Democrats gathered on Monday in Chicago for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and to honour President Joe Biden, whose exit from the race turned the party’s fortunes around.
Monday also kicks-off the four-day protest at the Democratic National Convention. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march on a mile-long route through the city outside the security perimeter. Many of them opposed the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s Gaza offensive.
A coalition of some 200 social justice organizations, many from pro-Palestinian groups, will gather outside the convention. Some pro-Palestinian delegates to the convention are pushing for the party to change its platform to limit weapons to Israel.
PASSING THE TORCH
Biden, 81, will give a prime-time address at the convention on Monday night to make the case for electing Harris, who is pitted against former President Trump, 78. Biden reluctantly ended his reelection campaign a month ago under pressure from top Democrats, who were worried he was too old to win or govern for another four years.
Sources suggest that Harris, 59, is likely to join Biden on stage, where he will ceremonially pass the torch to her. This is likely to project a sense of unity in the Democrats.
Harris will formally accept the nomination on Thursday night with a highly anticipated speech. If elected on November 5, Harris would make U.S. history as the first female president.
Harris is heading into the convention riding a historic whirlwind. Her campaign has broken records for fundraising, packed arenas with supporters, and turned opinion polls in some battleground states in Democrats’ favour.
Polls a month ago showed Trump with a clear lead over Biden. However, Harris has managed to close the gap, both nationally and in many of the highly competitive states. This also includes Pennsylvania, which will play a decisive role in the election.
“I’ve been to every convention since I was able to vote, and I can say I’ve not felt this kind of energy and electricity at any convention other than the one for Barack Obama,” said Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Democrats will also pay tribute on Monday night to their failed 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Clinton is expected to speak before Biden at the event. Former President Barack Obama will speak on Tuesday and former President Bill Clinton will speak on Wednesday.
TOUR FOR VICTORY
Harris took a bus tour on Sunday with her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. During the tour in western Pennsylvania, she suggested Trump’s politics focussed on putting rivals down.
Harris will make a side trip to Milwaukee on Tuesday for a campaign event. Following this, she will return to Chicago to hear her husband, Dough Emhoff address the convention that night.
During convention week, the Trump campaign will storm the battleground states to steal Harris’ spotlight. He is likely to highlight some of the policy issues where Republicans hold a polling advantage.
He will also deliver remarks on economic policy at a small business in southern Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon. Later in the week, he will hold events in North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.
TRUMPOLITICS
Trump’s Michigan event will be in Howell, a city struggling to move past its racist history, including Ku Klux Klan rallies in the 1970s and 1980s. Last month, about a dozen white supremacists chanted “Heil Hitler” and carried signs such as “White Lives Matter” during a march through downtown. Another group of demonstrators shouted, “We love Hitler, we love Trump” from a highway overpass in a nearby town, according to local media.
The Harris campaign criticised Trump for refusing to condemn what it called a “blatant display of racism and antisemitism in his name.”
(with inputs from Reuters)
