Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in trip to US, tries to cut through campaign chaos
(WASHINGTON) — As shockwaves from a spate of unprecedented twists in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election continue to reverberate throughout the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to push past the political noise as he makes his long-awaited visit to Washington, D.C., this week.
Amid the tumult, Netanyahu will deliver an address to a joint meeting of Congress at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. He will also meet with President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon, according to the prime minister’s office and the White House.
Biden’s exit from the reelection race has also raised questions about how much sway his administration will have over the Israeli government going forward, potentially complicating efforts to coax its leadership into accepting the terms of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas and ending the conflict in Gaza.
The prime minister is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to administration officials, but Harris — the president of the Senate — is not expected to attend his speech on Capitol Hill. Harris, who has now secured commitments from enough Democratic delegates to be the presumptive nominee if the delegates make good on their commitments, is scheduled to campaign in Indianapolis instead, according to her campaign. The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu would meet with the vice president on Thursday.
Additionally, Netanyahu is set to meet with former President Donald Trump, but the two don’t appear to have settled on a date yet. The Republican nominee for the White House announced they would meet at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, while Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “the only possibility to meet with Donald Trump is on Friday.”
Here are the storylines to watch.
Playing politics?
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is also set to meet with Netanyahu, has already slammed Harris for skipping out on the prime minister’s speech, calling it “outrageous” and describing it as a calculated political decision.
“America’s relationship with Israel has always been bipartisan, and it should stay that way,” Johnson said during a press conference.
“Madam Vice President, you say you want to be the leader of the free world and yet you can’t bring yourself to sit behind our most important strategic ally in this moment,” he said. “That is not a good look for you. It’s not a good look for America. And it’s not a good look for her party that she aims to lead.”
Every interaction — or lack of interaction — between Netanyahu and Harris is bound to face similarly intense scrutiny. So far, the two have had relatively limited direct interaction. They met at least once before — in 2017, when Harris was a senator — and spoke by phone in 2021, according to a readout from the White House.
Harris thanks Biden as she receives growing chorus of endorsements
The Biden administration’s handling of Gaza is likely to be a contentious topic for Harris on the campaign trail. While Harris echoed the president’s support of Israel’s right to defend itself in the early months of the conflict, she began to publicly express more criticism by the end of 2023 — calling on Israeli forces to do more to prevent civilian suffering.
A face-to-face with Netanyahu would be an opportunity for Harris to set the tone for how she might approach the conflict if she were to win the nomination for the presidency.
Daniel Byman, a former Middle East analyst for the U.S. intelligence community and a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the dynamics of the race will also add pressure on Netanyahu.
“It’s unclear how much her positions will vary from Biden’s, and Netanyahu will want to shape those for obvious reasons,” he told ABC News.
Before departing for the U.S. on Monday morning, Netanyahu said “our enemies must know that Israel and the United States stand together tomorrow and always” — no matter who wins the White House.
But while the prime minister is trying to signal neutrality, the person sitting behind the Resolute desk undoubtedly impacts the alliance between the two countries.
Netanyahu and Biden have been friends for more than four decades, but their relationship has grown rockier in recent months as the leaders have clashed over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Trump on Tuesday said he would host Netanyahu at his Florida club on Thursday.
“Just as I have said in discussion with [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenksy and other World Leaders in recent weeks, my PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH Agenda will demonstrate to the World that these horrible, deadly Wars, and violent Conflicts must end,” Trump claimed on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Millions are dying, and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it.”
In recent weeks, there have been indications that the prime minister is trying to boost his standing with the Republican presidential candidate.
Netanyahu was one of the first world leaders to issue a statement condemning the assassination attempt against Trump. The former president later reposted it.
Deal in the balance
While the drama of American politics plays out, conditions in Gaza remain exceedingly grim.
Authorities believe dozens of hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, their lives hanging in the balance. On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the deaths of two more detainees, underscoring the urgency of the situation.
More than a month and a half after Biden outlined the contours of a deal that would free the hostages in exchange for an extended cease-fire in Gaza, negotiations in Cairo appear to be picking up again.
Netanyahu and top officials in his government have publicly scorned some conditions of Biden’s proposal, but U.S. officials adamantly say the prime minister is willing to uphold the terms of the deal if an agreement is reached.
However, they say the sticking points have shifted from the duration of a cease-fire to operational control over parts of Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor — a narrow strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt.
Negotiators are attempting to devise a security system that would appease Israel, but Netanyahu is reluctant to withdraw troops, an official familiar with the talks said.
While the prime minister is in Washington, members of the administration hope to persuade him to accept terms that they believe Hamas may also find tolerable, as well as encourage specific steps to create a path toward a two-state solution, according to a U.S. official.
Byman believes a deal is still possible, but that Netanyahu may see a second Trump administration as conducive to more favorable terms.
“If Netanyahu and Israel can persist for the coming months, they’ll get a better deal than if they make concessions to the Biden administration,” he said.
Courting Congress — and the public
Netanyahu’s speech will offer the prime minister an opportunity to try to rebound his own poll numbers, which have been in steady decline.
“He’s fighting for his political life,” Byman said. “And so he’s trying to say to his own people, look — I can go to the United States, to the president and congressional leaders, and therefore I am a leader who can deliver for Israel diplomatically.”
Netanyahu hasn’t shied away from diving into American domestic politics in the past. But Ruth Wasserman Lande, a moderate Israeli politician and former member of the Knesset, says the prime minister should stress the threat that terror in the Middle East poses to the U.S., a message she said should be unifying — and concerning — to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“It’s not a right or left issue. It’s not a Republican or Democratic issue,” she said. “This is something that the Americans must understand because it’s not going to stop here. It’s going to get to America.”
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — The final day of the Democratic National Convention wraps up with Kamala Harris’ big moment: her acceptance speech in which she gets to tell her story to the millions of Americans watching.
Her campaign says, in addition to describing her middle-class upbringing, she will continue to stress optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — the overall themes we’ve heard throughout the gathering.
Here’s how the news is developing:
‘Democracy knows no party’: Kinzinger
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he never thought he’d be at the DNC — but the Republican went on to explain what drew him to support Harris.
“Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party,” he said. “His fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness. Sapping our strength. Softening our spine. Whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values.”
He said the Democrats are “as patriotic as” Republicans, continuing a theme of the night, as the crowd chanted “U.S.A.!”
After recounting the “profound sorrow” of Jan. 6, he said he suspected other conservatives would belong at the DNC as well.
“Democracy knows no party. It is a living, breathing ideal that defines us as a nation. It is the bedrock that separates us from tyranny — and when that foundation is fractured, we must stand united to strengthen it,” he said, while urging people to “vote for our bedrock values” by voting for Harris.
Eva Longoria leads crowd in ‘She se puede’
Actress Eva Longoria hyped up the crowd by taking the Latino motto “Si, se puede,” “Yes, we can,” which was used throughout Barack Obama’s campaign, and adding a twist.
“Tonight, I’m here to tell you, yes, she can. So, we’re going to say, ‘she se puede,'” she said leading to a chant from the crowd.
Harris is working to rebuild the Biden coalition
Our colleague at 538, Mary Radcliffe, did a deep dive earlier this week into polling crosstabs to see how Harris is doing with the coalition of voters that successfully elected Biden in 2020. We’re hearing from Black, Latino and Midwest politicians and celebrities tonight because that’s part of who Harris has to get to the polls to recreate that winning formula this November. You can read more detail in our story.
— 538’s Monica Potts
Adam Kinzinger rounds out slate of GOP speakers
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger is delivering a prime-time speech in support of Harris — rounding out a slate of Republicans who have spoken at the DNC this week, including former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye and former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Kinzinger, who retired from the House in 2023, has been a vocal Trump critic over the years, and although he describes himself as a “proud conservative,” he endorsed then-candidate Joe Biden for reelection in June.
The former Illinois congressman sat on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the attack. He was also one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 attack.
Since Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, Kinzinger has supported the vice president, saying she stands for democracy.
-ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley
Fact-checking Ruben Gallego’s claim about veteran unemployment
Arizona Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego talked about veterans issues in his remarks, claiming “Kamala Harris has delivered more benefits to more veterans than ever before, and has achieved the lowest veterans unemployment rate in history.”
Leaving aside what Harris did specifically to lower unemployment for veterans, the numbers show that the unemployment rate for veterans in 2023 dropped to 3%, the lowest average the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded since it began tracking the veterans data in 2000.
—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman
‘Big Gretch’ Whitmer talks about how Harris will ‘G.S.D.’
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, or as she introduced herself “Big Gretch” got a huge ovation as she took the stage and immediately took a jab at Trump.
“Donald Trump called me ‘that woman from Michigan’ as an insult. But being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor. Like women across America, we just G.S.D. — Get Stuff Done,” using the sanitized version of the slogan.
Whitmer talked about the struggles of raising her child and helping her elderly mother. The governor noted that Harris has lived a similar life, unlike Trump
“You think he understands that when your car breaks down you can’t get to work? No! His first word was probably ‘chauffeur,'” she said.
Whitmer acknowledged the last couple of years have been hard but in the end they need to make sure the commander in chief is ready for any crisis like Harris.
“Why wouldn’t we choose the leader who’s tough, tested and a total bada–?” she said to cheers.
‘Listen to President Reagan’: Leon Panetta
While making the case for Harris as commander-in-chief, Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense under former President Barack Obama, said Trump will “abandon our allies and isolate America.”
“Listen to President Reagan,” Panetta said. “Isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments.”
In drawing a comparison between the two candidates, he said, “Trump tells tyrants like Putin they can do whatever the hell they want. Kamala Harris tells tyrants the hell you can. Not on my watch.”
He drew the largest applause when he said that the role of the U.S. military is to defend us from foreign enemies and “sure as hell isn’t to put immigrants in camps.”
Ruben Gallego brings out veterans, torches Trump
Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Iraq war veteran, brought on stage Democratic veterans serving their county and in elected offices at every level.
“These veterans represent the best of our country,” he said. “We stand united as veterans, Democrats and patriots to fight for everyone who serves.”
“But politicians like Donald Trump. They don’t stand with us,” he said. “They call patriots like Sen. McCain ‘losers.’ John McCain was an American hero. Show some respect.”
Gallego is running for Senate in Arizona against Trump-ally Kari Lake.
Harris’ motorcade arrives at United Canter
The vice president’s motorcade arrived at the United Center at 9:48 p.m. ET, according to the press pool.
Prime-time spot for Panetta
Another sign of how Democrats are trying to turn patriotism and national security arguments on their head, is the prime-time speaking spot for Leon Panetta — telling the story about giving the order that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.
-ABC News’ Rick Klein
Fact-checking Mark Kelly: ‘Trump skipped his intelligence briefings’
Trump was not known to look through the Presidential Daily Brief regularly or read it to completion. He relied instead on oral briefings that he received from intelligence officials every few days.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton wrote in his memoir that “Trump generally had only two intelligence briefings per week, and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand.”
—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman
Mark Kelly touts Harris’ strength on foreign security
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly joked that it was tough to follow-up his wife Gabrielle Giffords and P!nk, but zeroed in on the topic of foreign security.
Kelly, who was in consideration for the vice president spot on the Democratic ticket, warned of Trump’s support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lack of support for America’s allies.
“Vice President Harris has always championed America’s support for NATO, for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people,” he contended.
Kelly, a retired astronaut and Navy pilot, also chastised Trump for his treatment of service members.
“Trump thinks that Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice are suckers and losers. If we fall for that again and make him the commander in chief, the only suckers would be us,” he said.
Security is next theme of the night
In line with various speakers’s emphasis on Harris as a would-be strong commander-in-chief, now the conversation is shifting toward security.
A video just aired of a previous Harris speech on the need for a “strong America” to ensure global stability and democracy.
Speaking now is retired Air Force general and NASA astronaut Mark Kelly. Up soon is former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Republicans should ‘forfeit’ conventions: Meghan McCain
Conservative political commentator Meghan McCain has some advice for Republicans while watching the DNC tonight.
“Maybe republicans just shouldn’t have conventions… just forfeit because I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU CAN COMPETE WITH THIS!” she tweeted.
Maybe republicans just shouldn’t have conventions… just forfeit because I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU CAN COMPETE WITH THIS! #DNC2024
Artist P!nk took the stage with her daughter Willow Sage Hart to sing “What about us?”
The 2017 song was written in response to the unrest going on in the country, the singer has said in previous interviews.
Mark Kelly operates iPad with speech for wife Gabby Giffords
Gabby Giffords, who survived a near-fatal gun shot to the head, spoke Thursday night on how she survived the assassination attempt and the need for gun reform.
“I survived!” she exclaimed.
Her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, was advancing her speech on an iPad as her own version of a teleprompter.
‘I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again’: Impactful stories on gun violence Four people impacted by gun violence shared their stories with the crowd in moving statements.
Abbey Clements of Newtown, Connecticut, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, said she carries that “horrific day” with her, when 20 children and six of her colleagues were shot.
“They should still be here,” she said.
Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas, whose daughter was one of 19 children killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting, recounted that day through tears.
“I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again,” she said, as the crowd yelled out her daughter’s name.
Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina, said her niece’s murder on a beach remains unsolved.
Americans impacted by mass shootings shared their heartrending stories at the Democratic National Co…Show More “I’ll keep fighting,” she said.
Edgar Vilchez of Chicago, Illinois, recounted when his high school classmate was shot in school.
“Instead of worried about taking a test, I started worrying about living to take another test,” he said.
He said he learned a lot that day: “How to run, how to hide and drop.”
Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath said the stories “strengthen their resolve” to fight for the “safer futures that we all deserve.”
Gun violence takes focus
Americans impacted by mass shootings just shared their heartrending stories.
Speaking next is Gabby Giffords, who was shot during an assassination attempt in when she was in Congress.
Gun violence is among the top issues in the Democratic Party’s platform, which calls for an assault weapons ban and ending the gun industry’s immunity from liability. In contrast, the GOP convention platform made no mention of firearm violence or gun control.
Harris’ record as a prosecutor was seen differently when she ran in 2020
In speeches and videos, the convention is talking about Harris’ record as a prosecutor. It’s a reminder that the national mood has shifted since her last run for president, when she ran in the 2020 Democratic primary. At the time, efforts to reform policing were reaching a fever pitch, and her record as a prosecutor actually hurt her with progressives in the party. Those issues would only grow by the time she joined Biden’s ticket as vice president, after the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.
But that was four years go. Support for the Black Lives Matter movement has dropped since then, and Harris is working to reframe her history as a prosecutor to portray herself as a champion of victims. She’s also framing it in opposition to Trump, who has since been convicted in a felony case in Manhattan and is facing several other charges.
—538’s Monica Potts
Biden posts picture of phone call to Harris before speech
In an X post Thursday night, President Joe Biden said he and the first lady just talked to Harris ahead her speech at the convention coming up.
He added that they “can’t wait to watch her accept this historic nomination.”
In the photo, the Bidens, who are in Santa Ynez, California, are standing in front of a TV with the DNC on screen and Biden is holding a phone.
“Kamala and Tim will inspire a generation and lead us into the future,” Biden said in the post.
March outside DNC continues on final night
Marchers took to the street before sundown on the final day of the DNC. They stretched for more than a mile and took nearly three hours to reach its final destination in Union Park, four blocks west of the stadium.
Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the coalition, said nearly 8,000 people were in the streets marching. Their goal all week was to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians, which he said was a success, especially when President Joe Biden mentioned the protestors in his speech Tuesday.
“It means people know we are here, and they are talking about us,” he said.
As marchers slowly moved through a residential street, just two blocks from the stadium, they banged drums, chanted (“just like 1968/nothing here to celebrate”) and taunted Chicago police officers who lined both sides of the street with bicycles.
A skirmish briefly forced the march to pause when several people surrounded Chris Eston, 21, of Peoria, who carried an American flag. After a block of pushing and shoving with the coalition protestors, Eston eventually was ejected from the street by police officers.
“They called my fascist,” he said of the marchers. “I told them in a true fascist country, protests don’t exist. If they’d do this in Iran, they’d get shot.”
-ABC News’ Mark Guarino
What to know about Harris’ family
Several members of Harris’ family, including stepdaughter Ella Emhoff and niece Meena Harris, were up on stage addressing the DNC. Her sister, Maya Harris, is also slated to speak later tonight.
Here’s what to know about her family.
‘Scandal’ stars reunite to fire up crowd: ‘You’re the Olivia Popes’
Kerry Washington took the stage to kick off prime-time coverage.
She began by criticizing any naysayers about a celebrity being at the convention and noted that this was not her moment, but every American’s.
“You are the messengers. You are the fixers. Dare I say it? You are the Olivia Popes,” she said referring to her character on the hit ABC show “Scandal.” “You are the superheroes saving this democracy.”
Washington ended her speech with a reunion with her “Scandal” co-star Tony Goldwyn, who came out to take a selfie with the roaring crowd.
‘Comma-la’
Harris’ two great-nieces were brought out for a tutorial with the crowd on how to pronounce her first name.
Since Harris entered the presidential race, Trump has reverted to an old ploy in his line of attack against her: mispronouncing and mocking her name.
“Confusion is understandable. Disrespect is not,” host Kerry Washington said.
Her name is a nod to her Indian heritage on her mother’s side. In her 2019 memoir, Harris wrote that she pronounced it “Comma-la” and that it means “lotus flower.”
The Chicks sing the national anthem
The Chicks are singing the national anthem, as the prime-time programming kicks off.
It’s been more than 20 years after the group went from country music darlings to pariahs after speaking out against then-President George W. Bush at a concert in the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
“Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas,” singer Natalie Maines told fans in London in March 2003.
Maines later apologized, saying her remark was “disrespectful.” But country radio stations across the country yanked the trio from playlists, while some protesters resorted to publicly trashing their CDs to demonstrate against the singers’ perceived lack of patriotism.
The group changed their named from The Dixie Chicks in June 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. They also released their first album in 14 years — “Gaslighter” — that year.
Sea of American flags
Scores of attendees are waving American flags as DJ Metro spins songs including Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and John Mellencamp’s “Small Town.”
A big theme of the week is patriotism.
Families share personal stories on hot-button political issues
Anya Cook, a Florida woman, spoke about being denied reproductive care as she experienced a miscarriage.
Craig Sicknick, with his mother at his side, spoke about his brother: fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
“My family knows how dangerous Trump is,” Sicknick said. “He incited the crowd, while my brother and his fellow officers were putting their lives at risk.”
Gail DeVore spoke about her diabetes diagnosis and the stress of being able to afford insulin. She praised the Biden-Harris administration for working to lower prescription drug prices.
Juanny Romero, the owner of a coffee shop, thanked the Biden-Harris administration for its support for small businesses during the COVID pandemic. Their policies, she said, helped her company double in size.
Steph Curry makes video appearance
Recent Olympic gold medalist and Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry made a video address at the convention.
The video included clips of Harris meeting with the Olympic men’s basketball team during a practice.
“That unity on and off the court reminded us all that together, we can do all things and continue to inspire the world. That’s what I believe. That Kamala, as president, can bring that unity back and continue to move our country forward,” he said.
Gen Z congressman addresses climate crisis
Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Zer elected to Congress, spoke about how Harris and Walz plan to address the climate crisis, including through creating jobs that invest in clean energy.
“Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic, and unlike Donald Trump, our patriotism is more than some damn slogan on a hat,” he said.
Human-trafficking survivor reflects on Harris’ fight for victims
Courtney Baldwin, a survivor of sex trafficking and now a youth organizer, spoke about how then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris shut down the illicit website that listed her and other victims for sale.
Baldwin said she yearned for hope during those dark moments when she was able to hold on to pursue her dreams.
“Vice President Harris is fearless, compassionate, and she still gives me hope. She’s protected people like me her whole life, and I know she’ll fight for us all as president,” she said.
Healey says she ‘can’t wait’ for September debate
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she can’t wait to see Harris “prosecute the case against Donald Trump” during their ABC News debate on Sept. 10.
Democrats continue to lean into prosecutor v. felon theme
Tonight’s speakers include several prosecutors with ties to Harris or even Trump — including Tristan Snell, who spoke on stage about taking on Trump University fraud.
“Kamala Harris fought scammers like him. And as president, she will continue to fight for you, for us, for the people,” Snell said.
Democrats see the contrast between Harris the prosecutor and Trump the felon as a winning message.
“It’s a beautiful split screen,” Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton and former communications director for the Democratic National Committee, previously told ABC News.
“She went after bad people who hurt the people that she was representing and that’s exactly what she’s doing now,” Cardona said.
Trump a ‘hateful man’: ‘Exonerated 5’
New York City Council member Yusef Salaam, one of the five men exonerated in the “Central Park Five” case, called Trump a “hateful man” during his DNC appearance.
“He wanted us dead,” Salaam said. “Today, we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed. And DNA proved it.”
Korey Wise, another one of the men who was exonerated in the case, said they were “threatened” by people after Trump ran ads calling for the death penalty for violent crimes in New York in the wake of the attack.
He said Harris, by comparison, has “worked to make things fairer.”
“I know she will do the same as president and I approve that message,” Wise said.
Harris to promise to be ‘a president for all Americans’
In her acceptance speech tonight, Harris will deliver a message of unity as Democrats look to appeal to independent voters.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past,” she will say. “A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris will say, according to released excerpts of her speech.
“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads — and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work.”
Trump’s tie to the ‘Central Park 5’ case
Four of the five men in the “Central Park Five” who were wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger appeared at the DNC.
The five Black and Latino men, who were teenagers at the time of their arrest, were taken into custody, hounded in police interrogations and ultimately gave false confessions in the brutal assault on jogger Trisha Meili.
While the five teenagers awaited their trial, former President Donald Trump bought newspaper ads calling for New York to adopt the death penalty for violent crimes.
“Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police!” the ad stated in all caps.
The five men were exonerated in 2002 after convicted rapist Matias Reyes confessed to being Meili’s sole attacker, and Reyes’ DNA was matched to the crime scene. New York City settled with the Central Park Five in 2014 for $41 million in a civil rights lawsuit.
When asked in 2019, following the release of a Netflix series about the case, whether he would apologize for the ads to the men who were exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, Trump refused.
“Why do you bring that question up now? It’s an interesting time to bring it up. You have people on both sides of that,” he said. “They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein and you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case, so we’ll leave it at that.”
Following Trump’s indictment in 2023 on 34 felony counts of falsified business records in the hush money case, some of the exonerated men called it “karma.”
Speakers make case for Harris as commander in chief
The DNC is highlighting national security, with recent speakers Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger; Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin and New York Rep. Pat Ryan, an Army veteran, making the case for Harris as the commander in chief.
“I’ll tell you what I think of Donald Trump. They told me I can’t say that word on TV,” Ryan said.
Slotkin leans in on patriotism
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., made it clear: Democrats are patriotic, too.
Her speech was the most vocal example of how Democrats are taking back words like “freedom” and symbols like the flag, leaning on her time in the CIA and accusing Republicans of betraying the values they represent.
“We’re the damn United States of America. We lead,” she thundered in conclusion.
Warren makes couch joke when talking about Trump, Vance
Warren, a policy wonk, said she trusted Harris to handle the economy, abortion, climate change and more.
“Trust Donald Trump and JD Vance?” she said. “To look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldn’t let those guys — I wouldn’t trust them to move my couch.”
Elizabeth Warren gets teary-eyed during long ovation
The Massachusetts senator was seen wiping her eyes as she got emotional during a rapturous welcome from attendees at the United Center.
Vulnerable senators finally make an appearance
Last night, I commented on how few Democratic Senate candidates had addressed the DNC thus far — including zero in competitive races. Well, that ends tonight. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin spoke earlier, and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was just on stage. Both are in competitive races in swing states this fall.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Early speakers breeze through speeches
The beginning of the fourth night has been moving briskly, with shorter speeches.
Although there have been a few musical interludes from DJ Metro, they also did not last long. The previous three nights of the DNC have ended after 11 p.m. ET.
Harris’ plan for middle-class families
Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark focused on the burden of child care costs, saying Harris and Walz “know that when everyone can find and afford child care, our kids and our communities will thrive.”
The Harris campaign said it aims to keep some money in middle-class consumers’ pockets by reducing their tax burden.
The plans include a restoration of the expanded child tax credit of $3,600 per child that expired in 2022. Harris also proposed an additional, new $6,000 child tax credit for families with a child in the first year of life.
What Harris has proposed to help homeowners
Former HUD secretary Marcia Fudge and Congressman Ted Lieu just touted Harris’ housing proposals, which she unveiled last week.
Harris has vowed to provide up to $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time homeowners and called for the construction of 3 million new housing units to ease the housing supply shortage.
Sen. Padilla: ‘I knew that I had some big Chuck Taylors to fill’
Sen. Alex Padilla, the first Latino to represent California and Vice President Kamala Harris’ Senate successor, told the crowd “I knew that I had some big Chuck Taylors to fill.”
Harris for years has often sported the popular shoe.
White outfits fill convention arena
White outfits peppered the convention hall here in an ode to suffragists and Harris’ historic candidacy.
The outfit motif has been a hallmark of House Democrats, who have used the color to send a signal at major events, such as past state of the union addresses, including this year’s, when Democrats sought to make a point about abortion.
-ABC News’ Tal Axelrod
DJ gets crowd moving to ‘Lil Boo Thang’
Chicago’s DJ Metro got the crowd to its feet, dancing to “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell, at the start of the night.
100,000 balloons ready to end the night: Source
Convention organizers have 100,000 balloons ready to drop at the end of the evening, according to a source with knowledge.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
4th night of the DNC underway
The fourth and final night of the DNC is officially underway.
The theme of the night is “For our future” and will feature a keynote address from Vice President Kamala Harris as she accepts the party’s nominee for president.
Emhoff says Harris remains focused on issues ahead of ‘her big moment’
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff said Vice President Kamala Harris remains focused on the issues even “while she is preparing for her big moment tonight.”
“She has been in the Oval Office with the president on all of these major issues. She’s been in the Situation Room on all these major issues, just with what’s happening now,” he said Thursday at an event about combating antisemitism hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
“She’s still working on these issues while she is preparing for her big moment tonight. That’s what leaders do,” he continued.
Harris has spent the day continuing to review her speech and tweaking it by hand as she prepares to deliver what will be the most important remarks of her political life, a personal familiar with the preparation told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce
Harris, Emhoff wish each other happy 10th anniversary
Vice President Kamala Harris wished her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff a happy anniversary on Thursday ahead of her acceptance speech at the DNC. The couple are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
“To the best partner I could ask for: Happy anniversary, Dougie,” Harris posted on social media, with a picture of the two visiting campaign headquarters in Wilmington the day after she announced her candidacy.
Earlier Thursday, Emhoff did the same, posting a slideshow of photos of himself and Harris.
“Ten years of marriage, forever to go,” Emhoff wrote. “Happy anniversary, @WRQ11HGNB. I love you.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Meet the oldest DNC delegate, Angie Gialloreto
Angie Gialloreto, 95, has attended every Democratic National Convention since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was on the ticket.
Since the 99-year-old former president could not attend this year’s DNC due to his health issues, Gialloreto is the oldest delegate to travel to Chicago, where she will watch Harris accept her party’s nomination.
The Pennsylvania native told ABC News the possibility that Harris could become the first woman to serve as president was a long time coming because women “have taken a back seat many years and now we’ll have a leader.”
When asked how she would celebrate if Harris ends up victorious during the November general election against Donald Trump, Gialloreto said she will focus on “getting ready for the next election of local candidates.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Gstalter
Walz meets with former students in Chicago
The morning after accepting his party’s nomination for vice president, Walz gathered in Chicago with former staff, family, friends and former students — including some of the football players who appeared on-stage Wednesday night at the United Center.
ABC News spotted Walz at a Chicago hotel on Thursday morning.
During that meeting, he mingled with several of his former Mankato West High School students over an informal breakfast, according to a source familiar with Walz’s movements. Some of those who met with Walz at the hotel were observed by ABC News donning “Harris-Walz Alumni” T-shirts.
Earlier in the day, Walz posted a video on X showing him hug and greet the students backstage at the convention.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Allison Pecorin and MaryAlice Parks
How Harris prepares for big speeches
Former campaign managers and senior staffers who worked Harris through the years shed light on how she prepares for big speeches.
They said she’s a trial lawyer at her core, and so preparation was key as well as being ready for audience reactions.
In crafting a speech, she would start with themes, outline and then focus in on what she wanted to say well in advance. She would be intimately involved in every speech, making edits and collaborating with those around her.
They said like most people she gets nervous, but would relax, review the remarks, save her voice, conserve energy and rest up.
-ABC News’ Zohreen Shah
What some of Chicago’s young voters think about the 2024 election
Three young voters — one liberal, one moderate and one conservative — discussed their thoughts on the 2024 election while in Chicago for the DNC.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Trump to do live play-by-play of Harris’ speech on Truth Social
Former President Donald Trump said he will do a “LIVE PLAY BY PLAY on TRUTH Social” of Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech at the DNC Thursday night.
“We will start at 10 P.M., Eastern, and be covering and commenting on some of the earlier Speeches made, prior to hers,” Trump posted on his social media platform before going on to slam the dropout of President Joe Biden and saying he was going to “expose” Harris’ policies.
-ABC News Lalee Ibssa
Harris campaign dodges question on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at DNC
The Harris campaign at a briefing Thursday morning dodged a question from ABC News on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at the convention and why simply saying former President Donald Trump would be worse for Arab-Americans is not the campaign taking their votes for granted.
“No, we’re absolutely not taking their votes for granted,” campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said. “I think, as it relates to uncommitted delegates at this convention, we’re proud, glad that they are here. We’ve worked to engage them throughout the convention.”
Tyler noted a panel conversation that was held with members of the uncommitted movement and said Harris recently engaged with the movement’s leadership in Michigan. He also emphasized that the vice president is working toward a resolution to the Israel-Hamas conflict “with a permanent cease-fire that allows Israel to fully secure itself, that fully continues and make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, but also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
12:58 PM EDT Gun control to be featured ahead of Harris’ remarks
Before Vice President Kamala Harris takes center stage Thursday night, gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates will address the DNC, according to Harris-Walz campaign spokesman Michael Tyler.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Rep. Maxwell Frost and the “Tennessee Three” — state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, are also expected to speak.
Tyler told reporters Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper, Sens. Mark Kelly and Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger — a member of Jan 6. select committee — will give remarks too.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
10:11 AM EDT Kamala Harris to tell her personal story in acceptance speech
The fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention is leading up to a dramatic finale: Kamala Harris giving her acceptance speech and getting to tell her personal story — in her own words — to an audience of millions.
She’s expected talk about a middle-class upbringing with a working mother. She will continue to stress the themes we’ve heard from speakers throughout the convention: optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — drawing a contrast, her campaign says, with the “dark” vision of Donald Trump.
(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans on Monday released the results of a sweeping three-year investigation they say is the most detailed public accounting yet of the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan that left behind hundreds of Americans and thousands of allies, some so desperate they clung to U.S. planes as the last military aircraft departed Kabul in 2021.
The report by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul — which relied on interviews with 18 top officials and 20,000 pages of documents — blames the White House, its National Security Council and the State Department for being slow to listen to military generals who warned the security situation would deteriorate quickly once U.S. troops began to depart.
The investigation did not, however, find evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris played any role in the planning or execution of the evacuation, although she expressed public support for President Joe Biden’s decision at the time.
Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have suggested Harris is culpable, noting past comments by the vice president that she was the “last person in the room” when Biden decided to leave Afghanistan.
“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Trump told National Guard members and their families in Detroit last month on the anniversary of the 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport during the evacuation, which killed 13 U.S. service members and some 170 Afghans.
The Biden administration pushed back on the findings by Republicans, calling it a partisan effort that sought to cherry-pick facts ahead of an election.
The Republican probe also is being released ahead of the first political debate between Harris and Trump, which ABC News is hosting on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Trump and GOP loyalists are expected to hammer the Democratic administration for failing to prepare for a Taliban takeover once U.S. troops began to depart.
“The chaos and devastation that took place in August of 2021 has forever damaged U.S. credibility in the eyes of our allies, while emboldening our adversaries like China, Russia and Iran,” said McCaul, R-Texas. “Yet, not a single person was fired and, to this day, no one was ever held accountable by President Biden or Vice President Harris.”
Last week, McCaul issued a subpoena for Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony on the withdrawal, threatening to hold him in contempt if he doesn’t testify on Sept. 19. In a written statement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller noted that Blinken has already testified on Afghanistan and the State Department provided the 20,000 pages of documents the committee was relying on to inform its investigation.
“Though the secretary is currently unavailable to testify on dates proposed by the committee, the State Department has proposed reasonable alternatives to comply with Chairman McCaul’s request for a public hearing,” Miller said. “It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena.”
On the investigation, Miller accused Republicans of politicizing the war and “presenting inaccurate narratives.”
“The State Department remains immensely proud of its workforce who put themselves forward in the waning days of our presence in Afghanistan to evacuate both Americans and the brave Afghans who stood by our sides for more than two decades,” he said.
While many of the details included in the Republican investigation have already become public through media reports and internal government reviews, among the more interesting details come from inside-the-room accounts of U.S. Embassy personnel.
At one point, according to Republicans, staff grew so panicked at the rushed evacuation that they began filling Tupperware containers with passports and visa foils to burn as Taliban forces arrived outside their building. Classified documents were eventually left behind in the scramble, according to the report, although the report doesn’t say how many or what type.
Meanwhile, the NSC was slow to establish criteria for who was eligible for evacuation, a standard the report says changed hourly. At one point, electronic visa letters known as “hall passes” were given to eligible Afghans, but the documents were so easily replicated that bootleg copies began circulating and the U.S. quickly scrapped the plan, according to the report.
The report also paints a picture of a State Department and NSC slow to understand the danger U.S. personnel were in as the Afghanistan government collapsed and the Taliban took control.
Ambassador Ross Wilson, who was brought out of retirement in the Trump administration to serve in Afghanistan and was the top American diplomat in Kabul at the time of the withdrawal, was allegedly reluctant to trigger a military-led evacuation, according to the report. Wilson has spoken publicly before that his staff worked feverishly in those final days to try to process as many travel documents as possible to help qualified people evacuate.
Biden has defended the State Department’s handling of the evacuation in the wake of the operation.
“In the 17 days that we operated in Kabul after the Taliban seized power, we engaged in an around-the-clock effort to provide every American the opportunity to leave. Our State Department was working 24/7 contacting and talking, and in some cases, walking Americans into the airport,” Biden said in 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal.
Biden and other Democrats have also defended the decision to pull out U.S. troops and shutter the embassy after 20 years in the country, saying their options were limited after Trump struck a deal with the Taliban to depart by May 1, 2021.
Trump’s agreement with the Taliban included the departure of U.S. troops and the release of 5,000 Taliban fighters from Afghan prisons so long as the Taliban promised not to collaborate with al-Qaeda or engage in “high-profile” attacks.
Wanting to bring an end to the war and concerned that Taliban fighters might target American service members if the U.S. reneged on the deal, the Biden administration stayed the course but amended the U.S. withdrawal deadline to Aug. 31, 2021.
“He could either ramp up the war against a Taliban that was at its strongest position in 20 years and put even more American troops at risk or finally end our longest war after two decades and $2 trillion spent,” said Sharon Yang, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations. “The President refused to send another generation of Americans to fight a war that should have ended long ago.”
Military generals in charge at the time have previously testified that their recommendation to Biden earlier that year was to maintain some 2,500 troops beyond that date regardless of what Trump had agreed to.
“At the end of 20 years, we the military helped build an army, a state, but we could not forge a nation. The enemy occupied Kabul, the overthrow of the government occurred and the military we supported for two decades faded away,” Gen. Mark Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the withdrawal, testified last March.
“That is a strategic failure,” he said.
ABC News’ Emily Chang, Matthew Seyler and Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.
(MILWAUKEE) — Vice President Kamala Harris is holding a rally Tuesday night in Milwaukee — in the middle of the Democratic National Convention — at the same arena where former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination just a month ago.
A Harris campaign official said they aren’t just doing a “victory lap” because of the momentum around the vice president — instead they’re choosing to hold a rally during the DNC because they still believe they are the “underdogs” and need to work hard to win over voters in battleground states such as Wisconsin, according to the official.
These critical voters won’t be in Chicago, and Harris needs to “meet them where they are,” the official said.
Milwaukee is “a place where we need to increase turnout and it’s a good high-momentum, high-energy moment to dig in and talk to folks,” the official added. “We want to make this bigger than Chicago.”
Harris’ Tuesday rally will take place in the Fiserv Forum — the location of the Republican National Convention’s prime-time events and where Trump recently accepted his party’s nomination to a packed house.
“If she can fill up that arena that can hold some 18,000 people — that could get under Trump’s skin,” the campaign official said — a reference to Trump’s focus on crowd size.
In recent weeks, Trump has continued to make baseless claims that the Harris campaign pays for her crowd as his Democratic rival gains momentum with large-scale rallies.
Earlier this month, Trump falsely accused Harris’ campaign of using artificial intelligence to fabricate crowds at a campaign rally in Michigan. A Harris campaign official told ABC News that the photo Trump called into question was taken by a Harris campaign staffer and that it was “not modified by AI in any way.”
Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes after she spoke at the DNC briefly on Monday night. She is set to speak again at the convention on Thursday night where she will accept the party’s nomination. Her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff is set to speak at the convention Tuesday night ahead of keynote speakers former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Democratic voters in the area said Harris needs to frequently visit Wisconsin to win the crucial battleground state. In 2020, President Joe Biden beat Trump by a narrow margin; in 2016, Trump won the state by an extremely narrow margin of about 22,700 votes over Hillary Clinton — less than 1%.
Democratic voters noted that Harris is already doing more than Clinton in 2016, when the former secretary of state did not visit Wisconsin during the general election.
“The last time I felt this much excitement was when Obama ran,” said Wisconsin resident Shannon Mattner, who is planning to attend Harris’ rally. “We just feel like there’s more hope now.”
Daniel Barfouth, a union member from Wisconsin set to attend the rally, says he supports Harris because of her position on unions.
“I like what she has to say about unions. I like how the unions endorsed her,” Barfouth said.
Barfourth drew a sharp contrast between Harris and Trump: “He talks about chaos. He doesn’t talk about hope, connection or anything about love. He talks about tearing everything down.”
Asked what Harris needs to do to win Wisconsin, Barfourth said that Harris needs to continue “putting herself out there as a normal person like everyone else: ‘I’m one of you’. Trump isn’t one of us. He was born with a silver spoon with his mouth. He hasn’t had to suffer for anything.”