By NBC News
What’s happening on the campaign trail today
Vice President Kamala Harris scored the backing of former President Barack Obama today, capping off a week of high-profile endorsements. She now boasts the majority of delegates to the Democratic National Convention and support from party leaders.
Former President Donald Trump will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mar-a-Lago today. Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden and Harris in separate White House meetings yesterday, touching on Israel's right to self-defense and concerns about the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, has set her sights on the general election, saying she's "ready" to debate Trump on the scheduled Sept. 10 date. The Trump campaign says it won't commit to debating Harris until she's formally nominated, prompting accusations from Harris that Trump is "backpedaling" on the deal with ABC.
39m ago / 7:37 PM GMT+8
Copied
Share
Trump zeroes in on ‘border czar Harris’ attack as her campaign pushes back
Sahil Kapur and Jane C. Timm
Trump is going on offense by painting new presidential campaign rival Harris as the face of a chaotic U.S. border, seizing on an assignment President Joe Biden gave her in 2021 to work with Central American countries to tackle the “root causes” of migration.
Trump labeled the vice president the “border czar” no fewer than six times in a fiery rally speech Thursday in North Carolina, centering his criticism of her on the overwhelmed asylum system. “Under border czar Harris, illegal aliens are pouring in by the millions and millions and millions,” Trump said, drawing jeers from the crowd as he called Harris “crazy.”
The term, which Republicans has used widely to criticize Harris, traces back to March 2021, when Harris was charged with addressing the surge of Central American migrants, who came mostly from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, where violence and organized crime have driven millions to flee the region. The terms “czar” and “border czar” did not appear in White House materials, but they caught on among critics.
SHOW MORE
1h ago / 7:02 PM GMT+8
Copied
Share
Harris fundraising call raises $2 million, organizers say
+2
Charles Herman, Stephanie Ruhle and Megan Lebowitz
A fundraising call last night targeting white women to mobilize for the Harris campaign raised more than $2 million, according to organizers.
Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, said more than 100,000 people joined the Zoom call. Watts said so many people logged onto the Zoom that organizers moved late arrivals to YouTube after the Zoom conference call crashed twice.
SHOW MORE
1h ago / 7:00 PM GMT+8
Copied
Share
Rep. Emilia Sykes, a former gymnast, re-ups ad with Olympics-themed twist
Henry J. Gomez
Reporting from Ohio
Rep. Emilia Sykes, a vulnerable Democrat from Ohio and former competitive gymnast, has re-released an ad featuring her beam routine to coincide with the start of the Paris Olympics.
“In elections, you know the routine: The other side will make up lies about me, and they’ll put them on air,” Sykes says in the 30-second spot, which first aired in 2022 and is being backed this time by a five-figure digital advertising buy. “They’re hoping you’ll forget that I worked with both parties to raise pay, keep us safe and cut taxes. And they definitely don’t want you to know that I have a plan to lower costs and keep more money in your pocket.”
“They’ll twist everything to scare you. But the only thing that’ll stick,” Sykes adds, as the camera shows her completing a perfect spin off the beam, “is my landing.”
SHOW MORE
1h ago / 7:00 PM GMT+8
Copied
Share
Obama endorses Harris for president in whirlwind week of party support
+3
Rebecca Shabad, Carol E. Lee, Jonathan Allen and Monica Alba
Reporting from Washington, D.C.
Obama endorsed Harris for president today, just days after she launched her campaign after Biden withdrew from the race.
“Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” Obama says in a video that shows Harris getting a call from the Obamas.
Michelle Obama says in the approximately one-minute video: “I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.”