Kamala Harris has used her presidential acceptance speech to present herself as a leader who could unite all Americans to chart a “new way forward” and warned them of “extremely serious” consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in the White House.

Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party after former first lady Hillary Clinton.

The 59-year-old leader walked on stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Chants of “Yes You Can!” erupted before her remarks.

Taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago to accept her nomination, Ms. Harris, who was a tough prosecutor in California before becoming U.S. Vice President, said she is no stranger to unlikely journeys.

“On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination the United States,” she said.

She fondly remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States.

She said the November 5 election is the most important in America’s history.

“Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans,” she said in her 40-minute speech.

Vice President Harris outlined her plans for a “new way forward” if she’s elected to be the 47th president of the United States.

“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads – and listens. Who is realistic, Practical and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work,” Ms. Harris said.

She laid out the consequences of electing former president Trump, 78, to a second term.

“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious,” she warned.

She spoke about the “chaos and calamity” of his years in the Oval Office and also pointed to him questioning election results in 2020 when he lost his reelection bid to Biden.

“Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames,” she said.

Ms. Harris also highlighted that Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush-money case and that a federal jury in his civil defamation trial found that the former president had sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll.

“He was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse,” she said.

In describing her “unexpected” ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden decided to leave the race in July, Ms. Harris said that she is “no stranger to unlikely journeys.”

“America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” Ms. Harris said.

Ms. Harris said she remembers her mother every day and the values that she instilled in her and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling in the United States.

Her mother, she said, taught her to “never do anything half-assed.”

If elected, Ms. Harris would break one of the highest glass ceilings left for women in the United States – that of occupying the country’s top office.

She also wished her husband, Doug Emhoff, a happy anniversary at the top of her remarks.

Thursday was the couple’s 10th wedding anniversary.

She said she would ensure America strengthens and not abdicate its global leadership.

“I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and Artificial Intelligence, and that America-not China-wins the competition for the 21st century. And that we strengthen not abdicate our global leadership,” Ms. Harris, 59, said in her address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Ms. Harris, who will take on former president Trump in the November 5 election, said her Republican rival doesn’t fight for the middle class.

“Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. He will give them another round of tax breaks that will add five trillion dollars to the national debt,” she said.

Ms. Harris also called for reforming the broken immigration system.

“We can create an earned pathway to citizenship- And secure our border. America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and our values abroad,” she said.

Ms. Harris has said that, if elected the commander-in-chief of the US, she will ensure that the country always has the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, Israel can defend itself and Ukraine and NATO allies are not abandoned.

“And I will not cosy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim-Jong-Un, who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favours. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable—because he wants to be an autocrat,’” she said.

“As President, I will never waver in defence of America’s security and ideals. Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand—and where the United States of America belongs,’ she said.

Ms. Harris said as Vice President, she has confronted threats to security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened alliances, and engaged with brave troops overseas.

“As commander-in-chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. I will fulfil our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families,” she said.

“And I will always honour, and never disparage, their service and their sacrifice,” she said.

Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade America’s allies, she said.

Trump said Russia could “do whatever the hell they want”, she alleged.

Ms. Harris said five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, she met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade.

“I helped mobilise a global response— over 50 countries—to defend against Putin’s aggression. And as President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies,’ she said.

On the disastrous Gaza war, she said: “President Biden and I are working around the clock. Because now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done. Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.”

Trump reacted to Harris’ speech in real-time on Truth Social.

“IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME?” Trump posted.

The former president posted in rapid succession, criticizing Ms. Harris’ speech, saying “A lot of talk about childhood,” and “Too many ‘Thank yous,’ too rapidly said.” Trump repeatedly questioned why Ms. Harris hadn’t already accomplished the policy proposals she had put forward as part of her reelection campaign while serving as vice president.

“She said, ‘Chart a new way forward,’ but she’s had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM!” Trump wrote.

Her speech, at only 38 minutes, was the 12th-shortest in modern history, while her opponent Trump holds the record for the three longest acceptance speeches in American political history.

The Democratic National Convention, a four-day mega event which saw a tearful Joe Biden getting a farewell, and Kamala Harris making a surprise entry in a tan suit, will end today.

1. The fourth day will witness Kamala Harris deliver the biggest, most important speech of her political life as she accepts the Presidential nomination, the second woman in the party’s history to ever get nominated.

2. The groundwork for her performance has been laid by her boss, US President Joe Biden, who said “She is tough, experienced and has enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story.” Barack Obama tweaked his 2008 campaign “Yes We Can” to Yes, She Can”, to praise Ms Harris. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama termed Kamala Harris’s story as “the embodiment of stories we speak about (in) this country.”

3. Kamala Harris is expected to talk about her past experiences, and her life story from a successful lawyer to becoming the first Black, South Asian female Vice President in American history. The seasoned lawyer will present her case in front of the delegates at United Center Arena in Chicago.

4. From Barack and Michelle Obama to Bill Clinton, senior figures have warned all week that Ms Harris has a brutal fight on her hands to beat the 78-year-old Trump.

5. Tim Walz, the Minnesota Governor, yesterday, accepted the Vice President nomination. He called it the “honour of his life” and shared his upbringing in a middle-class family in Nebraska, how he learned from helping his family on the farm and his experience of teaching students. These stories are intended to connect with the larger middle-class American population that is reeling through an economic slowdown coupled with inflation and unemployment.

6. Mr Walz’s son, Gus, stole the spotlight on day 3 of the event. The 17-year-old who is neurodivergent and has ADHD, was overcome with emotion as he watched his father take the stage. With tears streaming down his face, Gus stood up and proudly pointed at his dad, exclaiming, “That’s my dad!”.

7. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey endorsed the party’s nominees. Ms Winfrey made a surprise entry yesterday and said “What we’re going to do is elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States. And let us choose joy!” Winfrey said, a day after former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle addressed the DNC.”

8. The chemistry between 59-year-old Harris and Walz and the noisy energy generated at their rallies is helping to fuel Democratic hopes that they can defeat Donald Trump.

9. A recent poll showed Kamala Harris holds a narrow lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. The four-point lead is a small but notable improvement for Democrats in the election race, a month after polls had shown then-presidential nominee Joe Biden and Trump in a dead heat.

10. Immigration is set to be a key issue in the upcoming Presidential elections. A slowdown in the economy which leads to unemployment and inflation, deeply impacts the attitude towards immigration. The immigrants fear a second Trump term, who has been a staunch hardliner on such issues. 

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“Donald Trump does not need traditional debate prep but will continue to meet with respected policy advisers and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard,” a spokesperson said. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Gearing up for his debate with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump has brought in the former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to help sharpen his attacks, the New York Times reported citing two people aware with Trump’s schedule.

She joined the former president Trump’s practice session at the latter’s private club and home, Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are set to face off in the ABC News debate on September 10.

Ms. Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party after her 2020 presidential run and has rebranded herself as a celebrity among Mr. Trump’s base of support, has long been friendly with Mr. Trump and was also speculated to be his running mate for some time.

Also Read: Trump season: On the 2024 U.S. Presidential election

Ms. Gabbard’s involvement in Mr. Trump’s debate preparation was partly because of her own performance in a 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate, when Ms. Gabbard eviscerated Ms. Harris in a memorable onstage encounter.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, confirmed Ms. Gabbard’s involvement in an email, NYT reported. Ms. Leavitt said the former President has “proven to be one of the best debaters in political history as evidenced by his knockout blow to Joe Biden. He does not need traditional debate prep but will continue to meet with respected policy advisers and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard, who successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2020.”

Though Mr. Trump says he “doesn’t need to” prepare for debates, the former President has spent more time this year practising for debates than he did in either 2016 or 2020, the New York Times reported citing advisers who have worked with him. He still doesn’t do traditional debate prep. Nobody played Mr. Biden in his sessions ahead of their CNN debate on June 27.

Ahead of his CNN debate with Mr. Biden in June, Mr. Trump sat with advisers for blocks of time or informally on plane trips and discussed potential topics and lines of questioning. In more formal sessions at Mar-a-Lago, aides have sat in chairs opposite him, playing the role of moderators. Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida asked especially combative questions, according to a person in the room.

Also Read: Healing a nation: On Kamala Harris and the U.S. Presidential race

Other lawmakers, including his eventual running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, have also spent time with Mr. Trump on policy topics. Joe Biden’s halting and disjointed performance in his June debate with Mr. Trump ultimately led him to him dropping out of the race. Mr. Trump’s aides are expected to handle preparations similarly for his debate with Ms. Harris, scheduled for September 10, NYT reported.

Notably, Ms. Gabbard brings some key qualities to Mr. Trump’s role: She’s a woman, at a moment when Mr. Trump is for a second time facing a woman as his general election rival; she’s a former House member, giving her policy experience; and, perhaps most importantly for Mr. Trump, she has been on a debate stage with Ms. Harris and delivered a stinging attack against her record as a prosecutor, New York Times reported.

However, Ms. Gabbard’s attacks on Ms. Harris in the July 2019 debate, all came from the left. She alleged that Ms. Harris, when she was a district attorney in San Francisco, “put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.” She also accused Ms. Harris of having obstructed evidence that could have let an innocent man leave death row, doing so only when a court “forced her to.”

Ms. Harris, on the other hand, replied that she was “proud of making a decision to not just give fancy speeches, or be in a legislative body and give speeches on the floor, but actually doing the work.” Following the debate, Ms. Harris mocked Ms. Gabbard’s low standing in the polls. Eventually, Ms. Harris dropped out of that race in December 2019, and Ms. Gabbard did the same months later, in March 2020.

Washington:

Google on Tuesday confirmed that hackers backed by Iran are targeting the campaigns of US presidential rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

A hacker group known as “APT42” linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps went after high-profile individuals and organizations in Israel and the United States, including government officials and political campaigns, according to a threat report released by Google.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s campaign said Tuesday it had been targeted by foreign hackers, days after rival Donald Trump’s campaign suggested that it had been hacked by Iran.

“In July, the campaign legal and security teams were notified by the FBI that we were targeted by a foreign actor influence operation,” a Harris campaign official told AFP.

“We have robust cybersecurity measures in place and are not aware of any security breaches of our systems resulting from those efforts.” 

Google’s threat analysis group continues to see unsuccessful attempts from APT42 to compromise personal accounts of individuals affiliated with President Joe Biden, Vice President Harris and Trump, the report said.

– Phishing –
The hacking group works by gleaning information about targets and tailoring “phishing” efforts to dupe victims into revealing log-in information for accounts like Gmail.

Examples given in the report included posing as a think tank or other credible contact to lure victims to fake video meeting landing pages, where log-in credentials are needed to take part.

While technical tools abound in hacker arsenals, some opt for “social engineering” tactics that trick people into clicking on booby-trapped links or logging in to realistic replicas of legitimate web pages.

Google said it disrupted APT42 attempts to hack the campaigns of Biden and Trump in 2020.

In May and June of this year, the Iranian hacker group’s targets included personal email accounts of about a dozen people affiliated with Biden or Trump and Google blocked numerous attempts by APT42 to log in to their accounts, according to the report.

Google also reported that the group got into the personal Gmail account of an influencial political consultant.

“APT42 is a sophisticated, persistent threat actor and they show no signs of stopping their attempts to target users and deploy novel tactics,” Google said.

“This spring and summer, they have shown the ability to run numerous simultaneous phishing campaigns, particularly focused on Israel and the United States.”

Google urged high-risk individuals associated with the coming election to remain vigilant and to take advantage of ramped-up defenses offered by the internet firm. 

The US State Department warned Iran on Monday of consequences over election interference following the Trump campaign’s announcement that it had been hacked.

The Trump campaign has suggested that Iran was behind the breach, which resulted in private documents being sent to reporters, including research the campaign used to vet running mate J.D. Vance.

It warned media outlets against reprinting the documents, saying that such action would be “doing the bidding of America’s enemies.”

The tone was different from 2016, when Trump said at a news conference that he hoped Russia would “find” Hillary Clinton’s emails, remarks widely viewed as encouraging further hacks of his election opponent.

US intelligence concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to support Trump, who has rejected the findings.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

US President Joe Biden last month announced his exit from the 2024 presidential race amid growing concerns over his health and a disastrous debate performance against rival Donald Trump.

After initially insisting he would stay in the race, the 81-year-old on July 21 announced his decision to step aside in a social media post while recovering from COVID-19 at his Delaware beach house.

Now, in an interview, Biden has shared his reasons for not seeking re-election. 

“When I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition president,” he said in an interview with CBS. “I can’t even say how old I am – it’s hard for me to get it out of my mouth.”

He also stated the importance of defeating Trump, the Republican nominee.

“Although it’s a great honour to be a president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I — most important thing you can do. And that is — we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” he said. 

This interview follows his exit announcement, in which he endorsed his deputy Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Harris is set to become the official Democratic nominee at the party’s national convention in Chicago later this month. 

When asked about his confidence in a peaceful transfer of power in January 2025, Biden stated, “If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all. He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously.” 

He referenced Trump’s previous comments, including warnings of a “bloodbath” and claims of a “stolen election”.

“You can’t love your country only when you win,” Biden said. 

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, may not in his wildest dreams have imagined that one day he would be picked as a running mate alongside a U.S. presidential candidate, yet that was indeed how the plot twist on the Democratic side played out at this tail end of the 2024 election season.

Mr. Walz, a man whose demeanour has been described as “folksy” and who has said on the record that Republican challenger and former President Donald Trump’s policy priorities were “weird”, may in fact turn out to be the perfect foil to Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for the race to the White House in November. Not only do the two Democratic leaders’ profiles offer a balance of gender and racial parity for their campaign, but their track records suggest that their popular appeal among the electorate may be as broad as the party could hope.

Ms. Harris is seen as a tough former prosecutor who speaks out strongly on core Democratic issues such as reproductive rights, and Mr. Walz has a reputation for flipping Republican districts in favour of Democrats by reaching out to independent and undecided voters.

In a sense, Ms. Harris’ pick was a close call, and many had assumed that the frontrunner in that race was Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania, a critical swing State whose votes the Democrats will certainly need if they’re to win the presidency. In this context, her selecting Mr. Walz says more about his personality and antecedents than it does about the calculus of regional politics for the election.

So, what does Mr. Walz bring to the table?

Small-town childhood

Born to a middle-class family — his father was a school teacher — in West Point, Nebraska, a small town, and graduating from high school from an even smaller town called Butte, Mr. Walz has said his values were shaped by such a rural upbringing: “A town that small had services like that and had a public school with a government teacher that inspired me to be sitting where I’m at today.”

He went on to graduate with a degree in social science education from Chadron State College in Nebraska and an MSc in educational leadership from Minnesota State University in 2001. Following the footsteps of his father, an Army veteran who served in the Korean War, Mr. Walz served in the Army National Guard after high school. He ended up serving in the Army for a total of 24 years, during which time he rose to the rank of command sergeant major and then retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005.

After completing his university education, he spent a year teaching in China as part of one of the first cohorts of American educators authorised by the U.S. government to teach in Chinese high schools — clearly an experience that had a lasting influence on him, as he is said to still speak Mandarin.

Democratic representation

It would have been expected that with this diverse and rich experience under his belt Mr. Walz would plunge deeper into the education sector and the teaching profession, yet that was not to be. The story goes that during the 2004 presidential election, Mr. Walz was teaching and took his class to a George W. Bush campaign event to give his students a sense of what democratic politics looked like. When the Secret Service at the event saw that some of his students were sporting clothing indicating that they were supporters of Bush’s Democratic opponent, John Kerry, they ejected the students from the rally, an act that angered Mr. Walz and propelled him towards joining politics as a local campaign manager for Mr. Kerry.

From that point on, there was no turning back for him. In 2006, Mr. Walz stood for Congress in Minnesota’s first district, “a heavily rural area covering the south of Minnesota where only one other Democrat had won in the preceding century”. Despite poor odds, Mr. Walz ended up winning with 53% of the vote. With a firm grip on this tough district, Mr. Walz was re-elected every two years there until 2018, when he retired to run for Governor of Minnesota. His consistent record of popularity with his constituents was reflected in the gubernatorial capacity as well, and his State voted for him not only in 2018 but also in 2022, making him the present incumbent.

Mr. Walz’s active career in the House of Representatives clearly underscores his credentials as a reliable progressive within the firmament of Democratic Party leaders. Not only did his former career choices of school teacher and army vet consistently win him respect among his peers and constituents over the years, but his voting record shows that he ranks among the Democratic Party mainstream — for example multiple votes over the years in favour of raising the minimum wage, supporting stem cell research, giving Medicare greater leeway to negotiate for affordable medicines, lowering tuition costs for university students and in backing reproductive rights.

He is not, however, entirely unfamiliar to controversies, personal and political, including, in the former category, an arrest, charge and related conviction in 1995, when he was still a teacher, for driving under the influence. He has since become a teetotaller. On the political front, as soon as his pick for Ms. Harris’ running mate was announced, Mr. Walz was targeted by the Republican campaign with comments such as “No one is more pro-China than Marxist Walz.”

Yet, the truth is that Mr. Walz, while no doubt cherishing his time teaching in China and even setting up a business with his wife that organised annual summer educational trips to that country, is fairly hard-nosed on his view about violations of human rights in the region.

He is known, for example, to have met with both the Dalai Lama and high-profile Hong Kong democracy activist, Joshua Wong prior, to the latter’s arrest, when Mr. Walz was a Congressman. Reports note that during his time in Congress, Mr. Walz spent more than a decade serving on the Executive Commission on China, described as “a body focused on scrutinising the Chinese government’s human rights abuses”.

Safe pick

While it is expected that the Harris-Walz duo will deliver, in what remains of this election season, a policy agenda and campaign effort that truly reflects the full power and value set of the Democratic Party as it stands today — and that matters for complex issues such as immigration reform and job creation — it remains to be seen whether either of them commands a sufficiently broad recognition among voters that could rival the reputation of Mr. Trump. The voters’ choice will, however, set the tenor for the brand of politics that Americans want to see for the next four years — continuing polarisation across issues, or genuine attempts to build unity across the partisan divide.

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has agreed to debate his Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris on September 10. The showdown is set to be hosted by ABC, with additional debates proposed for September 4 and September 25 on Fox and NBC, respectively.

This will be the first face-off between the two rivals, with polls indicating a closely contested race. 

Trump vs Harris: What polls predict

Ipsos poll

A recent Ipsos poll published on August 9, shows Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump 42 per cent to 37 per cent for the November 5 elections. This shows growth in her popularity since a July 22-23 Reuters/Ipsos survey, which found her up 37 per cent to 34 per cent over Trump.

In a separate poll, Ipsos found Harris leading Trump 42 per cent to 40 per cent in the seven states where the election was closest in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

YouGov poll

A CBS/YouGov poll released on August 4 shows Kamala Harris levelling up with Donald Trump. She has erased Trump’s growing lead since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid. The poll indicates Harris has a 1 per cent advantage over Trump nationwide, compared to Trump’s previous five-point edge over Biden. In swing states, Harris and Trump are equal. 

Moreover, the poll shows only 51 per cent of respondents thought Trump was mentally capable of the presidency, compared to 64 per cent for Harris.

Marist poll

An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows Harris has a 51-48 per cent edge over Trump among key demographics such as Black voters, white women with college degrees and women who identify as political independents. Independent women voters are crucial swing voters. Harris has made significant inroads with this group, leading Trump by 9 points (53-44 per cent).

The poll also states that Harris has made significant gains in suburban areas and among white voters overall, which has helped her improve her standing compared to earlier polls. 

However, Trump still maintains an advantage on economic issues, leading Harris by 3 points (51-48 per cent). Trump also leads Harris on handling immigration, with a 52-46 per cent advantage. 

Meanwhile, on the issue of abortion, Harris has a clear advantage, leading Trump by 15 points. 

Kamala Harris, who entered the presidential race on July 21 after receiving President Joe Biden’s endorsement, has selected Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. This move comes after Biden folded his campaign and exited the race following a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27.

Harris and Walz debuted their joint campaign at a rally in Philadelphia, marking the beginning of their bid to take on Republican Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, in the upcoming presidential election.

Washington:

Donald Trump questioned Wednesday whether Democrat Kamala Harris is really Black or is using race as a political convenience in an interview that sent shockwaves through the 2024 presidential contest.

“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black,” Trump told a panel of interviewers at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago.

“And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” he said of Harris, who is the first Black, female, and South-Asian-heritage vice president in US history.

“I respect either one but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she became a Black person.”

The provocative comments by the Republican presidential nominee were the latest in a stream of ratcheted up personal attacks by the 78-year-old on Harris, and follow his multiple remarks this week in which he accused Harris — who is married to a Jewish-American — of being anti-Semitic.

President Joe Biden’s White House swiftly responded to Trump’s comments, calling them “insulting.”

“No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first black woman to hold the position, told reporters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A historian who has correctly predicted the result of nine US elections has now weighed in on the Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris fight.

Allan Lichtman, often dubbed the “Nostradamus of US presidential elections”, makes his predictions based on his “13 keys to the White House”.

The method consists of 13 true or false questions, and if six or more keys go against the incumbent party, the 77-year-old American University historian predicts their defeat. If fewer than six went against it, it would win. 

The keys assess various factors, including economic performance, social stability, and incumbent charisma. Through careful analysis spanning historical data since former US president Abraham Lincoln’s era, Lichtman has crafted a predictive model that transcends conventional methods used by traditional psephologists.

Allan Lichtman’s “13 Keys To The White House”

From Ronald Reagan’s re-election triumph amid economic recession to Bill Clinton’s victory against George HW Bush, Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted crucial poll contests in the US.

The 13 keys to the White House as designed by him are as follows: 

Party Mandate: Post-midterm elections, the incumbent party secures more US House of Representatives seats than in the previous midterms.

Nomination Contest: There’s no significant challenge to the incumbent party’s nomination.

Incumbency: The sitting president represents the incumbent party.

Third-party Factor: There’s no noteworthy third-party or independent campaign.

Short-term Economic Stability: The economy doesn’t face recession during the election period.

Long-term Economic Growth: Real per capita economic growth equals or surpasses the average growth of the preceding two terms.

Policy Shift: The incumbent administration enacts major alterations in national policy.

Social Stability: There’s no prolonged social unrest throughout the term.

Scandal-Free: The incumbent administration remains free from major scandals.

Foreign/Military Mishaps: No significant failures occur in foreign or military affairs under the incumbent administration.

Foreign/Military Triumphs: The incumbent administration achieves significant successes in foreign or military matters.

Incumbent Charm: The incumbent party’s candidate possesses charisma or enjoys national hero status.

Challenger Appeal: The opposing party’s candidate lacks charisma or national hero status.

Donald Trump Or Kamala Harris, Who Will Win US Polls?

Allan Lichtman currently favours US Vice-President and Democrat Kamala Harris over her Republican rival Donald Trump. He told News Nation that he believes “a lot would have to go wrong for Harris to lose.”

Democrats, with Harris being the likely nominee after Joe Biden quit the reelection race, currently hold six of the 13 keys, according to his prediction. These include a primary contest, short-term economy, long-term economy, policy change, no scandal, and no challenger charisma.

“Right now, Democrats have lost three keys” by switching to Harris, he told News Nation. 

He said Democrats lost the “party mandate” key due to big losses in the 2022 mid-term elections. He also said Harris has lost the “charisma” and “incumbency” keys.

I plan to make my official prediction in August after the Democratic convention.
See my assessment below below on the 13 Keys Tracker on where The Keys stand NOW. Please listen to our LIVE show on 7–25–24, linked in the comments below, where we detail every Key. pic.twitter.com/pJpkpa3SzW

— Allan Lichtman (@AllanLichtman) July 26, 2024

Under his prediction model, Democrats, however, would have to lose three more keys in order for him to predict a Harris loss. But he says that’s not likely to happen.

He has said that he plans to make his official prediction for the 2024 White House race after the Democratic convention in August.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris
| Photo Credit: AP

Kamala Harris, the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party, has called herself the underdog in the race to the White House but expressed confidence that she would win in November due to her people-powered campaign.

In her first fundraiser since becoming her party’s candidate for president, Ms. Harris told supporters that this year’s election was a choice between two visions for the country — one looking toward the future and one that wants to undo the country’s progress.

“We are the underdogs in this race. Level set, ok. We are the underdogs in this race, but this is a people-powered campaign,” Vice President Harris said, addressing a group of 800 fundraisers in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

“This is a people-powered campaign and we have momentum,” Ms. Harris, 59 said.

During the fundraiser on July 27, she raised USD 1.4 million as against the original goal of USD 400,000.

Amidst loud applause from the audience, she said that her campaign has “earned the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.”

“What kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law or do we want to live in a country of chaos, fear and hate?” she asked as she continued to attack her Republican rival Donald Trump, 78. She hoped that former president Trump would agree to do a debate with her.

“You may have seen he just pulled out of our debate. I hope he reconsiders because we have a lot to talk about,” Harris, who has Indian roots, said.

In her speech, she described her background as a prosecutor.

“In those roles, 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,” she said.

She alleged that Trump was spreading lies against her.

“You may have noticed, Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record. And some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it’s just plain weird. I mean that’s the box you put that in,” she said.