In the midst of the difficult situation in the Middle East, the US presidential election campaign is also focusing on finding a solution. Both the incumbent president, Joe Biden, and the prospective candidate, Kamala Harris, have discussed the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza, just before the Democratic convention officially handed over the reins from one to the other.
“I won’t speak before him, but I can tell you that these conversations are ongoing, and we are not giving up. We will continue to work hard on this. We need to achieve a ceasefire, and we need to free those hostages,” Kamala Harris told reporters during an electoral event. “Ceasefire negotiations are still ongoing, we are not giving up, a truce is still possible,” Biden had said shortly before to reporters at Camp David.
The transition of power
Joe Biden bids farewell to leadership and officially passes the torch to Kamala Harris, who in a few weeks has revived a party in identity crisis and turned around an election that was deemed lost. The elder president opens the Democratic convention in Chicago with a speech endorsing his vice president as an “exceptional leader,” the sole protector of democracy and the freedoms threatened by Donald Trump. “The president will explain how, in the battle for America’s soul, we ensured that democracy prevailed, and now, with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, we must ensure that democracy is preserved,” a Biden advisor reported.
At the United Center in Chicago, known for the Chicago Bulls and once home to Michael Jordan, the commander-in-chief will also highlight his accomplishments during these four years in the White House – from significant investments in climate to infrastructure, healthcare, and economic recovery after the Covid crisis – and will take the opportunity to savor the last embrace of his Democratic supporters. Organizers have prepared signs for the audience with the words ‘spread the faith,’ a typical Biden expression. On the other hand, the president arrives at the convention after a positive week for the administration, as emphasized in a White House statement highlighting the reduction of illegal border crossings with Mexico, crime rates, inflation, and drug prices. All results to be presented in Chicago to criticize Republicans who, as noted in the statement, have blocked action on the Mexico border, not voted on the bill to fund law enforcement, nor the one to reduce drug costs. On the first day of the Democratic event, speakers will also include Hillary Clinton, who, after many years, will share a stage with the person who wanted to run in 2016 in her place but was surpassed by the then-Secretary of State under Barack Obama, and First Lady Jill, the president’s most ardent supporter, always by his side.
Harris and her vice president, Tim Walz, spent the eve of the convention on a bus tour through the streets of Pennsylvania, a strategic state still hanging in the balance. Accompanied by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, the vice president and the governor of Minnesota met with voters in Beaver County, where the tycoon won in 2020, and where there are still many undecided voters. According to a new poll by the Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos on the national vote, the Democratic presidential candidate leads 49% to 45% in a head-to-head duel against Trump, while including third-party candidates, she is at 47% against the tycoon’s 44%, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 5%.
At the beginning of July, the tycoon was at 43%, Biden at 42%, and Kennedy at 9%. However, due to the margin of error in this survey, which only checks national support, Harris’ lead among registered voters is not considered statistically significant.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to attack his opponent head-on, accusing her of wanting to “bring communism to the United States” with a photoshopped image showing the Democrat from behind on the Chicago convention podium, in front of a crowd of delegates in uniform with red flags and a huge red banner in the background with a sickle and hammer. Baseless attacks that may resonate with a certain type of voters but also reveal the Republicans’ fears. In the coming days, Trump and his vice, JD Vance, will kick off a counter-program to the Democratic convention with a rally in York, Pennsylvania.
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