US congressional Democratic leaders support Harris

The two top Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday endorsed Kamala Harris for president after she received the backing of a majority of her party members to face Donald Trump in the November presidential election.

“Now that process has moved from the grassroots, from the bottom up, we are here today to support Vice President Kamala Harris,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a joint news conference with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Harris, meanwhile, kicked off her US campaign on Tuesday with a trip to the battleground state of Wisconsin to once again attack Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The vice president acted at lightning speed by securing enough delegates for the nomination in just 36 hours after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, sparking one of the biggest electoral upheavals in modern U.S. history.

Hollywood star George Clooney — one of the first high-profile Democratic activists to urge Biden to abandon his reelection bid — joined a string of heavyweights on Tuesday in backing Harris, 59, to take on Trump in November.

During her visit to Milwaukee, Harris is expected to renew her attacks on Trump, a convicted felon, as she draws on her past roles as a California prosecutor and the state’s attorney general.

“She is prepared to file a lawsuit against Donald Trump,” said Brianna Johnson, a Wisconsin campaign spokeswoman.

It’s a theme that will run throughout Harris’ campaign, and she blasted Trump in similar terms in a speech to staff on Monday, saying that as a prosecutor she understood “the type of person Donald Trump is.”

– ‘Save democracy’ –

According to US media reports, with the support of Biden and other key figures in the party, Harris received far more delegate votes than she needed on Monday – 1,976 out of nearly 4,000 delegate votes.

The first female, Black and South Asian vice president in U.S. history said in a statement that she was proud and “looks forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.”

Harris should now be able to secure the nomination on August 7 — nearly two weeks before the Democratic convention in Chicago. The party plans to hold an online vote for convention delegates.

She will also have the support of Clooney, a major fundraiser and longtime Biden supporter who has opposed the 81-year-old over concerns about his age and mental health.

“President Biden is demonstrating true leadership. We are all very excited to do everything we can to support Vice President Harris,” Clooney said in a statement to CNN.

The United Steelworkers Union and philanthropist Melinda French Gates, ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, have thrown their support behind her.

Her campaign announced that it has raised $100 million since she entered the presidential race, with 62% of donations coming from first-time donors.

Biden shocked the world on Sunday by announcing he would not run for re-election after weeks of pressure following his poor debate performance with Trump, which raised concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Biden made the announcement on social media after recovering from COVID-19 at his beachfront home in Delaware, but has not yet detailed his decision.

He said he would speak about “what the future holds” in a prime-time Oval Office speech on Wednesday.

Trump hits back

Former President Donald Trump, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on July 13, further added to the chaos surrounding the election. Trump has relentlessly attacked both Harris and Biden.

Trump late Monday called her “Crooked Kamala Harris” and said she was doing “terribly” in the polls against a “fine and talented young man named Donald J. Trump!” “You gotta be careful what you wish for from the Democratic Party??”

But recent polls show Harris running neck and neck with Trump, 78. Biden’s withdrawal makes him the oldest presidential candidate in U.S. political history, and has forced a radical rethink of Trump’s campaign.

It’s no accident that Harris chose Milwaukee for Tuesday’s rally — last week, the city hosted the Republican National Convention, at which Trump was nominated as the party’s official presidential nominee.

Amid political chaos and questions about America’s role as a world power, Biden and Harris must also grapple with a major foreign policy dilemma this week.

They will hold separate talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington, where Biden has said he will use the remainder of his term to work towards ending the Gaza war.

Harris said she would not attend Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday because of a pre-scheduled rally, but an aide said that “should not be interpreted as a change in her position on Israel.”