Four days after Joe Biden withdrew from the US presidential election campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is making great strides towards her nomination as candidate. On Thursday, Harris, who remains the only candidate for the Democrats, released her first campaign ad under the slogan “We choose freedom.” A few hours earlier, the US Democrats had decided to seal who would run against Republican Donald Trump in the November election at the beginning of August.
Harris attacks Republican presidential candidate Trump in the one-minute and 20-second campaign video. In it, the Vice President speaks of people who want to live in a “land of chaos, fear, hate” – images of Trump and his vice presidential candidate JD Vance are also shown.
She then continues: “But we – we choose something else. We choose freedom.” The spot is appropriately accompanied by the song “Freedom” by US pop diva Beyoncé.
In the short video, Harris promises, among other things, to fight against gun violence and child poverty and to campaign for the right to abortion and universal health insurance. Harris also points to Trump’s legal problems, who, with his conviction for falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels, is the first former US president in the country’s history to have a criminal record.
On Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Party headquarters, decided to hold an electronic vote on the presidential nomination at the beginning of August, rather than at the party convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22. According to the rules, electronic voting on the candidate could begin as early as August 1. The party wants to implement a “transparent, speedy and orderly” nomination process, announced DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison.
The rules stipulate that all candidates for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination must submit their applications by Saturday. If there is no other candidate besides Harris, the electronic voting will begin on Thursday of next week. If there are other candidates, the start of the vote can be postponed by a few days.
In any case, the decision will probably be made before the party convention in Chicago, where the candidacy will only be confirmed ceremonially.
On Thursday, Harris’ schedule included an appointment with the US Teachers Association to underline her “commitment to working people across America,” according to her campaign headquarters. Later in the afternoon (local time), a meeting was planned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently visiting the USA.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Trump turned against his likely opponent Harris in his usual aggressive tone. At a rally in North Carolina, he insulted the vice president as a “left-wing madwoman who will destroy our country.” He also spread the false claim that Harris supports the “execution” of newborn babies.
On the right-wing US television channel Fox News, Trump also accused her of owing her likely presidential candidacy to a “coup” within the Democratic Party. “I think it was a coup. They didn’t want him to run. He was way behind in the polls and they thought he was going to lose,” Trump said, referring to Biden. He said he had been “pushed out” of the presidential race.
Trump named former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama – and “some others you see on TV” – as the perpetrators of the alleged “coup”.
Biden himself had spoken about the reasons for his withdrawal in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday evening. In his approximately eleven-minute remarks, he said that this was the best way to achieve unity in the party and the country through a generational change and thus protect the basic democratic order. He had decided to “pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said. This was the best way “to unite our nation.”
The 81-year-old announced that he would continue to implement his plans in the remaining months of his term of office, which ends in January, and would concentrate on his “work as president.” Biden mentioned lowering the cost of living for families and stronger growth in the US economy. In foreign policy, he described slowing down Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in the war against Ukraine and ending the Gaza war as priorities.
