© Jacquelyn Martin and Evan Vucci, Associated Press |
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Battle lines drawn in Trump, Harris fight |
New battle lines are coming into view in the race for the White House, as Vice President Harris steams toward the Democratic nomination.
Harris and former President Trump are taking shots and scheduling trips to the Midwest battlegrounds that could determine the outcome of the 2024 election.
The Democrats ostensibly have a short window for an open primary, but Harris continues to lock down the delegates, endorsements and money needed to fuel her nomination: -
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) became the latest party leaders to endorse Harris on Tuesday.
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Harris has commitments from enough delegates to win the nomination.
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The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with an early virtual nominating vote in the first week of August, ending the nomination process weeks before the Aug. 19 convention.
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Harris is stepping into a turnkey operation, tapping Biden’s campaign co-chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez to lead her effort. She’ll also run her campaign out of Biden’s headquarters in Delaware.
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Harris is vetting vice presidential candidates and has requested background materials from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
With Harris as the likely Democratic nominee, we’re getting an early view of how she and Trump will come at each other: -
Harris held her first campaign event as the likely nominee in Milwaukee on Tuesday, a critical “Blue Wall” state that Trump won narrowly in 2016 and Biden carried in 2020. Harris was joined by Gov. Tony Evers (D) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D), neither of whom joined Biden at his rally in Wisconsin earlier this month.
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In her first remarks as the likely nominee, Harris leaned into her background as a prosecutor and signaled she’d make Trump’s felony convictions an issue in the campaign: “I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type.”
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In her doomed 2020 primary run, Harris shied away from her experience as California’s attorney general. At the time, liberals were captivated by social justice politics, and there was a backlash against law enforcement after the killing of George Floyd. Harris's presidential campaign may now view her law enforcement experience as a positive, with crime being a major issue for voters.
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Harris also took aim at the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 to paint Trump as beholden to conservative extremists. Trump has disavowed the governing document, although many of his former administration officials helped put it together.
ON THE GOP SIDE ... -
Trump and running mate JD Vance (R-Ohio) will head to Minnesota for a rally Sunday, a sign that they still believe they can expand the map into traditionally blue states.
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Trump held a press call Tuesday to slam Harris for the border crisis. Harris's team contests the GOP framing that she was ever the White House “border czar,” but she was in charge of addressing the root causes of migration from Central America.
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Republicans on Capitol Hill will seek to amplify this message. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) introduced a resolution on Tuesday condemning Harris’s “role in the open border crisis.”
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Republicans will also look to blame Harris for inflation and the high cost of living under the Biden administration.
Perspectives:
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Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Secret Service director resigns
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Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday after her disastrous Congressional testimony led to bipartisan calls for her to step aside.
Cheatle had been leading investigations into the security lapses at the Secret Service that allowed a 20-year-old shooter to open fire on former President Trump at a campaign rally from an unsecured rooftop fewer than 150 yards away. -
At the hearing on Monday, Cheatle acknowledged the assassination attempt was one of the Secret Service’s worst operational failures in decades. She said she took full responsibility for the failures, but she initially resisted calls to resign.
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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle grew furious with Cheatle's testimony after she refused to answer questions about the security failures that led to the shooting. Cheatle declined to even confirm details that were publicly known.
In a statement, President Biden praised Cheatle for her nearly three decades with the Secret Service.
“As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was relieved that Cheatle had resigned.
“She should have resigned at least a week ago. I’m happy to see that. I’m happy to see that she has heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats. Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency. … We’ve got a lot of work to do. The task force that we’ll be putting together is going to be very important.” Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced a bipartisan task force with subpoena power to investigate the assassination attempt. The panel will include seven Republicans and six Democrats. Read more: |
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Biden to reemerge from COVID-19 isolation
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President Biden will address the nation Wednesday evening for the first time since dropping out of the presidential race.
Biden will give a rare Oval Office address at 8 p.m. EST, as he seeks to reassure Americans that he’s healthy and fit to lead the nation for the final five months of his presidency.
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Biden returned Tuesday afternoon to the White House. It was the first time he’d been seen in public since last Wednesday, when he traveled home to Rehoboth Beach, Del., to recover from COVID-19. Biden’s doctor announced Tuesday that he tested negative and his symptoms have resolved.
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The president was set for a busy travel schedule coming up, with trips planned to Texas, California and Colorado, but those visits have been postponed.
- Biden will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, although he will not attend the joint address to Congress on Wednesday night.
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Polling mixed as Trump-Harris battle takes shape
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It’s too early to draw broad conclusions about the state of the race for the White House just days after President Biden ended his campaign.
But early polling indicates a close race between former President Trump and Vice President Harris.
Republicans are bracing for the polls to tighten as exuberant Democrats rally behind Harris.
Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio released a memo Tuesday saying poll-watchers should expect a “Harris Honeymoon” effect in new surveys.
“The honeymoon will be a manifestation of the wall-to-wall coverage Harris receives from the MSM. The coverage will be largely postive and will certainly energize Democrats and some other parts of their coaltion at least in the short term. That means we will start to see public polling - particularly national public polls - where Harris is gaining or even leading President Trump."
WHAT DO THE POLLS SAY? ... -
A new Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted after Biden left the race finds Harris leading Trump by 2 points nationally. Most national polls taken before Biden’s exit found Trump in the lead nationally.
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A Quinnipiac University survey conducted over the weekend found Trump leading Harris 49 to 47 nationally. Harris’ favorability rating is deep underwater, while Trump posted his highest ever favorability rating in the wake of an assassination attempt.
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A Florida Atlantic University survey released Tuesday found Trump leading by 5 points nationally. Biden trailed by 8 in the previous poll.
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A Public Policy Polling survey found Trump leading by between 2 points and 6 points in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
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Harris trails by 2.5 points nationally in the Decision Desk HQ average.
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Harris’s approval rating has ticked up since she became the likely nominee, but overall she's hovered close to Biden’s low approval. Harris is currently at 38.3 percent positive and 51.4 percent negative in the 538 average.
From CNN polling analyst Harry Enten: "Beating Trump won’t be easy. His favorable rating is higher now than it has ever been (per two polls taken over the weekend). Harris may poll better than Biden did against Trump, but Trump is running 5 points ahead nationally against her than he finished against Biden in 2020." |
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© Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images |
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Netanyahu arrives in divided Washington
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Neither Presiden Biden nor Vice President Harris will be on hand when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives his joint address to Congress on Wednesday night.
Both Biden and Harris will meet with Netanyahu separately, although their absence on Capitol Hill underscores the tricky politics Democrats face amid blowback from liberals over the administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.
Harris, who presides over the Senate, is traveling to Indianapolis for a previously scheduled event. - An aide said Harris will communicate to Netanyahu her support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas and her commitment to seeing Israeli hostages returned safely.
- Harris will also express her concerns about the Palestinian civilians that have lost their lives to the Israeli retaliation.
Many Democrats are expected to boycott Netanyahu’s speech. In Harris’s absence, it would fall to Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to oversee the proceedings, but she will not attend.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is next in line, and he has agreed to preside.
In addition to meeting with Netanyahu this week, Biden will also meet with families of those who are being held hostage in Gaza.
There will be a heightened police presence on Capitol Hill for Netanyahu's speech. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent a letter to members saying there will be a “zero-tolerance” policy for disruptions and that offenders will be subject to prosecution. Former President Trump will host Netanyahu at Mar-a-lago on Friday.
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"Poll: Any Democratic presidential candidate will face an uphill battle," by Douglas E. Schoen and Carly Cooperman for The Hill.
"Zip it - GOP muzzles abortion talk," by Juan Williams for The Hill. |
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27 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 49 days until the second presidential debate.
105 days until the 2024 general election. 181 days until Inauguration Day 2025. |
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Wednesday - Biden gives an Oval Office address at 8 p.m. EDT.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a joint address to Congress in the evening.
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There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: jeasley@thehill.com | |
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