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Biden lands in Chicago ahead of Democratic convention speech as thousands protest Gaza war near venue – live
Joe Biden has arrived in Chicago, where he is scheduled to this evening address the Democratic national convention.After arriving on Air Force One at O’Hare international airport, the president flew on the Marine One helicopter to Soldier Field, just south of downtown:Biden’s speech this evening will be one of the last major appearances in his more than half-century career in politics, after he last month opted to end his bid for a second term and allowed Kamala Harris to take his place atop the Democratic ticket.In addition to Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are also scheduled to address the convention in the coming days.The protest march against the Democratic national convention has alighted at a city park within sight of the United Center in Chicago.“What does Harris stand for? Genocide and war. We know what that meeting’s for. Genocide and war”, protesters chanted, facing the convention center. “If we don’t get no justice, then they don’t get no peace.”Speaking to the Guardian after the podcast recording, congresswoman Becca Balint of Vermont said her young constituents are fired up and ready to work to elect Kamala Harris in November.“The people that you should be centering in the work that you do back home are those folks who are going to be the future leaders in those communities and those organizations,” Balint said.Asked whether she thought Harris had done an effective job so far in centering young voices, Balint said that she has been very impressed by the vice-president’s campaign.“It’s remarkable when you think about what they’ve done in just a few weeks time,” Balint said. “I think that they understand that it is about the future.”Three House Democrats – Becca Balint of Vermont, Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Maxwell Frost of Florida – sat down with podcast host Molly Jong-Fast and Skye Perryman, president of the group Democracy Forward, for an interview in Chicago this afternoon.Asked about Project 2025, Crockett said there is “no daylight” between the rightwing manifesto and Donald Trump’s agenda, even though the former president has tried to distance himself from the effort.“I’m not saying that just because I’m a proud Democrat,” Crockett said. “I’m saying that because over 30 people that either worked in his administration or worked on his campaign are the authors of this.”Frost added that young people are fired up about Harris’s campaign in part because they are scared about the policy proposals promoted in Project 2025.Discussing the newfound enthusiasm around Harris’s candidacy, Frost noted that the ranks of new campaign volunteers are “very diverse”.“That shows that our movement and the vice-president and what she’s doing has gotten to the culture,” Frost said. “And that’s when you have truly untapped movement potential.”Joe and Jill Biden came onto the stage at the United Center, where the Democratic convention is taking place, for a quick sound check ahead of their speech at the convention tonight.Reporters in the room shouted questions at the president, including whether he was ready to pass the torch. Biden replied: “I am.”Asked about what his speech’s message would be, Biden said: “You’ll hear tonight.”Joe Biden has arrived in Chicago, where he is scheduled to this evening address the Democratic national convention.After arriving on Air Force One at O’Hare international airport, the president flew on the Marine One helicopter to Soldier Field, just south of downtown:Biden’s speech this evening will be one of the last major appearances in his more than half-century career in politics, after he last month opted to end his bid for a second term and allowed Kamala Harris to take his place atop the Democratic ticket.In addition to Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are also scheduled to address the convention in the coming days.Thousands of people gathered this afternoon in a Chicago park not far from the venue of the Democratic national convention to protest the party’s stance on Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the Guardian’s George Chidi and Andrew Roth report.The demonstration was one of several expected during the convention over Joe Biden’s policy of supplying Israel with weapons used in the incursion, while pushing for it to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas. Among the protesters was independent presidential candidate Cornel West, as well as people with family members in Gaza.Here’s more:
About half a mile east of the Democratic national convention in Chicago, Union Park filled at noon Monday with demonstrators intent on sending a message to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, delegates and the world: that the war in Gaza should not be an afterthought.
Organizers for the Coalition to March on the 2024 Democratic convention drew 172 local and national organizations together for the protest. Thousands of people gathered for the march, one of the main anti-war demonstrations this week.
“This is not about some Machiavellian politics,” said social critic and independent presidential candidate Cornel West at the onset. “This is about morality. This is about spirituality.”
Mo Hussief, a Chicago accountant, joined the rally.
“My family is in Gaza,” Hussief said. “I’ve had over 100 family members murdered over the last 10 months by the genocide. So, I’m here to protest as an American, to say I don’t want my tax dollars to be used to murder my own family.”
Hussief is a Democratic voter. Or, he had been, he said. He supports labor rights and wants public healthcare support, key Democratic policy goals. But none of that brings back dead cousins in Jabalia, he said. The death toll in Gaza hit at least 40,000 last week.
Hussief said it is impossible for him to cast a ballot for the vice-president as long as she supports arming Israel.
“I want the Democrats to basically do a weapons embargo for Israel,” he said. “If there is a weapons embargo on Israel, I will 100% vote for Harris. I love Tim Walz. The Democratic party does align on domestic issues. But for me, they have to end the genocide.”
Read the full story here:Singer-songwriter James Taylor will perform at the Democratic national convention, and was spotted by photographers rehearsing in the hall:In addition to Taylor, the Hollywood Reporter says that Americana star Jason Isbell and country artist Mickey Guyton will also perform at the convention.George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York, pleaded guilty on Monday to criminal corruption charges.Santos pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a minimum two-year prison sentence.Joe Biden was “continuing to fine-tune” his speech tonight at the Democratic national convention, the White House said.The president was in a “great mood” and in “great spirits”, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters as Air Force One landed in Chicago’s O’Hare airport this afternoon.Biden plans to “spend time, continuing to prep for his big night”, she said.Donald Trump has been speaking at a factory plant in York, Pennsylvania, his second campaign stop in the battleground state in less than two days.Addressing workers, Trump said America’s future would be “built right here in Pennsylvania, and it will be built by American workers like you” if he is re-elected to the White House.Kamala Harris is calling for raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, according to her campaign.In a statement shared by NBC News, Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said the Democratic presidential candidate would push for a 28% corporate tax rate, calling it “a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share”. The statement added:
As President, Kamala Harris will focus on creating an opportunity economy for the middle class that advances their economic security, stability, and dignity.
Cornel West, the independent presidential candidate, has made a surprise appearance at the protest at Chicago’s Union Park, Semafor’s David Weigel reports:Organizers of the Coalition to March on the DNC had predicted a crowd of tens of thousands as recently as Monday morning, but the Washington Post reports that fewer than 2,000 protesters filled a portion of Chicago’s Union Park by this afternoon.Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, will deliver a speech at the Democratic national convention on Tuesday night.Sanders will speak “to the popularity of a progressive economic agenda that delivers for the working class of America”, a statement from his office said.
The address will also highlight the critical importance of getting big money out of the political process, and ending the greed of the billionaire class.
Sanders is scheduled to speak at 8.30pm CT.Congressional Republicans have accused Joe Biden of “egregious” conduct for which he should be impeached – despite providing no evidence that the president committed a crime – in a 291-page report whose impact has been significantly blunted by his withdrawal from the presidential race.In what was supposed to be a central theme of the GOP’s drive to derail Biden’s re-election effort, the report alleges that he was the architect and beneficiary of a lucrative influence-peddling scheme fronted by his son, Hunter Biden, and brother, James Biden.The culmination of a months-long impeachment inquiry conducted by three Republican-led House of Representatives committees – the oversight, judiciary and ways and means panels – the report was timed to coincide with the opening of the Democratic national convention in Chicago, but it is now Kamala Harris, the vice-president, at the top of the ticket, not Biden.“Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetise his office of public trust to enrich his family,” the report states.
President Biden’s participation in this conspiracy to enrich his family constitutes impeachable conduct.
It added:
The totality of the corrupt conduct uncovered by the Committees is egregious. President Joe Biden conspired to commit influence peddling and grift. In doing so, he abused his office and, by repeatedly lying about his abuse of office, has defrauded the United States to enrich his family.
However, the report failed to provide evidence that Biden committed a crime and appeared to fall short of the constitutional definition of “high crimes and misdemeanours” required to impeach a sitting president.My colleague Rachel Leingang has been eyeing the merchandise section of the Democratic national convention in Chicago: More - in US Politics
Pro-Palestinian protesters march before Democratic convention: ‘This is about morality’
About half a mile east of the Democratic national convention in Chicago, Union Park filled at noon Monday with demonstrators intent on sending a message to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, delegates and the world: that the war in Gaza should not be an afterthought.Organizers for the Coalition to March on the 2024 Democratic convention drew 172 local and national organizations together for the protest. Thousands of people gathered for the march, one of the main anti-war demonstrations this week.“This is not about some Machiavellian politics,” said social critic and independent presidential candidate Cornel West at the onset. “This is about morality. This is about spirituality.”View image in fullscreenMo Hussief, a Chicago accountant, joined the rally.“My family is in Gaza,” Hussief said. “I’ve had over 100 family members murdered over the last 10 months by the genocide. So, I’m here to protest as an American, to say I don’t want my tax dollars to be used to murder my own family.”Hussief is a Democratic voter. Or, he had been, he said. He supports labor rights and wants public healthcare support, key Democratic policy goals. But none of that brings back dead cousins in Jabalia, he said. The death toll in Gaza hit at least 40,000 last week.Hussief said it is impossible for him to cast a ballot for the vice-president as long as she supports arming Israel.“I want the Democrats to basically do a weapons embargo for Israel,” he said. “If there is a weapons embargo on Israel, I will 100% vote for Harris. I love Tim Walz. The Democratic party does align on domestic issues. But for me, they have to end the genocide.”Another rally-goer, Jonah Karsh, arrived as part of the IfNotNow movement of American Jews from Chicago area, who are opposed to the war.“It’s obviously a really painful issue for the Jewish community. It tears at the fabric of us. It is painful to feel like a community that I care so much about is divided by an issue like this,” he said. “At the same time when I see children being killed supposedly in the name of Jewish safety, it doesn’t make me feel like I’m being kept safe. It just feels wrong. And I wouldn’t be anywhere else”.More commonly at the protest, protesters waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs equating Harris with Donald Trump seemed to have long abandoned either major party and were voting for Green party candidate Jill Stein, a socialist candidate, or abstaining entirely.Matt Stevens, an undergraduate student in Nebraska studying medicine, said this was his first presidential election. He’s voting for Stein, even with the ascension of Harris as the Democratic candidate.View image in fullscreen“She was still the vice-president. She still had a voice in what Biden was doing,” Stevens said. “She still has an ability to make some decisions and voice her opinion. She can say all these things and talk a big talk, but until she shows actual action, I’m not going to vote for it. She has to earn my vote.”Protesters marched from Union Park about a mile, intent on being within “sight and sound” of the convention.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionRhetoric by speakers was strident, but there were no calls for violence. Police ringed Union Park in the hours before the march, and streets have been blocked off across the city to control for traffic and crowds.Disruption, however, was on the mind of some demonstrators.One protester, a former marine who deployed in Iraq in the mid-2000s, wore a pink N95 mask and a black-and-gold keffiyeh. He said his name was Andrew, but asked not to be identified by last name to discuss what he called the need for more “direct action”.“My opinion, I think more is required than just protesting,” he said. “I think that people need to get a little more hands-on. I think politicians need to be scared. I don’t think that we need to hurt them. But I think that politicians sit in their ivory tower … and they are comfortable. People don’t press them. This is the most pressing they get.”“Even if it’s as much as throwing rotting fish into their air conditioning systems. But I really think that we should press our politicians more directly to their face. The whole ‘give them no peace adage’. I really agree with that. And this today is not enough.”That said, other demonstrators were concerned about the effect violence or property damage might have on their political message.“When I thought about it, I knew that that was not the point,” said Teri Watkins, a demonstrator from Chicago supporting the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “It messes up their messaging. We’re asking for peace, so it wouldn’t make sense to be violent.”If such things were to happen, it would be the work of outside provocateurs, Watkins said. “That would come in the evening. But I’m going to be home by then.” More
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Biden to give possible swan song at Democratic convention amid Gaza protests
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.Just over a month ago Biden had been expecting to give Thursday’s closing speech as he accepted the Democratic nomination for 2024. But his withdrawal from the race last month, and the party’s consolidation around Harris, means that Biden will speak on opening night and then set off on a holiday.The president has been reportedly working on his address with his long-time adviser Mike Donilon and chief speechwriter, Vinay Reddy. He is expected to return to a familiar theme – the defence of democracy against Donald Trump – and tout Harris as the ideal presidential candidate.Biden is likely to receive a far more electrifying welcome as an outgoing president than he ever did as a candidate. The convention will honour his half-century career in politics as senator, vice-president and president, with the first lady, Jill Biden, among those paying tribute. Harris is likely to join Biden on stage.It will be a bittersweet moment for the 81-year-old, who is still reportedly irked by the role that the senior Democratic figures Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer played in pressuring him to step aside amid questions about his mental fitness.Still, the mood among Democrats is buoyant as opinion polls show Harris leading or tied with Trump in crucial swing states. The Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, told CNN’s State of the Union programme that the convention would be “like a rock concert”. A-list stars are likely to inject further energy.Wiley Nickel, a congressman from North Carolina who was with Harris in Raleigh last Friday when she unveiled her economic policy agenda, said in a phone interview: “The feeling is like it was back in 2008 when I worked for President Obama. People are incredibly excited. They’re focused on the issues instead of Joe Biden’s age. When we have a campaign focused on the issues we’re going to win.”But the party is eager to avoid any repeat of their Chicago convention in 1968, when anti-Vietnam war protests and a police riot led to scenes of chaos that stunned the nation and contributed to the party’s defeat in November.The death toll in Gaza has exceeded 40,000, according to the health ministry there. The biggest protest group the Coalition to March on the DNC has planned demonstrations on Monday and Thursday to coincide with Biden and Harris’s speeches. Organisers say they expect at least 20,000 activists to demonstrate, including students who protested against the war on college campuses.The switch at the top of the ticket has given some activists pause but others contend that Harris is part of the Biden administration and so complicit. Her speech on Thursday will be watched closely for signs that she is willing to take a harder line against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.Peter Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, argues that Harris can distinguish herself simply be enforcing an existing law that bars the US from assisting any unit of a foreign security force that commits “gross violations” of human rights.“The premise of the Leahy law is that all lives, including those of Palestinians, are equally precious,” Beinart wrote in the New York Times. “Kamala Harris can show, finally, that a major-party nominee for president agrees.”On Sunday, there was march along Michigan Avenue against the war in Gaza and for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. The march began in late afternoon and stretched into the night. Police lined the march route and there were no signs of major conflict. At one point, anti-abortion activists staged a small counter-protest.The convention will draw an estimated 50,000 people to America’s third-biggest city including delegates, activists and journalists. Security will be tight, with street closures around the convention centre, while police have undergone de-escalation training.On the eve of the convention, Democrats released their party platform, a document of more than 90 pages presenting their policy priorities. The platform was voted on by the convention’s platform committee before Biden’s exit and repeatedly refers to his “second term”.On Monday, the convention will focus on the Biden administration’s policy accomplishments and feature former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton; Tuesday will contrast Trump’s and Harris’s visions for America; Wednesday will emphasise the importance of protecting individual freedoms; Thursday is entitled “For Our Future”, underlined by Harris’s speech.Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, will spend the week counter-programming the Democratic convention with a tour of battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. More
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Tens of thousands of activists prepare protests over Gaza war at Democratic National Convention
Some 40,000 protesters are expected to gather outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Monday to demonstrate against the Biden administration’s position on Israel, with some groups saying they will push for amendments to the party’s platform.The party is on guard for disruptions to high-profile speeches at the DNC, with one pro-Palestinian group called Delegates Against Genocide, angry at US support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza, saying it will press for an arms embargo this week.Delegates Against Genocide said it would exercise its freedom of speech rights during main events at the four-day convention. Its organisers declined to give details, but said they would offer amendments to the party platform and use their rights as delegates to speak on the convention floor.The group wants to include language backing enforcement of laws that ban giving military aid to individuals or security forces that commit gross violations of human rights.“We’re going to make our voices heard,” said Liano Sharon, a business consultant and delegate who signed an alternative platform along with 34 other delegates. “Freedom of expression necessarily includes the right to stand up and be heard even when the authority in the room says to shut up.“They want the convention to go smoothly. They don’t want to have any kind of disruption or any kind of statement or anything like that,” he told Reuters at an event hosted by Chicago’s large Palestinian population. “I’m sorry. A convention is a political engagement vehicle, OK? And if we’re not using it for that, then it’s just a beauty pageant.”The Harris campaign declined to comment on the group’s plans.The Uncommitted National Movement, a separate effort pushing Democrats to change policy on Israel that won more than 30 delegates in primary elections, also wants an arms embargo. But it has focused, unsuccessfully so far, on winning a main-stage speaking slot for a Palestinian American or Gaza humanitarian worker.Uncommitted has said it is not planning to disrupt the convention proceedings.Late on Saturday, convention organisers added a daytime panel discussion on Arab and Palestinian issues to Monday’s agenda and one on antisemitism.Nadia Ahmad, a law professor at Florida’s Barry University and a delegate, said there were about 60 Muslim delegates, a fraction of the 5,000 overall. But their concerns were shared by others, she said.Demonstrations are expected every day of the convention and, while their agendas vary, many activists agree an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war is the priority.The largest group, the Coalition to March on the DNC, has planned demonstrations on the first and last days of the convention. Organisers say they expect at least 20,000 activists, including students who protested the war on college campuses.“The people with power are going to be there,” said Liz Rathburn, a University of Illinois Chicago student organiser. “People inside the United Center are the people who are going to be deciding our foreign policy in one way or another.”The Democratic party’s draft platform released in mid-July calls for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” in the war and the release of remaining hostages taken to Gaza during the 7 October attack by Islamist militant Hamas fighters in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed.The platform does not mention the more than 40,000 people that Palestinian health authorities in Gaza say have been killed in Israel’s subsequent offensive. Nor does it mention any plans to curtail US arms shipments to Israel. The United States approved $20 billion in additional arms sales to Israel on Tuesday.Mediators including the US have sought to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, based on a plan Biden put forward in May but so far have not succeeded.Pro-Palestinian activists say Harris has been more sympathetic to people in Gaza than Biden has been. Her national security adviser said on X this month that she does not support an arms embargo on Israel. After meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, Harris told reporters not only that Israel had a right to defend itself but also in reference to Gaza: “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”Organisers of Monday’s planned-protest said the numbers outside the convention could swell to over 100,000.The city has designated a park about a block from the DNC’s venue, the United Center, for a speakers’ stage. Those who sign up get 45 minutes.The convention will draw an estimated 50,000 people to the nation’s third-largest city, including delegates, activists and journalists. Activists say they learned lessons from last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and are predicting bigger crowds and more robust demonstrations in Chicago, a city with deep social activism roots.The city says it has made necessary preparations with police and the Secret Service. Security will be tight, with street closures around the convention centre.With Associated Press and Reuters More
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US election: when is the Democratic convention and why does it matter?
Kamala Harris is set to appear in Chicago next week to formally accept the nomination for president of the Democratic party, less than two months after Joe Biden dropped out of the race. She will appear alongside her running mate, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, at the party’s national convention.Typically a party formally nominates their candidate at the convention – as the Republicans did for Donald Trump in July – however, Democrats changed the rules to put in place a virtual roll call. Harris and Walz were officially nominated earlier in August.Here’s what else to know about next week’s Democratic convention.Where and when is the Democratic national convention?The Democratic national convention will be held in Chicago from 19 to 22 August.Chicago previously played host to the convention in 1996, when Bill Clinton was nominated for re-election, and 1968 when Hubert Humphrey was nominated.Two venues in Chicago will host the convention: the United Center arena for evening programming, and McCormick Place convention center for daytime sessions.Who is speaking at the convention?Harris and Walz will both speak at the convention, and Biden is also expected to give an address. The full lineup of speakers has not yet been released (Republicans only released the names of confirmed speakers the day of their July convention).However, several big names have been reported:
Monday, 19 August: Biden will speak on the opening night, along with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Tuesday, 20 August: Former president Barack Obama will give an address on the second night.
Wednesday, 21 August: Former president Bill Clinton will join Walz on the convention’s third night.
Thursday, 22 August: Harris will close out the fourth night of the convention.
In 2020, the virtual convention included speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden and a host of other elected officials.How can I watch the convention?The party will livestream the convention on its Democratic national convention website and on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.The Guardian has a team of reporters in Chicago and will be covering the convention in depth, including live blogs each night.Major news networks are likely to carry prime-time programming. PBS will have live coverage beginning at 8pm each night.What happens at the Democratic convention?The primary functions of the convention is to formally nominate the party’s candidate, adopt the party’s platform, unify the party and boost enthusiasm for the ticket.The convention usually includes a roll call to formally nominate their candidate. However, the rule-making group for the Democratic National Committee established procedures for candidates to contest the primary nomination ahead of the convention.Harris was confirmed as the party’s nominee after a virtual roll call vote earlier in August – the first time Democrats have used such a process. Harris and Walz will formally accept the nomination at the convention.The rest of the week will focus on the party’s platform and speeches from notable figures. The party says that more than 5,000 delegates and alternates will be at the convention, with 50,000 total visitors in Chicago for the convention (which includes delegates and the media).Who else is speaking?The party has signaled its plans to foreground up-and-coming Democrats in its programming. Likely speakers include the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland governor, Wes Moore, and Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, among others.Meanwhile, many political influencers have been credentialed, including the socialist podcast host Daniel Denvir.Will there be protests?Yes. Organizers expect tens of thousands of people to protest outside the Democratic national convention to pressure the party to stop the war in Gaza. Inside the convention, uncommitted delegates plan to push anti-war demands in hopes of winning more allies to the cause and influencing the party platform.Chicago is home to the country’s largest Palestinian population – with Bridgeview, Illinois, known as Little Palestine. More than 200 groups have joined together for the March on the DNC, with protests planned for the opening and closing nights of the convention.Protests are not unique to the Democratic convention; during the Republican convention in July, protesters led a demonstration against Trump and his party in downtown Milwaukee.What’s ahead on the US election calendar?The next presidential debate is scheduled for 10 September, with both Harris and Trump confirmed.A debate between JD Vance and Walz has been confirmed for 1 October. More
