President Joe Biden Despite growing calls from Democratic lawmakers for him to resign, Trump has said he is ready to return to the campaign trail as soon as next week.
Meanwhile, coming out of their national convention in Milwaukee this week, Republican officials, strategists and activists are exuding a confidence not seen in decades.
Donald Trump is scheduled to hold his first campaign rally in the battleground state of Michigan on Saturday with his new running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
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David Letterman appears at fundraiser with Biden
David Letterman will headline a fundraiser alongside President Joe Biden and Hawaii Governor Josh Green, a sign that the Biden campaign is forging ahead despite ongoing calls for him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
Greene told The Associated Press on Friday that the July 29 fundraiser will be held at the home of a family friend in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The event will feature appearances from the longtime late-night TV host as well as Biden and first lady Jill Biden. The campaign has scheduled at least 10 fundraisers for the last 10 days of July.
Letterman hosted CBS’ “Late Show” for 22 seasons. The event comes as other celebrities, including George Clooney, director Rob Reiner and Stephen King, have called for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race following his dismal performance in the June 27 debate. There have also been growing concerns about continuing fundraising support after anxious donors expressed serious concerns about Biden’s performance and the party’s future.
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Trump resumes campaigning in Michigan
Republican Donald Trump is set to hold his first campaign rally in the battleground state of Michigan on Saturday with his new vice presidential nominee, his first since being wounded in an assassination attempt.
The joint rally with Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio was the first for both men since becoming the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Mr. Trump opened the Republican rally by naming Mr. Vance as his running mate and closed it with a speech calling for unity in the wake of the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left Mr. Trump’s ear bleeding and a crowd member dead.
“I’m running for president not for half of America, but for all of America, because winning for half of America is not winning,” Trump said Thursday night in the longest convention speech in modern history, lasting just under 93 minutes.
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AP-NORC Poll: Majority of Democrats think Kamala Harris would be a good president
As pressure grows for President Joe Biden to give up on reelection, a majority of Democrats believe that Vice President Biden would make a good president himself.
A new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Policy Research finds that about 1 in 6 Democrats think Kamala Harris would do a good job in the top position. About 1 in 2 Democrats don’t think she’d do a good job, and another 2 say they don’t know enough to tell.
Since Biden’s debate debacle on June 27, many Democrats have privately and openly hoped that Harris would succeed Biden as the party’s presidential nominee, likely to take on Republican nominee Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Harris has remained completely loyal to Biden, even after his disastrous debate defeat, as one of his strongest defenders.
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Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is one of several lawmakers who have called on Biden to stop campaigning.
Three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio was one of 12 senators who said Friday that Biden should stop campaigning.
The plea comes as Brown faces off against Republican Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races this year.
Brown is the only Democrat holding statewide office in Ohio, a state he once led that twice backed Donald Trump by wide margins and whose running mate was state Rep. J.D. Vance.
Brown has long enjoyed a close relationship with Biden (she was even named as a finalist for Biden’s running mate), but has sought to distance herself during the election in light of Biden’s unpopularity. She has aired ads touting her support for border and fentanyl bills, including one she “introduced and signed by Trump.”
Viewership for President Trump’s Republican National Convention acceptance speech peaked at 28.4 million viewers.
For better or worse, former President Trump delivered his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, and a packed audience watched the speech.
An estimated 25.4 million people tuned in to one of 14 stations broadcasting the final night of the convention, Nielsen said Friday. Ratings peaked at 28.4 million viewers between 10:45 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, when Trump’s speech began, Nielsen said.
That’s good news for the former president. The opening section of his speech, in which he dramatically recounted last Saturday’s assassination attempt, was generally considered the most effective. After the 90-minute mark and past midnight on the East Coast, Trump deviated significantly from the script, delivering remarks that resembled a typical street-level speech.
Fox News Channel drew 9.4 million viewers during Trump’s speech, far more than any other network, and about 72% of those viewers were over 55, according to Nielsen.
The night was the most-watched night of the convention, as is typical for nights when presidential candidates speak.
Black lawmakers back Biden at key junctures, but some express concerns
The Congressional Black Caucus prides itself on its authority within the Democratic Party and its influence over President Joe Biden in particular. So far, only one of its roughly 60 members has called for Biden to forgo reelection, citing concerns about his age and ability to win.
But support for the president within the caucus ranges from enthusiastic support to outright skepticism, and a small but growing number of members of the caucus are publicly voicing doubts about Biden’s candidacy.
Black voters are widely credited with helping Biden win the Democratic nomination four years ago and then defeat Republican Donald Trump. With pressure growing for Biden to stop campaigning from the highest levels of the Democratic Party, whether and how enthusiastically Black lawmakers now continue to support the president could be crucial in the coming days.
▶ Read about the relationship between black lawmakers and the president
