2024 Election Latest: The Obamas endorse Harris and Trump to meet with Netanyahu

Jul 26, 2024 11:28 AM - 1995 words

By The Associated Press

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats.

The endorsement comes a day after Harris and President Joe Biden each met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is also expected to meet with Netanyahu on Friday. It’s the first time in nearly four years that Trump and Netanyahu have met.

Follow the AP’s Election-2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here's the Latest:

Blinken to celebrate Biden legacy, reassure allies in Asia after president drops out of 2024 race

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case for the Biden administration’s expanded commitment to Asia and the Indo-Pacific as he visits Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia this week and next.

The trip comes as the 2024 U.S. presidential election campaign heats up after a series of bombshell developments upended the race.

Blinken, who has already modified his travel schedule twice since the trip was announced just hours after President Joe Biden made his decision not to seek re-election, arrives in Vientiane, Laos, on Saturday for the annual ASEAN Regional Forum.

The security conference gathers the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and regional powers like China, Australia, Japan, Russia, South Korea and India.

▶Read more about the secretary of state’s plans after Biden dropped out of the race

Soda Pop Wars: Kentucky governor apologizes for barb — but not to Sen. JD Vance

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, one of the leading contenders to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, apologized this week for something he said in lambasting Ohio Sen. JD Vance as inauthentically Appalachian — but the apology wasn’t to Vance.

Beshear, at his regularly scheduled news conference at the Kentucky State Capitol on Thursday, pulled out a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew and apologized to the makers of the soft drink. Earlier in the week, the Republican vice-presidential nominee had said at a rally in Ohio that he’d had a Diet Mountain Dew that day and fully expected to be called a “racist” because of it.

Beshear, in a CNN interview, called the comment “weird” and added: “Who drinks Diet Mountain Dew?”

On Thursday he retreated — but only a little bit.

▶Read more about who — or what — Beshear apologized to here

What’s in a name? Republican VP nominee JD Vance has had many of them

When it comes to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s name, it’s complicated.

The senator from Ohio introduced himself to the world in 2016, when he published his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” under the name J.D. Vance, with periods between the initials for James David. Vance explained it wasn’t the first iteration of his name. Over the course of his 39 years, Vance’s first, middle and last names have all been altered.

As Vance is being introduced to voters across the country as Donald Trump’s running mate, his name has been the source of questions, including why he no longer uses periods in JD.

▶Read more about the different versions of the Republican vice presidential candidate’s name

Harris makes pre-taped ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ appearance

Vice President Kamala Harris crashed the season finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” urging Americans to vote in an appearance that was taped before President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

The episode caps the series’ ninth season and is streaming Friday on Paramount+.

It opens with an announcer saying that programming is being interrupted for an “extra special ‘Drag Race’ viewing party.”

“Hi, everyone. It’s Kamala Harris. Each day, we’re seeing our rights and freedoms under attack, including the right of everyone to be who they are, love who they love — openly and with pride,” the vice president says.

She’s seated with actor Cheyenne Jackson and surrounded by other celebrities and stars from the show, Harris continues: “So, as we fight back against these attacks, no one is alone.”

“We are all in this together, and your vote is your power, so please make sure your voice is heard this November and register to vote,” the vice president concludes.

That prompts Jackson to proclaim, “Can I get an amen?” and Harris and others happily cry, “Amen!”

Harris will carry Biden’s economic record into the election. She hopes to turn it into an asset

A key question is looming for Vice President Kamala Harris as she edges closer to gaining the Democratic presidential nomination: Can she turn the Biden-Harris economic record into a political advantage in a way that President Joe Biden failed to do?

In some ways, her task would seem straightforward: The administration oversaw a vigorous rebound from the pandemic recession, one that shrank the U.S. unemployment rate to a half-century low of 3.4% in early 2023.

Yet the cumulative jump in average prices over the past three years — roughly 20%, only partly offset by higher paychecks — has contributed to a general unease about the country’s direction.

▶Read more about how Biden’s economic record could impact Harris’ campaign

Kamala Harris: A Baptist with a Jewish husband and a faith that traces back to MLK and Gandhi

Black clergy who know Vice President Kamala Harris, now the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded her religious faith and social justice values.

A Baptist married to a Jewish man, she’s inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church.

Religious leaders and theologians say Harris’ candidacy has special symbolic significance following President Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race. Not only because she would be the nation’s first woman president, but she’s a Black American with South Asian roots and her two cultures are intrinsically linked.

▶Read more about the religious significance of Harris’ candidacy

How might Netanyahu’s visit to the US affect cease-fire efforts?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States comes as negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war and recover hostages held in Gaza inch forward — with no immediate deal in sight.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States continue to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased cease-fire agreement that would stop the fighting and free the hostages. The negotiations have repeatedly hit obstacles over disputes about the governance of post-war Gaza and how enduring the cease-fire will be.

Netanyahu’s vowing “total victory” in Gaza to thunderous congressional applause Wednesday risks inflaming tensions with Hamas at a time when talks are delicate. But he also came under increased U.S. pressure to engage sincerely in cease-fire efforts. Critics say Netanyahu is stalling during negotiations so that he can draw out the war for his own political gain.

A team of Israeli negotiators that was meant to travel to Qatar for another round of talks was held back Thursday and may be dispatched next week.

▶Read more about how Netanyahu’s visit might impact the talks

Harris says she’s ready to debate Trump and accuses him of ‘backpedaling’ from Sept. 10 faceoff

Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Thursday that she’s “ready to debate Donald Trump.” She accused Trump of “backpedaling” away from a previous agreement for a debate hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10.

“I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on the debate stage,” she said after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a trip to Indiana and Texas.

The Sept. 10 debate was one of two debates that President Joe Biden and Trump had agreed on. The first one was hosted by CNN on June 27, but Biden has since dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his successor.

Trump has said he would prefer to shift the debate to Fox News, but he would be willing to face off with Harris more than once.

▶ Read more about a possible debate between Harris and Trump

Harris tries to thread the needle on Gaza after meeting with Netanyahu

Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee for president, is attempting to bridge divides within the party over the war in Gaza, emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself while also focusing on alleviating Palestinian suffering.

She delivered remarks after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that reflected a delicate balancing act on one of the country’s most divisive political issues.

Some Democrats have been critical of President Joe Biden’s steadfast support for Israel despite the increasing death toll among Palestinians, and Harris is trying to unite her party for the election battle with Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies,” she said. “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”In addition, Harris made a more explicit appeal to voters who have been frustrated by the ceaseless bloodshed, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.“To everyone who has been calling for a cease-fire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you, and I hear you,” she said.

▶ Read more about Harris’ meeting with the Israeli prime minister

Netanyahu will meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, mending a years-long rift

As president, Donald Trump went well beyond his predecessors in fulfilling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top wishes from the United States. Yet by the time Trump left the White House, relations between the two had broken down after Netanyahu rapidly congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 presidential victory.

On Friday, the two men will meet face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years in a test of whether the relationship can be mended. Both have an interest in getting past their differences.

For Trump and Netanyahu, Friday’s meeting at Mar-a-Lago will highlight for their home audiences their depiction of themselves as strong leaders who have gotten big things done on the world stage and can again.

▶ Read more about the Florida meeting and the rift between the two men

Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats.

The endorsement, announced Friday in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris builds momentum as their party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.

It also highlights the friendship and potentially historic link between the nation’s first Black president and the first woman, first Black woman and first person of Asian descent to serve as vice president, who is now vying to break those barriers at the presidential rank.

▶ Read more about the Obamas’ endorsement and what it means

Harris’ campaign joins TikTok

The handle “Kamala HQ” went live on Tuesday, following President Joe Biden’s campaign unveiling its own TikTok account on Super Bowl Sunday in February.

Both used the platform to reach young voters, despite the president signing a law that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell it or face a U.S. ban.

In her account’s first post, a grinning Harris says into the camera, “I thought I would get out here myself.”