger for the Democratic nomination in 2020, Harris said she would favour reversing Trump’s tax cuts in full.
Gaza protesters descend on Chicago
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have arrived in Chicago to hold demonstrations calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Organisers say their aims have not changed since Harris replaced Biden as Democratic nominee. They expect as many as 20,000 protesters to attend rallies in Chicago this week.
Democratic representatives and senators have been advised not to book hotel rooms under their own names, and some have said that they “expect violence” as anger about American support for Israel’s war in Gaza returns to the streets. Harris has signalled a more sympathetic tone towards the plight of the Palestinian people since securing the Democratic nomination.
Who else is speaking tonight?
President Biden’s headline address is expected to follow speeches by several rising stars and elder luminaries of the Democratic party.
These include: Jill Biden, the first lady; Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congresswoman from New York and a standard-bearer for the party’s left wing; and Andy Beshear, the Kentucky governor.
Also scheduled to speak are the Georgia senator Raphael Warnock, the Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin and Jasmine Crockett, a congresswoman from Texas. Also featuring will be Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers union, and women who have been impacted by stricter abortion laws since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure.