Harris speaks at White House; Democrats see $90 million fundraising blitz

The Democrats’ digital fundraising website ActBlue has raised over $90 million since Sunday, the day Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, according to a website that tracks the company’s live fundraising ticker.

The site shows that on Sunday, ActBlue processed over $66 million in campaign donations to Democrats. It helped raise an additional $24 million on Monday. ActBlue raised over $12 million on Sunday during the 8:00 PM ET hour alone.

ActBlue boasted on Sunday that the Harris campaign launch was the company’s “biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”

The Harris campaign has said they alone have raised over $50 million since the Biden endorsement.

— Brian Schwartz

Mark Pincus, the billionaire founder of video game company Zynga, is unsure where he stands on Kamala Harris as President Biden’s replacement in the race against Donald Trump.

“At this point, I’m undecided,” Pincus told CNBC on Sunday.

In a follow-up on Monday, Pincus told CNBC that he feels “confused” about the election and will most likely “sit this all out.”

He added that while he is open to Harris taking the top of the ticket, he is “waiting to hear her platform” and would prefer the new nominee get selected via an open convention.

As the pressure campaign built on Biden to bow out of the race, Pincus, who has a net worth of $1.4 billion according to Forbes’ Monday estimate, was one of the voices in the Democratic megadonor class who went on the record and called on Biden to step aside.

Pincus said he wants to see a Democratic candidate with an “Obama-like, inspiring platform that speaks to innovation and growth and a level playing field that invests in education and healthcare along with secure borders, talent-focused immigration and defending U.S. interests abroad.”

— Brian Schwartz & Rebecca Picciotto

Billionaire Democratic megadonor Mike Bloomberg stopped short of endorsing Harris on Monday in a social media post, a day after Biden dropped out of the race.

Bloomberg, who has given millions of dollars in support of Biden and Democrats this election cycle, said he believes the party should take the time to engage with voters on what they want weeks before the convention in Chicago.

“Democrats now have a chance for a fresh new start, and while some elected leaders and party officials make their endorsements, there are still four weeks before the party’s more than 4,000 delegates convene in Chicago,” Bloomberg wrote. “That is more than enough time for the party to take the pulse of voters, especially in battleground states, to determine who is best positioned to win in November and lead the country over the next four years.”

Bloomberg has a net worth of just over $104 billion, according to Forbes.

— Brian Schwartz

With Harris now the Democratic frontrunner for president, social media is reviving one of the vice president’s most viral moments.

The meme was born in May 2023 when Harris, speaking about the important role parents and grandparents play in the lives of young people, recalled a quote from her mother.

“She would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people,’ ” Harris said.

” ‘You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,’ ” she quoted her mother saying.

The quote, and Harris’ unique delivery of the line, became an instant meme. Now, her supporters are using coconut and palm tree emojis to show their support.

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz posted a picture of himself climbing a coconut tree, captioned “Madam Vice President, we are ready to help.”

After endorsing Harris as the Democratic nominee, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker similarly posted “You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?”

Even Harris’ campaign is riffing on her viral moment. The bio of the @KamalaHQ account on X states simply: “Providing context.”

– Josephine Rozzelle

Harris praised Biden during brief remarks at an NCAA celebration held on the South Lawn of the White House, her first public address since the president endorsed her to replace him in the race against Trump.

“President Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishments over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said. “We are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”

It is rare for a vice president to hold events on the South Lawn of the White House. Vice presidents often host events at the Naval Observatory, the official vice presidential residence.

As Harris delivered her remarks, Biden was still isolating with Covid at his beach house in Delaware. Harris said Biden is “feeling much better and recovering fast.”

Biden is expected to address the nation about his decision to drop out of the presidential race later this week.

— Rebecca Picciotto

More than 300 of Harris’ allies, including dozens of her past bundlers from her failed 2020 Democratic primary campaign for president, huddled on a private Zoom call this morning to plot ways they can raise more money for the Harris campaign now that Biden has dropped out of the race.

The call, which lasted just more than 10 minutes, was organized by longtime Harris advisors Stephanie Daily Smith and Katie Prisco-Buxbaum.

Smith, Prisco-Buxbaum and Sheila Nix, Harris’ campaign chief of staff, were on the call. CNBC gained access to the call after receiving an invitation from a source.

Eleni Kounalakis, California’s lieutenant governor and a Harris supporter, was also on the call. “The invitation to join this call spans those who have been major, major bundlers to those who have been close friends,” said Kounalakis on the call.

Smith made it clear what she wants the group of more than 300 attendees to do: raise more money.

“Alright, I want to launch right into the purpose of the call,” said Smith. “A lot of people are asking right now ‘what can I do?’ ‘What do I need to do in order to make sure that we are doing whatever it takes to ensure the vice president is solidifying the nomination as quickly as possible?'”

“What I’m going to ask everybody on this call to do is to focus on giving your donations. Using the current [donation] link that you have,” she said.

“More importantly, we need every single person on this call to email elected officials and friends and contacts of Democratic organizations to ask them to support and to endorse the vice president for president. This is the most important time for us all to collaborate together and to unite together. The quicker we can unite, the quicker we can move forward,” said Smith.

The Harris campaign has said it has raised at least $50 million since Biden dropped out yesterday and endorsed Harris.

— Brian Schwartz

Kamala Harris is planning to head to the campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, to say “hello” to staff, one day after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her to replace him.

— Rebecca Picciotto

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Harris is set to deliver remarks at the White House during a celebratory event for the NCAA championship teams of the 2023-24 season.

It is Harris’ first public appearance addressing the nation since Biden endorsed her to replace him in the presidential race against Trump, minutes after his announcement that he would drop out.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Movie studio heiress Abigail Disney tells CNBC she will resume donating to Democrats, now that Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris for president.

“Yes, I will resume supporting” Democrats, she says in an email to CNBC. Disney has not replied to follow-up questions about how much she plans to give.

Disney is the granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, and her decision, first reported by CNBC, to close her checkbook to Democrats until Biden withdrew from the race sent shockwaves through the campaign finance world several weeks ago.

Disney has also said she thinks Harris could be a great nominee for the party.

“We have an excellent Vice President. If Democrats would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s (and let’s not kid ourselves about where race and gender figure in that inequity) and if Democrats can find a way to stop quibbling and rally around her, we can win this election by a lot,” Disney said earlier this month.

Disney has been a longtime supporter of Democrats. She gave $50,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate political action committee in April, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. The PAC has given $35,000 to Democrats running for congressional seats, according to data from OpenSecrets.

Disney gave $150,000 in 2014 to Planned Parenthood Votes, a PAC affiliated with the health care nonprofit, according to OpenSecrets. That PAC this election cycle has spent more than $400,000 supporting Democrats, including $26,000 for Biden.

– Brian Schwartz

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has backed Kamala Harris, quelling any rumblings that she would launch a challenger presidential bid.

“She’s a former prosecutor, a champion for reproductive freedom, and I know that she’s got Michigan’s back,” Whitmer wrote in a statement. “I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States.”

The endorsement from Whitmer, a governor in a key battleground state, officially puts her on the list of contenders to become Harris’ running mate.

Her backing came alongside several endorsements from other VP hopefuls like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Tony Evers — the Democratic governor of Wisconsin, a key battleground state — is backing Harris, he announced in a post on X.

“Vice President Kamala Harris is a tenacious leader who has vigorously defended our democracy, fought to protect the freedoms we hold dead, and worked tirelessly to do the right thing and deliver for us,” Evers wrote.

“I’m excited today to endorse Vice President Harris as our nominee for President of the United States. She can beat Donald Trump, and I’m going to do everything I can between now and November 5th to help make sure she does,” he said.

– Josephine Rozzelle

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has officially endorsed Kamala Harris to take over the top of the Democratic ticket from President Biden.

“Vice President Harris has proven, at every point in her career, that she possesses the skills, strength, and character to lead this country and the vision to better the lives of all Americans,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I believe that she is the most qualified and capable person to be President.”

Pritzker joins Govs. Andy Beshear and Roy Cooper in endorsing Harris, all of whom had previously been floated as potential presidential candidates to replace Biden as pressure mounted on the president to drop out of the race.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told a House panel that “we failed” to maintain the agency’s “solemn mission to protect our nation’s leaders” during the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13.

“We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13th does not happen again,” said Cheatle, who is testifying under subpoena before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.”

– Dan Mangan

That sure didn’t take long.

A young man was spotted on a Washington, D.C. metro train in the morning wearing a “Harris 2024” t-shirt just a day after President Joe Biden shocked the political world by withdrawing from the presidential election and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democrat to take his place atop the party ticket.

NBC News Supreme Court reporter Lawrence Hurley snapped the photo of the man and his shirt and tweeted it out.

“I’m about to order mine,” one follower of Hurley’s replied.

In addition to the apparently very quickly-printed shirt, the “Biden for President” campaign committee was officially renamed the Harris for President committee. The move maintains the team’s infrastructure, staff and — crucially — its nearly $100 million in cash reserves to deploy for Harris’ candidacy.

– Dan Mangan

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is testifying to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Trump on July 13.

Cheatle and her agency have faced intense criticism for failing to stop the shooting of Trump and others at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania.

She has refused to resign in the face of calls to do so by committee chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and other lawmakers.

– Dan Mangan

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has endorsed Harris, writing in a post on X that the vice president has the “experience, record, vision, and wisdom to unify the country.”

“The American people deserve a champion who will continue the progress of the Biden-Harris Administration, and that’s why I am proud to voice my full support and off my full endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Nominee for President,” he wrote.

Moore, a rising star of the Democratic Party, said that Harris was one of the first people to call him after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March.

– Josephine Rozzelle

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the number two Senate Democrat, has officially endorsed Harris to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.

“Proud to endorse my former Senate colleague & good friend, Kamala Harris,” Durbin wrote in a post on X. “VP Harris was a critical partner in building the Biden record over the past four years. Count me in with Kamala Harris for President.”

He is the next high-ranking Capitol Hill Democrat to back Harris as the party rallies around her. Several Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, have yet to issue endorsements.

— Rebecca Picciotto

If she were to be elected president, Vice President Kamala Harris would be a boon for American businesses and the stock market, CNBC’s Jim Cramer says.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Cramer replied when CNBC’s Carlos Quintanilla asked whether Harris would be a “net positive” for business.

“What she offers is a level of understanding about the greatness of the Megacaps that Biden wanted no part of,” Cramer added.

President Joe Biden’s aggressive approach toward corporate America has been a cornerstone of his economic agenda, pledging to fight against big money interests to protect workers and consumer. Cramer sees the switch to Harris as the Democratic frontrunner for president as an opportunity to tone down that rhetoric.

Cramer also drew a contrast between what he sees as the increasingly populist message of Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“This nativist plan from Trump is so bad for all our companies to do business overseas,” he said.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Two of the House’s top Democrats have formally endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in the race against Donald Trump.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Ca., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Ma., came out in support of Harris. Their endorsements serve as the next signal that the Democratic Party is beginning to coalesce around their new frontrunner candidate after several weeks of infighting, as Biden faced pressure to step down.

“I know Kamala to be a fierce advocate for working families and a tough-minded prosecutor who knows right from wrong,” Aguilar said in his Monday statement.

Clark echoed Aguilar’s ringing endorsement: “I’m proud to stand with Kamala and excited to get to work to elect her!”

The number one Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has yet to endorse Harris — a notable silence as the party rallies around the vice president.

— Rebecca Picciotto

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, 67, emphasized that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is “ready to run this race” to win the presidency, while holding his cards close on whether he would consider becoming her running-mate.

“I am confident that she can win this election, because she has to,” he said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Asked whether he would consider joining her ticket as running-mate, he said, “I appreciate people talking about me, but I think the focus right now needs to be about her this week, and she needs to concentrate on making sure she secures this nomination.”

Harris has received the endorsement of current U.S. President Joe Biden, who dropped his re-election bid on Sunday, but must still formally clinch the Democratic ticket.

Cooper stressed “the vice presidential conversation needs to occur later,” while pledging that he will work to support her campaign.

— Ruxandra Iordache

High-profile independent Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in May but has the option to re-register with the faction, has ruled out throwing his hat in the ring for the top White House job during the race this fall.

“No, no. I’m not intending to run for any political office,” he confirmed during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stressing that he will be retiring from the Senate.

He expressed disappointment over the lack of a primary run-off following U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid, which he said would have been an opportunity to witness the “cream of the crop of the new generation.”

“It would have been great to see what their thoughts were,” he noted.

Asked whether he too would now endorse Harris, he said he wishes to “see what her platform is and her position.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, 46, formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, addressing questions on whether he would be willing to join as her running-mate.

“I fully endorse Kamla Harris,” Beshear said during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can to support her.”

Asked whether he would agree to step in as Harris’ running-mate, if the position were offered, he said, “Let me first say I love my job, I love serving the people of Kentucky … The only way I would consider something other than this job is if I believe I could further help my people.”

He stressed that Harris’ record is one of “standing up for people.”

“I think if somebody calls you on that, what you do is at least listen. And I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is, what they look like. Because I want you to know, JD Vance ain’t from here,” he said with reference to Donald Trump’s running-mate.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Rep. James Clyburn (D-South Carolina), who has endorsed Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, has underlined the strength of her debating and prosecutorial skills as assets in the upcoming campaigning period.

“She can debate. I would look forward to seeing her … on the stage, in a debate,” he said Monday during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“She is well equipped to prosecute, I’m going to emphasize, to prosecute the case against Donald Trump,” he said, adding that Trump has previously been defeated by prosecutors — a likely reference to the former U.S. president’s legal battles — and “he will lose against this one.”

Harris has a background in law and previously served as an attorney.

— Ruxandra Iordache

New York City’s Democratic mayor has praised Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s potential nominee, citing her prosecutorial background.

“I think that she is the voice that the party needs right now,” he said Monday during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stressing that Harris’ prosecutorial background as a former attorney would help strike “the balance of public safety and justice” currently needed in the U.S.

He noted that the public needs to see a candidate engaging with “real” issues such as housing and securing national borders.

“Moving to this very important position, I think she’s ready for it,” he said of Harris.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris held multiple phone conversations with President Joe Biden before he announced he would step down from the presidential race, according to NBC News reporting citing a source familiar with her day.

Wearing a Howard University sweatshirt, workout sweats and sneakers, Harris spent more than 10 hours at the VP residence, placing calls to shore up the support of “over 100 party leaders, Members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, and leaders of advocacy and civil rights organizations,” the source said.

The vice president arranged meals for aides, enjoying pizza and salad for dinner — with Harris’ own pie coming with her go-to topping of anchovies.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is “well poised” to clinch the Democrat nomination, after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed her campaign, a former chief spokesperson to Harris said.

“I do think that she is well poised to lock up this nomination,” Symone Sanders-Townsend told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stressing that campaigning against former President Donald Trump is “not going to be an easy race.”

Sanders-Townsend underlined that Harris was already doing the work to shore up backing for her platform as of Sunday, when she formally launched her campaign.

“The vice president was on the phone all day long yesterday, asking people for their support, not just expecting to get it,” Sanders-Townsend said, noting that Harris’ loyalty to Biden throughout the latter’s re-election bid will play into her own campaign.

“Joe Biden is a remarkable man, he is selfless, and frankly what he did yesterday, very few elected officials in this country would be willing to do,” Sanders-Townsend added.

— Ruxandra Iordache

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz views U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as an “experienced and competent politician,” a government spokesperson said Monday, according to Reuters.

The spokesperson added that Scholz has previously met with Harris on several occasions and established “a certain closeness and familiarity.”

Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to renounce his re-election bid and endorse Harris, as a sign of his prioritizing national interests over personal ones.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Moscow is closely monitoring political developments in the United States and cannot yet give an assessment of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as a contender for the top job in the White House, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to Google-translated comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass.

He noted that Moscow had observed no contribution to U.S.-Russian ties from Harris, while claiming that the Kremlin does not anticipate “anything good for Russia” from the outgoing U.S. administration, in which she has served.

Peskov added that the Kremlin was not surprised by Biden’s decision to pull out of the electoral race, noting that the future of Russian-American relations, which are “currently experiencing the worst period in history,” is very important.

The relationship between Moscow and the White House has severely deteriorated since Russia’s February 2022 large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Washington has backed with funds and military equipment.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Kamala Harris has already made history as the first woman, and the first Black and Asian-American woman, to serve as vice-president in the U.S. — and she has found strong support among sections of the electorate, particularly among young female voters.

But Harris’ poll ratings have remained close to those of her boss, the 81 year-old President Joe Biden, suggesting she has not significantly differentiated herself or her political identity.

Inderjeet Parmar, professor of International Politics at City, University of London, told CNBC Monday that, even if Harris wins the Democratic presidential nomination, she will need to convince voters she offers something different to Biden.

“There are much deeper questions which had alienated a lot of Democratic voters,” with sectors of the electorate “not committed” to the Democrats, he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

“That included Muslim and Arab-Americans in swing states, it included a very large number of Millennials and young voters around [issues of] indebtedness and lack of career prospects, and many other issues, and we haven’t even got into the wars that the U.S. has been supporting,” he said.

“So in terms of the difference it [a Harris nomination] would make in those areas I’m not sure … it may well do much more for the top of the party and its candidates than it might do for the confidence of voters that there is something significantly different on offer from Kamala Harris,” he said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Former President Donald Trump could impose sweeping new tariffs on China within the first 100 days of his presidency if elected in November, TD Securities’ head of global strategy said Monday.

Richard Kelly told CNBC that the Trump administration would be much quicker to implement restrictive trade policies in its second term than it was during its first, noting “they know how to do it, they know what they want to do.”

“The expectation is within the first few months of the Trump administration being sworn in — whether we’re talking March, April, May — I would expect those tariffs in place,” he told “Street Signs Europe.”

Kelly said Trump should be taken “at his word” that he would impose 60% tariffs on products from China and 10% levies on products from the rest of the world.

He noted that such policies would likely increase U.S. inflation by 0.5 to 1 percentage points, adding to growing concerns that Trump’s protectionist economic agenda could reignite global inflation.

— Karen Gilchrist

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly launched presidential campaign has raised nearly $50 million in less than a day since incumbent President Joe Biden stepped out of the race and endorsed her as Democratic nominee.

She has yet to gain the Democrat Party’s official nomination.

“Since the president endorsed Vice President Harris yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign,” a campaign spokesperson for Biden said Monday, referring to ordinary citizens. The comment was reported by Reuters.

A few hours prior, the progressive donation platform ActBlue announced it had raised over $45 million after Harris launched her campaign, as support surged.

Harris was initially part of Biden’s reelection ticket. It remains to be seen who she will select as her running mate.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli minister of justice, expressed hopes that the successor to U.S. President Joe Biden will retain good relations with the Jewish state.

“[Biden] was, I think, one of the best leaders of the free world,” Beilin told CNBC’s Dan Murphy, disclosing a roughly forty-year acquaintance with the White House leader. “And I think that his successor, hopefully Kamala Harris, but whoever will replace him, will keep the same kind of relations because of the joint values.”

Washington has broadly backed Israel during its ongoing military offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza enclave. The White House has, however, urged restraint from the Israeli administration of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been accused of disproportionally harming the Palestinian population. Israel maintains it is only at war with Hamas and does not explicitly target civilians.

“Despite the criticism against us, which is partially right and partially unjustified, you have Israel as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. And I think that any American administration will continue this kind of relations,” Beilin said, noting that Biden has been a friend to both Israel and the Palestinian people.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to exit the upcoming presidential race proves he is putting national interests ahead of his own, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday.

“I have great respect for the US president’s decision,” Baerbock said, according to comments carried by Reuters. “Biden has also done an incredible amount for transatlantic relations, and not just during his term as president.”

The U.S. has been a strong ally of Germany and the broader European region under Biden’s administration, stepping in with military equipment and funding to assist Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Trump Media shares rose 2% Monday in premarket trading after U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday dropped his re-election bid.

Shares in Trump Media & Technology were 1.6% higher in premarket trading at 4:56 a.m. ET, off earlier highs.

Trump Media, the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, has experienced volatile trading throughout the election race. The company’s stock plummeted nearly 50% in the three weeks following the felony conviction of former President Donald Trump, who is also the firm’s majority shareholder.

— April Roach

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Jewish state will remain “America’s indispensable and strong ally,” irrespective of who emerges victorious in the upcoming presidential race.

Netanyahu is heading to Washington to address both houses of the U.S. Congress, amid Israel’s ongoing battle with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Washington has backed and financed Netanyahu’s administration throughout the conflict, but has previously called on Israel to minimize damage to Palestinian civilians.

“I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America’s indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East,” he told reporters, according to footage shared by the Israeli prime minister on social media.

Netanyahu also said he intends to meet with Biden, whom he has known for over 40 years.

“This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war, and during his long and distinguished career in public service,” Netanyahu noted, adding, “In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow and always.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris would be “in a strong position to win this upcoming election” if she becomes the next Democratic nominee, according to Allan Lichtman, U.S. presidential historian and professor at the American University in Washington.

The historian, who said he is postponing a prediction on who will clinch the presidency this year, said that Harris’ campaign benefits from her charisma and incumbency in a high-profile White House job.

“If Democrats grow a spine and become smart, they will unite behind Harris and lock down the contest key” to avoid an internal battle for the nomination, Lichtman added.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Governor of California Gavin Newsom — who’s been mooted as a potential replacement for Biden on the Democrat ticket this fall — has showered praise on Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Tough. Fearless. Tenacious,” Newsom described Harris in a social media post. “With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President.”

Newsom’s support of Harris comes after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, although she is not yet the official Democratic nominee.

Prior to joining the U.S. Senate, Harris served as district attorney of San Francisco and as attorney general of California.

Trump, who is pursuing a second presidential mandate on behalf of the Republican Party, was in late May found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is standing as Republican nominee in the fall elections, has fired a bevy of social media posts criticizing current White House leader Joe Biden.

“If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country,” Trump said in the wake of Biden’s decision to pull out of the presidential race, for which he had secured the Democrat ticket. He further stressed that Biden is “not fit to serve” and suggested that the Republican Party that Trump represents should be compensated for expenses undertaken while campaigning against Biden to date.

“So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race. Now we have to start all over again,” Trump said. “Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud … Just askin’?”

There is no official national deadline to apply to run for U.S. president, though such a contender must meet the filing and timeline requirements of individual states.

— Ruxandra Iordache

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre praised Joe Biden as “one of our greatest presidents” after his decision to bow out as Democrat nominee in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Extolling Biden’s achievements during his first mandate, she said in a social media post, “He is also an honorable man. A decent man. And a person who has always put the country first.”

Jean-Pierre assumed her post as White House press secretary in May 2022, succeeding Jen Psaki.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Vice President Harris has issued a fundraising call after confirming she will run in the fall presidential campaign, following White House leader Biden’s withdrawal. Biden has endorsed Harris, who must still receive the official Democrat nomination.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said, pledging to build on the feats achieved during Biden’s mandate of “making historic progress in reducing prescription drug costs, upgrading our nation’s infrastructure, fighting climate change and more.”

She urged supporters to split a donation between her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or the DSCC.

“In the coming days, as I hit the campaign trail to meet with Americans and lay out the choice in front of voters in the fall, I cannot imagine two more starkly different visions for where we want our country to go,” she said, with reference to the rival platform of former U.S. President and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, has pledged a “transparent and orderly process” to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

“The work that we must do now, while unprecedented, is clear. In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November. This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party,” he said in a statement on social media platform X.

“As we move forward to formally select our Party’s nominee, our values as Democrats remain the same — lowering costs, restoring freedom, protecting the rights of all people, and saving our democracy from the threat of dictatorship. We have and will continue to make this case to the American people,” he noted.

Biden has endorsed current Vice President Harris in the election.

— Ruxandra Iordache

A majority of the Democratic Party’s 57 state party leaders voted to back Harris to replace incumbent U.S. President Biden as the Democratic nominee in this year’s presidential election, declaring “overwhelming support” for her candidature, according to the Association of State Democratic Committees, or ASDC.

The ASDC represents state party interests within the Democratic National Committee, which elects the presidential nominee.

No ASDC member voted against Harris, a statement said, with a handful of members abstaining for in-state procedural reasons.

“I am proud that state party chairs, vice-chairs, and executive directors across the country are overwhelmingly uniting behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” said the organization’s chair Ken Martin. “With our democracy on the ballot, there is no one more qualified than Vice President Harris to prosecute the case against Donald Trump.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

Biden’s exit from the presidential race on Sunday elicited reactions from leaders worldwide.

Biden’s “difficult” decision was acknowledged by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala as driven by the larger interest of the U.S. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Biden “a true friend” and a “partner to Canadians.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked Biden for his “unwavering support of Israel over the years.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to Biden’s “unwavering support in the Russia-Ukraine war.

— Lee Ying Shan

Correction: This post was updated to reflect that Donald Tusk is the prime minister of Poland. A previous version misstated his title.

• 10:00 a.m. ET: Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight Committee
• 11:30 a.m. ET: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a speech at an event for college athletes at the White House.
• 1:30 p.m. ET: Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance holds a rally in Middletown, Ohio.

U.S. President Joe Biden will spend the day in Rehoboth, Delaware, where he is isolating and recovering from Covid. He does not have any scheduled public events.

— Christina Wilkie