Netanyahu meets Biden amid political tensions, to speak with Harris later
(WASHINGTON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden at the White House Thursday to discuss the U.S.-Israeli relationship amid tensions over the ongoing conflict in Gaza and a changing political landscape in the U.S.
“Welcome back, Mr. Prime Minister. We got a lot to talk about,” Biden said in brief remarks shortly before cameras left the room.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking to succeed Biden, is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu later Thursday. She has been more outspoken than Biden about killed Palestinian civilians and called on Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.
The meeting comes just hours after Biden, in an Oval Office address, told Americans that getting peace in Gaza — ending the fighting between Israel and Hamas and freeing hostages — is one of his top goals in his remaining six months in office. Netanyahu so far has resisted Biden’s efforts, rejecting his calls for a cease-fire.
Netanyahu brought up their long relationship and other Israeli leaders Biden has known throughout his career.
“From a proud Jew Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel. And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead on the great issues before us,” Netanyahu said.
Biden reflected on that first meeting, joking, “I was only 12 then.”
Other U.S. officials attending included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the president was going to press Netanyahu to help “close the gaps” with the peace deal that would return the Israeli hostages.
“We are closer now than we have ever been before,” he said.
The meeting is the first time the leaders have come face-to-face since Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris’ run.
Kirby said that both leaders would meet with American families of Israeli hostages.
Kirby would not comment on why Harris was meeting with Netanyahu later but noted that she had campaign events during the same time as Biden met with the prime minister.It also comes a day after Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of Congress, which Harris did not attend, holding a previously scheduled campaign event instead.
The prime minister has praised Biden for “half century of friendship to Israel” and U.S. support following the Oct. 7 attacks.
“He rightly called Hamas ‘sheer evil.’ He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour — a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said in his speech to lawmakers on Wednesday.
The prime minister did not mention Harris. But he did he did laud former President Donald Trump for his support of Israel during his four years in office.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump Friday at Mar-a-Lago.
The prime minister has called on the U.S. to provide bipartisan support for Israel during the conflict and urged leaders to, “Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster.”
“Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its role in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That’s what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.”
In May, Biden paused a shipment to Israel of unguided bombs citing concerns that they could be used on civilians.
Congress sent $26 billion in aid to Israel and provided humanitarian relief for people in Gaza in April as part of a foreign aid package.
About $4 billion of that was dedicated to replenishing Israel’s missile defense systems. More than $9 billion of the total went toward humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is moving full steam ahead in her bid for the White House, with her campaign saying Sunday it has raised more than $200 million in less than a week.
Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, have several campaign events set up this week as they aim their attacks on Harris.
Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Top Biden adviser Anita Dunn leaving White House to help pro-Harris super PAC
Anita Dunn, a top adviser to President Joe Biden, is leaving the White House next week to advise the largest super PAC supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, a source close to Dunn told ABC News.
This marks the first major shakeup to Biden’s inner circle since he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race. Dunn played a key role in Biden’s 2020 campaign and was previously a top adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve in this White House, with this President and this team, during this transformational term,” Dunn said in a statement shared with ABC News. “I am grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for their leadership and giving me the opportunity to be part of what they have accomplished for the American people.”
Dunn will be a senior adviser to the super PAC Future Forward and an adviser to its partner organization Future Forward USA. She will work on super PAC efforts that will coordinate with the Harris campaign, according to the source close to Dunn.
Biden said in a statement that he was grateful for Dunn’s work.
“I deeply value her counsel and friendship and I will continue to rely on her partnership and insights as we finish the job over the next six months,” he said.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Schumer says he’s not worried about Senate majority if Harris picks senator for VP
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brushed off concerns Tuesday about keeping the Senate majority if Kamala Harris were to select a Democratic senator as her vice presidential pick.
“I have total confidence that Vice President Harris will choose a great vice-presidential candidate,” Schumer said during his weekly press conference.
Schumer dodged a question about the possibility of a key swing state opening if Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is chosen as Harris’ running mate.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Harris says she still hasn’t picked VP
Harris told reporters she still hasn’t decided who her running mate will be as she boarded a plane Tuesday for a trip to Atlanta.
“Madam vice president, have you chosen your VP yet? Have you chosen yet?” ABC News’ Fritz Farrow asked.
“Not yet,” Harris said with a smile as she stopped midway up the steps of Air Force Two.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Biden says he’s talking with Harris about VP choices
President Joe Biden told reporters Monday night after returning from a trip to Texas that he’s “talking” with Harris about her choices for vice president.
Biden was also asked about hitting the trail for Harris, and said he “did” with his trip.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Vance, in 2020, said those without kids are ‘more sociopathic’
As Vance continues to face criticism for his 2021 comments about “childless cat ladies,” more of his previous comments about individuals without kids have resurfaced.
In a podcast from November 2020, Vance said those without kids — especially in America’s leadership class — were “more sociopathic” than those with kids and made the country “less mentally stable.”
Vance’s comments occurred on the podcast after he discussed the impact having children had on him.
Vance also added that the “most deranged” and “most psychotic” people on Twitter, now known as X, are people who don’t have kids.
“There’s just these basic cadences of life that I think are really powerful and really, really valuable when you have kids in your life, and the fact that so many people, especially in America’s leadership class, just don’t have that in their lives, you know, I worry that it makes people more sociopathic, and ultimately, our whole country a little bit less less mentally stable,” Vance said in the podcast.
“And of course, you talk about going on Twitter. Final point I’ll make is you go on Twitter, and almost always the people who are most deranged and most psychotic, are people who don’t have kids at home.”
CNN was the first to report on the podcast.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Trump out with $12M ad buy criticizing Harris on the border
Trump’s campaign is targeting Harris in its biggest television ad buy since at least January, reserving eight-figure dollar worth of airtime in six key battleground states, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.
The 30-second ad zeroes in on the rhetoric that Harris “failed” in her role handling immigration issues in President Biden’s administration, calling her “weak” and “dangerously liberal.”
“This is America’s border czar, and she’s failed us. Under Harris, over ten million illegally here, a quarter of a million Americans dead from fentanyl, brutal migrant crimes, and ISIS now here,” a narrator in the ad says, followed by an interview clip of Harris appearing to admit she hasn’t visited the border.
Harris was assigned to address the root causes of migration in Central and South America. She made one visit to the southern border operations in June 2021.
The Harris campaign hit back that Trump was responsible for “killing the toughest border deal in decades” and accused him of misrepresenting her record.
“As a former district attorney, attorney general, and now vice president, Kamala Harris has spent her career taking on and prosecuting violent criminals and making our communities safer. She’ll do the same as president,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Trump attempts to clean up Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ comments
Appearing on Fox News The Ingraham Angle on Monday night, Trump attempted to clean up his vice presidential pick’s previous comments about “childless cat ladies,” but didn’t really address the comments.
Instead, he rambled about how Vance is pro-family.
“He made a statement having to do with families. That doesn’t mean that people that aren’t a member of a big and beautiful family with 400 children around and everything else, it doesn’t mean that a person doesn’t have, he’s not against anything, but he loves family. It’s very important to him. He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong in saying that,” Trump said downplaying Vance’s comments.
Gloria Steinem, Chelsea Clinton and more participate in ‘Women for Harris’ call
The Democratic National Committee held a “Women for Harris” call on Monday night.
Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, viewers heard from Chelsea Clinton, California Sen. Laphonza Butler, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Gloria Steinem, Ana Navarro and leaders of organizations like Emily’s List and Mom’s Demand Action.
Clinton lamented her mother’s loss in 2016 but told viewers that defeating the former president is even more important than it was in 2016 because Americans now have a “record” of things to hold him accountable for.
“My mom put a few more cracks in that glass ceiling. And Vice President Harris is going to obliterate that glass ceiling,” Clinton said.
The call included a host of organizations who support Harris, including Black women who held the first iteration of these pop up fundraising calls with the group Win with Black Women. Glynda Carr, founder of Higher Heights PAC, which supports Black women leadership, told attendees what made this call uniquely important was the realization that women from all walks of life are “stronger together.”
Another “Women for Harris” call is planned for Tuesday night.
Harris launches $50 million ad campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris rolled out an aggressive $50 million, three-week advertising blitz for the first ad of her presidential campaign on Tuesday, in which she introduces herself to voters, highlights her career and takes hits at former President Donald Trump.
“The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless,” a narrator says at the start of the minute-long ad, as pictures of Harris over the years — from a toddler to college graduate to vice president — flash on screen.
“As a prosecutor, she put murderers and abusers behind bars,” the narrator continued. “As California’s attorney general, she went after the big banks and won $20 billion for homeowners. And as vice president, she took on the big drug companies to cap the cost of insulin for seniors. Because Kamala Harris has always known who she represents.”
The spot then leads into laying out Harris’ vision and attacking Trump, using footage from her first rally of the campaign last week in a high school gym just outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. Where every senior can retire with dignity,” Harris said in the footage from the rally. “But Donald Trump wants to take our country backward, to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and end the Affordable Care Act.”
“But we are not going back,” she added.
Harris campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said in a statement that because of Harris’ prosecutorial, congressional and vice-presidential experience, the vice president is “uniquely suited to take on Donald Trump, a convicted felon who has spent his entire life ripping off working people, tearing away our rights, and fighting for himself.”
‘White Dudes for Harris’ raises over $4 million in 3 hours
The “White Dudes for Harris” livestream held on Monday night raised over $4 million over three hours in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, organizers said.
The event featured participants from politics and a parade of celebrities — including “The Dude” himself, The Big Lebowski’s Jeff Bridges — all making their own call to action for other white men to step up in their support for Harris.
Over 190,000 people tuned into the Zoom call, organizers of the unofficial event said at the conclusion of the stream.
Among the recognizable faces that cropped up during the livestream were Star Wars icon Mark Hamill, Supernatural alum Misha Collins, The West Wing alum Bradley Whitford, Frozen’s Josh Gad and singer Josh Groban. Several potential running mates for Harris also joined the event, including North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who withdrew from contention for vice president on the Democratic ticket around the time he spoke at the meeting. He did not mention his withdrawal on the call.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, all still in the running for Harris’ vice-presidential pick, were also part of the “White Dudes for Harris” meeting.
JD Vance said Democratic ticket switch to Harris was ‘sucker punch’: Report
Sen. JD Vance, running mate to former President Donald Trump, said over the weekend that Kamala Harris moving to the top of the Democratic ticket was a “sucker punch,” according to the Washington Post.
“All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch,” Vance said to donors over the weekend in Minnesota, per an audio recording the paper said it had obtained. “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.”
When asked about the report and Vance’s “sucker punch” comment, a spokesperson for the vice presidential contender took aim at Harris.
“Poll after poll shows President Trump leading Kamala Harris as voters become aware of her weak, failed and dangerously liberal agenda. Her far-left ideas are even more radioactive than Joe Biden, particularly in the key swing states that will decide this election like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” Vance spokesperson William Martin said in a statement.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will not be Kamala Harris’ VP pick
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement on Monday night signaling that he’s removed himself from contention as a vice presidential running mate for presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“I strongly support Vice President Harris’ campaign for President. I know she’s going to win and I was honored to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” he said in a post on X.
“As l’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins,” he added.
Trump says he’ll ‘probably end up debating’ Harris
Former President Donald Trump seems to be one step closer to formally agreeing to debate his opponent for the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris.
During an interview on The Ingraham Angle Monday night, Trump told the Fox News host that he will “probably end up debating” Harris. In his remarks, though, he also appeared to downplay the necessity of debates.
“I want to do a debate, but I also can say this. Everybody knows who I am. And now people know who she is,” he said.
“If you’re going to have a debate, you gotta do it, I think, before the votes are cast. I think it’s very important that you do that. So, the answer is yes, but I can also make a case for not doing it,” Trump said.
A short while later, a spokesperson for Harris’ campaign issued a statement on Trump’s comments on Fox, insisting that the vice president will be at the next debate no matter what.
“Why won’t Donald Trump give a straight answer on debating Vice President Harris? It’s clear from tonight’s question-dodging: he’s scared he’ll have to defend his running mate’s weird attacks on women, or his own calls to end elections in America in a debate against the vice president. Vice President Harris will be on the debate stage September 10th. Donald Trump can show up, or not,” the statement said.
Megan Thee Stallion to perform at VP Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Atlanta: Source
Rapper Megan thee Stallion will give a special performance at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, a source familiar confirmed to ABC News.
In addition to Megan thee Stallion, Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and former Rep. Stacey Abrams will be in attendance, supporting Harris’ 2024 presidential bid.
The news was first reported by Billboard.
Marianne Williamson suspends her Democratic presidential bid, again
Democratic long-shot nominee Marianne Williamson has suspended her campaign for president, announcing on X Monday that it is “time to let go” of her bid for the White House.
Williamson said she failed to register for the Democratic National Convention’s candidate directory by Saturday evening’s deadline.
Harris will be at ABC News debate with or without Trump, her campaign says
Vice President Kamala Harris will be at ABC News’ Sept. 10 debate with or without former President Donald Trump, her campaign communications director said Monday.
“As Vice President Harris said last week, the American people deserve to hear from the two candidates running for the highest office in the land and she will do that at September’s ABC debate,” her campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, said in a statement first reported by the Hill. “If Donald Trump and his team are saying anything other than ‘we’ll see you there’ — and it appears that they are — it’s a convenient, but expected backtrack from Team Trump. Vice President Harris will be there on September 10th — we’ll see if Trump shows.”
While Harris has previously affirmed her intention to be at the debate, this statement takes it a step further by saying she’ll show up regardless of Trump’s presence.
Trump accepted the debate when Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee, though his campaign has since said they’re waiting until there is an official Democratic nominee before agreeing to debates.
Election content on social media ‘could be propaganda’ for foreign adversaries: ODNI
Content about the election on social media “could be propaganda” for foreign adversaries, officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned on Monday.
“The American public should know that content that they read online, especially on social media, could be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to be coming from fellow Americans or originating in the United States,” an ODNI official said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. “In short, foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hand and using Americans to do it.”
Russia is still pervasive in this space and remains the biggest threat to the election, according to the officials.
The officials also warned that the influence operators will use the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump “as part of their narratives portraying the event to fit their broad goals.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
DNC says it raked in $6.5M in grassroots donations in 24 hours after Biden endorsed Harris
The Democratic National Committee is claiming it has raised $6.5 million in grassroots donations in the 24 hours after President Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Harris on July 21.
The DNC said $1 million was donated in the 5 p.m. hour alone for what they’re claiming is a record for its best online fundraising day of all time.
The DNC is making a significant push in battleground states, investing an additional $15 million into those crucial states this month to fund new field offices, build data infrastructure, mobilize volunteers and strengthen coordinated campaigns.
“Democratic voters, volunteers, and grassroots donors are fired up,” chairman Jaime Harrison said in a memo. “We are confident that in our battleground states, Democrats will win up and down the ballot in November.”
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
5:28 PM EDT Gov. Andy Beshear rallies for Harris in Atlanta, calls out JD Vance
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear spoke on Sunday at the opening of Kamala Harris’ campaign office in Forsyth County, Georgia.
The possible VP pick for Harris has been an effective surrogate for the vice president’s White House bid over the weekend, coming to the metro Atlanta event fresh off of a stump in Iowa on Saturday night.
The red-state governor introduced himself to the Southern audience on Sunday while boosting Harris’ candidacy and taking a number of swipes at Trump’s Vice Presidential pick, JD Vance.
“Are you ready to beat Donald Trump? Are you ready to beat JD Vance? Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris president of the United States of America” Beshear asked the crowd, adding, “Let’s win this race,”
“Let me tell you just a bit about myself,” Beshear said. “I’m a proud pro-union governor. I’m a proud pro-choice governor. I am a proud pro-public education governor. I am a proud pro-diversity governor and I’m a proud Harris for president governor,” he added.
Calling out Vance, Beshear said, “Just let me be clear. JD Vance ain’t from Kentucky. He ain’t from Appalachia. And he ain’t gonna be the vice president of the United States.”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
2:18 PM EDT Former Vice President Al Gore endorses Kamala Harris
Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday.
“As a prosecutor, [Kamala Harris] took on Big Oil companies — and won. As [VP], she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the most significant investment in climate solutions in history, the Inflation Reduction Act. That’s the kind of climate champion we need in the White House,” he wrote on X.
“With so much at stake in this year’s election — from strengthening democracy in the US and abroad, to expanding opportunity for the American people, to accelerating climate action — I’m proud to endorse Kamala Harris for President,” he added.
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
July 28, 2024, 10:42 AM EDT Vance says Trump ‘doesn’t care’ about his past criticism
During a quick stop at a diner in Minnesota on Sunday morning, Sen. JD Vance on Sunday spoke about his past criticisms of former President Donald Trump.
When asked by ABC News if he and Trump have talked about his past criticism of the former president, Vance said yes, adding that Trump “doesn’t care about what I said eight years ago.”
“I mean, look, President Trump and I have talked a lot about this,” Vance said. “In fact, I sometimes joke that I wish that he had the memory of Joe Biden, because he’s got a memory like a steel trap, and he certainly remembers criticisms that people have made.”
“But this is where the media, I think, really misses Trump — Donald Trump accepts that people can change their mind, and you ask, ‘Why did I change my mind on Donald Trump?’ Because his agenda made people’s lives better,” Vance said.
“This whole thing is not about red team versus blue team or winning an election for its own sake. It’s about getting a chance to govern so that you can bring down the cost of groceries, close that border and stop the fentanyl coming across our country for four years,” Vance continued, saying he was “wrong” about Trump.
“He did a better job of that than anybody that I’ve ever seen as president in my lifetime. So I changed my mind, because he did a good job. And that’s what you do when people do a good job and you’re wrong. I’ve talked to President Trump a lot about it, but look, he, I mean, he just, he doesn’t… He doesn’t care about what I said eight years ago. He cares about whether we together [and] can govern the country successful.”
When asked again if the two have talked about the subject, specifically in the last week since his comments have resurfaced, Vance admitted that they haven’t spoken about it and their conversations have focused on the race ahead.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim and Hannah Demissie
(PHILADELPHIA) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump presented different visions for the future of abortion rights during their presidential debate Tuesday. A back-and-forth between the candidates ended with Harris saying the government shouldn’t be deciding what women do with their bodies, but that is what Trump wants — a claim he denied.
Harris promised to sign a bill that reinstates protections for abortion rights that existed under Roe v. Wade if it reaches her desk as president while Trump would not commit to vetoing a national abortion ban if it comes to his desk.
During the debate, Trump — who claimed he wouldn’t have to veto a national ban — said he believes in exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.
“There’s no reason to sign a ban because we have gotten what everyone wanted,” Trump said, referring to leaving the regulation of abortion up to state governments.
Harris had falsely asserted that Trump supported a national abortion ban.
At least 22 states have abortion bans or restrictions in effect since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe — ending federal protections for abortion rights. Of those states, 14 have ceased nearly all abortion services and four have six-week bans in effect, prohibiting abortion care before most women know they are pregnant.
Three of the five U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe were appointed by Trump when he was president.
Ten states will have reproductive rights-related questions on the ballot this November, nine of which specifically address abortion.
Voters in all six states that have had abortion questions on the ballot since Roe was overturned have voted to uphold abortion rights.
During the debate, Trump also falsely claimed that some states allow for the killing of an infant after birth. Killing a baby after birth is illegal in all 50 states.
Most states that allow abortions do so until fetal viability. But, there are no gestational limits on abortion in 9 states — including Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Gov. Tim Walz’s state of Minnesota — and Washington, DC.
Advocates for abortion rights say the absence of legal consequences after fetal liability doesn’t mean doctors will try to terminate full-term, healthy pregnancies. In fact, access to third-trimester procedures is limited, costly and medically complex — typically done only when a woman’s life is threatened or the fetus isn’t expected to survive.
Many Democrats say they want to pass legislation that would codify the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe vs Wade, which protects abortion rights up until viability.
(MIDDLETOWN, Ohio) — Speaking at his first solo rally in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, former President Donald Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance attacked the Democratic Party over President Joe Biden stepping down as the party’s nominee and getting behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
“If you want to run for president, you’ve got to make your case to voters. You make your case to voters,” Vance said.
“[Trump] faced some good competition, and he made his case to voters,” Vance later said.
Vance’s rally came one week after he was announced as former President Donald Trump’s running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
On Monday, Vance took center stage in his hometown, which has played a crucial role in his upbringing and was the catalyst for much of what has happened to him, including being the backdrop of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in which he shared his story of growing up in poverty in America’s Rust Belt and being surrounded by violence and addiction.
The Ohio senator made his first official appearance at a campaign rally on Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alongside Trump. During that appearance, Vance wasted no time attacking Harris, who only one day later would receive an endorsement from Biden and other Democrats to top the Democratic ticket.
During the rally, Vance claimed “elite Democrats got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard.” Biden left the race amid mounting calls from fellow Democrats to do so since his poor debate performance last month.
“This is not OK, ladies and gentlemen. You cannot, for three-and-a-half years, take a guy who clearly didn’t have the mental capacity to do the job,” Vance said.
Vance then turned to Harris and Senate Democrats, repeating a claim Trump has made that she was complicit in hiding Biden’s mental fitness.
“Kamala Harris lied about it. My Senate Democratic colleagues lied about it. The media lied about it,” Vance said, adding it was an “insult to voters.”
During his remarks, he said the Trump-Vance ticket would fight for different groups of people including workers, parents and grandmothers.
“What President Trump and I want to do — we want to a drill, baby drill,” Vance said. “We’re gonna shut down that border, we’re gonna put American citizens first, because that’s what American citizens are gonna elect us to do. It’s common sense.”